I'm not going to say that the Georgetown Men's Basketball team is better without Greg Monroe, their third-team All-American from last year who left early for the NBA Draft, but they have dominated so far this season in his absence. With a 68-51 win today over the Utah State Aggies, the Hoyas improved to 8-0, and although their toughest opponents are still yet to come, this Georgetown team still looks like a powerhouse.
The Hoyas, a team that prides itself on its 3-point shooting, went only 2-9 from beyond the arc, as the Aggies patrolled the perimeter effectively. Although the guards struggled to adjust to the defense early on in the game, which was tied as late as 19 minutes in, they eventually got in sync, following Chris Wright's lead, the only Hoya in double digits on the day, scoring 21 points and leaving to a standing ovation. Wright's aggressive moves to the basket as well as his hard-nosed defense, which brought him four steals, set the tone for the game, as Georgetown turned on the heat with a full-court press in the late first half and early second half that forced 12 turnovers in 13 minutes.
Despite the great defense, two members of Georgetown's Big Three didn't play their A game; neither Austin Freeman nor Jason Clark was able to get into a groove Saturday afternoon, scoring 9 and 7 points respectively and going a combined 6-17 from the field. Of course, Chris Wright was not the only one making up for them, some youngsters from off the bench came through in a big way.
The biggest surprise this year has been Henry Sims, who played 25 minutes off of the bench, more than starter Julian Vaughn who only got 15 minutes. Sims only had four points, but his six rebounds and solid defense down low, as well as a team-leading three assists showed everyone that he is more than capable of being effective at the 5 spot. Of course, Julian Vaughn was also extremely effective, but for some reason sat most of the game. He was 3-3 and had eight points and five rebounds in the short time he was in. Once the Big East teams start coming to town, he should definitely be getting more playing time with his physical presence down low.
Georgetown also got a little glimpse at the future during the game today. With a huge lead, Georgetown had all underclassmen in the game for a few minutes in the second half, the leader of which was without a doubt Nate Lubick. Looking a bit hesitant in the first half, Lubick finally got into a groove in the second half of play, putting fear into the opposing big men with his physical play both offensively and defensively. He had six points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. Slowly but surely, Lubick is finding his role as a power forward on this Georgetown team, and it will be interesting to see how he handles the bigger, tougher Big East opposition.
Then of course, there is the guy that I don’t think gets enough credit, Jerrelle Benimon. Benimon has so much untapped potential, but is used ineffectively. He is first and foremost the best rebounder on the team, despite the fact that he only had one today. Secondly, when he gets to the paint it is extremely tough to stop him, because once he gets some momentum he rolls right through people, one of the reasons he can crash the boards so well. The problem is that he is having trouble finding his role in the offense. Not necessarily tall enough to play center at 6’7”, he has to play the 4 spot, which in the Princeton offense means he is mostly out on the perimeter, where he is totally ineffective. The acrobatic, yet powerful moves to the basket today showed that if he can become more comfortable on offense, and improve his mid-range shooting, as well as find ways to get the ball in his hands and get to the hoop, he can be an unbelievable role player. For now, he does the dirty work, setting picks, grabbing rebounds, covering bigger players, but there is still a lot of talent there that JTIII needs to figure out how to use.
Then there are the guards, Hollis Thompson, Vee Sanford and Markel Starks. Thompson, the sophomore starter always goes about his business quietly but well and that did not change this game. In 17 minutes, he was 3-4 from the field, with seven points, and four rebounds, the third most on the team. He does not garner much attention, especially because a lot of the time he has to play against bigger power forwards, difficult being that he is only 6’6” (although his page says 6’7”), but he knows his place as a role player and helps keep the offense moving, while putting in his own two cents at times.
Vee Sanford and Markel Starks are the two backup guards. Vee can play both PG and SG, and has improved on offense, but is still struggling to find his way. He has improved a lot on defense though, and although he will not come off the bench much this year, with Georgetown having one of the best backcourts in the country, Vee will be solid, not great off of the bench. Then there is the freshman Markel Starks, the team’s PG of the future. He is quick, athletic and does have the ability to score, but his passing needs a little work, a skill that he will have time to refine after Chris Wright graduates at the end of this season.
They are not the biggest, and they are not the strongest – in fact almost all of them are freakishly skinny – but they are working wonderfully as a team. There is no one single leader that they have to get the ball to like Monroe last year, and although that has its downfalls sometimes, for the most part it has been a positive. The biggest improvement that this team has made is its depth. Last year, there was a rotation of six guys and that was it. Today alone, ten players played at least nine minutes and eight played at least 14. The scoring was perfectly spread out as only one player made it into double digits, showing that most of the players on this team can step in and be effective when called upon. When Georgetown starts playing the more talented teams of course, that number will change, but not by much. Despite having a backcourt that will play the majority of games, it looks as if JTIII will look to rotate his big men in, especially important being that they will be an undersized team going up against some bigger teams in the Big East.
The effect that Monroe’s absence is yet to be seen. There are a lot of questions in terms of who will get playing time and be most effective. Although this team may not have a lot of beasts on it, relying mostly on its guards, it certainly has the talent to be one of the Beasts of the Big East.
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