FEATURE Life of Riley Mirrors Life of Hoyas By Tom Kenny Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Gerald Riley plays defense against Pittsburgh. The Hoyas lost 68-67.

In many ways, the play of Georgetown’s sophomore swingman Gerald Riley is representative of his team’s performance over the course of the past two seasons. Riley, and the Hoyas as a whole, have shown flashes of brilliance over the last two seasons that have caused optimistic Hoya fans to believe that return to the glory days of the 1980s was possible.

However, in nearly as many instances, Riley’s play, like that of his team’s, has not lived up to the talent that he possesses. On these occasions, Riley and the Hoyas have been much more reminiscent of the teams of 1998, 1999 and 2000 that finished their seasons with losses in the National Invitation Tournament.

Riley’s performance in each of Georgetown’s last two games – a win and a loss appropriately enough – encapsulate his Georgetown career thus far. With the Hoyas far from a lock to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, every game is crucial, regardless of the opponent. When the Hoyas played host to lowly West Virginia on Feb. 2, they began a month of games that would show whether they would finally live up to the high expectations thrust upon them in the preseason.

The Hoyas began the game slowly against the Mountaineers. Senior guard Kevin Braswell picked up his second foul with more than 14 minutes remaining in the first half and headed to the bench. Someone needed to step up and fill the void and Riley did so with resounding force. He played his best game at Georgetown, scoring a career-high 21 points including three three-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds, allowing the Hoyas to pick up the victory with relative ease. Riley himself thought it was his best game as a Hoya considering his play on both ends of the court. “Braswell’s a big part of our offense. With him out, I wanted to step up and be the second guy,” Riley said.

In Saturday’s marathon classic against Notre Dame, the Hoyas faced an even bigger test. Notre Dame was an opponent on the NCAA Tournament bubble just like Georgetown and the Hoyas 116-111 loss was as devastating as any they have endured this season. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, Riley struggled and was a non-factor for most of the game, playing only 20 minutes in the 60-minute battle due to foul trouble. Despite this, he was able to convert two huge free-throws in the second overtime and sank a huge three-pointer when it appeared Notre Dame was ready to take over the game in the third overtime. However, he fouled out shortly thereafter and watched helplessly as the Hoyas finally fell apart at the end of the fourth overtime.

While Riley’s inconsistency can be frustrating for Hoya fans, he has had to deal with the pressure of high expectations since he arrived on the Hilltop. He began his freshman year strongly as the Hoyas roared through their non-hole at starting shooting guard. After starting at small forward last season, Riley shifted over for the beginning of this season, and has alternated between the shooting guard and small forward positions. However, Riley said he has no preference between either position. He does not see his role on the team in terms of his position. “My role is to come out every night and help the team win in any way I can,” Riley said. Esherick said he prefers Riley at forward, but added, “He needs to be able rebound, defend the perimeter and hit the outside shot when the defense collapses on Sweetney.”

Esherick believes that Riley’s role will grow in importance after this season. “When (senior guard) Kevin Braswell leaves, the sophomores and juniors are going to have to assume a greater leadership role.” Riley was less clear about how he thought his role would develop but said there were various elements of his game that he hoped to improve, especially his shooting. “I always work on shooting; you always need to work on shooting,” Riley said.

Riley has averaged more than 12 points per game in Georgetown’s 13 wins against Division I opponents this year compared with only 8.5 points per game in their eight losses. His importance to the Hoyas’ success is obvious. As Sweetney continues to draw more double and triple teams every time he touches the ball, the necessity of Riley’s perimeter shooting will only multiply. How well he will respond to this challenge over the remainder of his career as a Hoya is something Georgetown fans should be eager to determine.