PREVIEW - GEORGETOWN (30-7, 13-3)
October 31, 2007 10:58 pm by Coach OThe Hoyas are back and they are strong. Roy Hibbert is the preseason player of the year. Jonathan Wallace can fill it up from the perimeter, and Jessie Sapp is a reliable point guard. DaJuan Summers might have been the best rookie in the BE last year. That accounts for the four starters that return. The only one missing is Jeff Green. And he will be a tough act to follow.
Frontcourt - Roy Hibbert (12.9ppg, 6.9rpg) is the most dominating big man in the league. Hibbert should have his way in most games. He tended to get into foul trouble in the NCAA’s and must avoid that. DaJuan Summers (9.2ppg, 3.7rpg) was the surprise for the Hoyas last year. Summers had a wonderful rookie season and Coach Thompson is relying on him to step into Green’s shoes this year. Vernon Macklin (2.9ppg, 1.5rpg) can spell either big man and Freshman Nikita Mescheriakov will learn the BE ropes from the bench. GRADE - A
Backcourt - Sharpshooter Jonathan Wallace (11.4ppg, 2.7rpg) is the leader in the backcourt. Wallace is deadly from the 3 point range shooting 49% from long range. Jessie Sapp (9.1ppg, 3.5apg) is at the point. Sapp runs the team very effectively and he will be backed up by Jeremiah Rivers(1.4ppg, 1.3rpg) who has big game experience. Patrick Ewing wil probably earn the SF starting nod. Ewing was a backup last year to Jeff Green. Tyler Crawford (2.0ppg, 1.4rpg) provides depth on the wing. Three freshmen, Omar Wattad, Austin Freeman, and Chris Wright will look for some minutes. GRADE - A-
Depth - The Hoyas aren’t very deep this year. But Rivers, Crawford and Macklin all have experience in some very big games, which counts for a lot. The four freshmen will have to step into some pretty big shoes when called upon. GRADE - B
Outlook - The loss of Green will hurt, a lot. He was the best player in this very tough league. But having four returning starters from a Final Four team gives them an edge on the rest of the league. Although I don’t think the Hoyas will win the league this year, they will be in the thick of things with the talent they have. Coach Thompson will use his disciplined offense and every opponent will have to be on lookout for their backdoor when playing GTown this year. GRADE - A
Categories: Commentary, Georgetown, Coach O
3 Responses to “PREVIEW - GEORGETOWN (30-7, 13-3)”
Ummmm not very deep??? Austin Freeman and Chris Wright are ready to step in and contribute right away along with Rivers off the bench that makes the Hoyas 5 deep in the back-court not even counting Crawford. Up front they have Hibbert and Summers who will be stars, Ewing who will be much improved and everyone seems to forget how highly touted Vernon Macklin was last year before he got stuck behind Roy and Green. Did no1 watch G’town slap Louisville around last year??? It was a blowout even after Louisville hit something like 6 consecutive 3’s. G’town will sweep both game from L’ville. Write it down.
One problem…..Gtown doesn’t have Jeff Green this year. He’s playing in another league. Louisville is better. Last year was the Hoyas’ year. They’ll still be solid this year, but they are not nearly as good as Louisville this season.
Not deep is a ridiculous comment. They have 9 players averaging over 17min per game. The backcourt, though young and unproven, has an insane amount of talent (arguably the best in the country). Their upbeat princeton offense can be run with any combination of players and tempos. The Memphis game will be a good indicator for another potential final four run.
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