Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Home Date With Stags Next for GU

On one end of the court, the Hoyas look like a five-man wrecking crew.

“The Hoyas look unbeatable,” Fairfield Head Coach Ed Cooley said. And few would disagree with him after Georgetown’s Wednesday night performance. The Hoyas dominated the court in a 66-48 win over Old Dominion that featured 20 assists en route to shooting a season-high 52 percent from the field and also showcased senior center Roy Hibbert’s first double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds).

But on the other end, Head Coach John Thompson III feels there is still much work to be done.

“Our offensive is not fluid by any sense of the imagination,” Thompson said after Wednesday’s game. “We have a long way to go.”

Fairfield is the next step on Saturday, when the Hoyas (4-0) take on the Stags (2-4) at 1 p.m. at Verizon Center.

From Georgetown’s perspective, Fairfield is a typical early-season game this year – a fairly unknown, unranked team.

In fact, the Hoyas are only playing one ranked opponent, No. 3 emphis on Dec. 22, before the league season kicks off, and have played the fewest games of anyone in the top 25.

But this non-conference schedule may be giving the Hoyas time to work out their kinks, such as building a more productive offense.

“We still have to work on a lot of things to get our offense crisp and get it to where we want it to be,” Thompson said after the Old Dominion game. “I’m not frustrated with our offense, but we are far from being crisp. I just know that in a couple months, we’re going to be a lot better.”

The Fairfield matchup will be a quick stop at home for the Hoyas, in between wins at Old Dominion and Ball State and a trip to Birmingham, Ala., to play Alabama next week for the Big East-SEC Invitational.

Fairfield, which plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, has not started its season very strongly this year, posting only two wins against American University and Sacred Heart. The Stags have been fairly strong offensively so far, 62.2 points and 33.2 rebounds per game; their leading scorer, junior guard Jonathan Han, averages 11.8 points per game. Han is closely followed by sophomore forward Greg Nero with 10 points per game.

The Stags are weaker in the paint, though, and do not even list a center on their roster. Their typical lineup starts one guard and four forwards, which could create problems when they face Hibbert on Saturday.

“I don’t know if anybody in the country can prepare for Roy Hibbert,” Cooley said, mentioning that his team’s general strategy will be to “play solid post defense” to “limit his touches.”

Georgetown is currently the only ranked team on the Stags’ schedule.

“They’re a veteran ball club. They’re coached by one of the best coaches in the country. They have great players and one of the most underrated guards in the country in [senior Jon] Wallace,” Cooley said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

– HOYA Staff Writer Bailey Heaps contributed to this report.

More to Discover