After what has felt like an eternity of talking, waiting and speculating, the 2006-07 Georgetown men’s basketball season will finally get underway tomorrow.
“This time of year I’m nervous as hell,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “[The players are] tired of looking at each other. They’re tired of playing against each other. It’s time to get going and play against some different people. . I’m just ready to get started.”
At noon at Verizon Center the No. 8 Hoyas will take on the University of Hartford Hawks, one of the few games on the Georgetown schedule that looks to be an easy victory. Under first-year Head Coach Dan Leibovitz – and with just five letter-winners returning – Hartford is in a rebuilding year and looks to be significantly outmatched by the much-hyped Hoyas.
The Hawks bring back just one starter from last year’s squad that went 13-15 overall, dropping to 4-8 in non-conference play but faring better in the America East conference with a 9-7 record.
Junior point guard Rich Baker is that lone starter returning for the Hawks, having played in 26 of the team’s games and starting in 14 of them. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last year and looks to improve on those numbers this year as a tri-captain.
Joining Baker as tri-captains are senior forwards Bo Taylor and Alex Zimnickas. Two key reserve players from last year’s Hawks team, Taylor and Zimnickas will likely start at the three and four spots, respectively, for Hartford this year.
Taylor is the highest-scoring returning Hawk, averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season. But those numbers can be misleading, as Taylor saw playing time in only eight games, just one of which was in conference play. Over his three years at Hartford, Taylor’s numbers are more respectable, having played in 58 career games, making 34 starts and averaging 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in his career.
Zimnickas, the last of the three captains, is the most experienced. Last season he made appearances in all 28 games and got starts in 10 of them, averaging 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
“Bo, Alex and Rich are our most experienced returning players,” Leibovitz – a long-time assistant coach at Temple under the legendary John Chaney – said in a press release. “They’ve all been here for three years, so it’s natural that they would be the players who the rest of the team would look to for guidance and leadership.”
The Hawks will need a lot of guidance as they look to fill the considerable void left by the graduation of their best player, first-team all-conference forward Kenny Adeleke. Last year Adeleke led the America East conference in scoring and rebounding. Finding someone to step up and replace him remains the Hawks’ most significant chore.
One candidate is the Hawks’ new big man, Vincent Aldevinge, a 6-foot-11 freshman center from Sweden. Aldevinge – a member of the Swedish under-20 national team – has the height to make an impact but whether he has the talent is still unknown. If Aldevinge gets the start against Georgetown junior center Roy Hibbert tomorrow, Hibbert can certainly be expected to pick up a double-double against the inexperienced newcomer.
For a team full of questions one thing is certain: expect the Hawks to shoot. A lot.
“I haven’t had a team with as many guys who can shoot the ball,” Leibovitz told the Hartford Courant. “It’s a team that puts the ball in the basket. When we work on our defenses at practice we can’t stop ourselves because we have so many guys who can shoot.”
Hartford is an unknown team with a new look this year. While the Hawks are largely considered a cupcake opponent, the Hoyas must not look past this game. Instead Georgetown needs to focus on what it is doing to get this season started on the right foot with a win.
“It’s about us,” Thompson said. “It’s about how we go about our business. It’s about us trying to get better.”
Tomorrow’s tip-off is set for noon at Verizon Center.
