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

No Fish Story: Hoyas Shoot 59 Percent to Down Dolphins

For four years, Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III has emphasized the slowed-down, share-the-ball, deliberate Princeton offense to his players. But when asked about the Hoyas’ 20 turnovers in their 87-55 win over Jacksonville Sunday afternoon, he did not seem overly concerned. When asked about how the Hoyas did not commit a single foul until the last minute of the first half, he said “that might be a bad thing.” It may seem bizarre, but it’s all part of what looks like a new style of Georgetown offense, which integrates speed and aggressiveness, a combination that can be deadly with the Hoyas’ quick young guards and athletic big men like sophomore forward Vernon Macklin, who never met a dunk he didn’t like. “If we can make good decisions at a fast pace, then we can play at a fast pace,” Thompson said. “We have the same plays from last year,” said sophomore forward DaJuan Summers (14 points). “In transition, you can still share the ball. You just have to be quicker.” Georgetown (7-0) was the last stop for Jacksonville in a brutal stretch, which included similarly lopsided losses against No. 10 Michigan State and two-time defending national champion Florida and a close defeat to American on Friday. Against Georgetown, Jacksonville (3-6) had an especially tough time getting the ball in the basket. Dolphins’ sophomore guard Ben Smith, who had been averaging 15.8 points per game, went 0-for-6 in the first half and finished with nine points. As a team, the Dolphins only scored on 33 percent of their shots in the game. The Hoyas, meanwhile, had their best game of the year shooting-wise. They made 58.9 percent of their baskets on the game, including an impressive 69.2 mark in the second half. Part of the reason why Thompson has been able to switch up his game plan is due to the depth he has in the backcourt, an ingredient that was missing in past years. Underclassmen Jeremiah Rivers, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright have each seen significant time off the bench so far this season. They each contributed two three-pointers to Georgetown’s total of 11 in the game. On Sunday Freeman, a freshman, led the Hoyas in scoring for the first time in his young career. He connected on six of seven shots to finish with 15 points. Wright, a fellow rookie, was just behind with 14 points. “More so than any team since I’ve been here, we have depth, and quality depth, at the guard spot,” Thompson said. “We’re gonna try to take advantage of that, that depth, and so we’re gonna push it a little bit. But in order to do that you gotta get stops and you gotta get rebounds and you can’t turn the ball over.” The underclassmen put together a nice pair of highlights around the middle of the first half, starting when Freeman stole a pass off of the Dolphins and handed it off to Wright, who broke away and dished it to Macklin for an easy basket. On the following possession, Macklin grabbed a defensive rebound and passed it to Wright, who tore down the court and scored on an off-balance layup. At halftime, the Hoyas were up 39-21, but their lead stretched to 37 points nine minutes into the second period. While the young players have stepped up during the non-conference schedule, Georgetown’s two top seniors have continued to struggle offensively. Senior guard Jonathan Wallace, normally the team’s sharpshooter, went 3-for-8 and missed his two three-point attempts. Senior center Roy Hibbert was limited to eight points in 15 minutes on the court. Jacksonville was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Sun conference this season, but Thompson praised Head Coach Cliff Warren in leading his team, which won only one game two years ago, to three wins this year. The next game for Georgetown, against Radford (4-6) of the Big South conference, will give the Hoyas a chance to polish their offense before their highly anticipated game with No. 2 Memphis on Dec. 22. Georgetown will be playing Radford in McDonough Gymnasium on Saturday. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. News and Notes: Free Throws: Freshman swingman Omar Wattad and junior forward Bryon Jansen, a walk-on this year, drew big cheers from the crowd when they entered the game in the final minutes. Wattad made two of three shots for five points and grabbed a couple of rebounds. . Sunday’s game at Verizon Center had an attendance of 8,216. . The win was Georgetown’s 100th in Verizon Center. . The Hoyas are shooting just 5.8 percentage points higher from the free throw line than from the field. Sophomore forward Vernon Macklin and senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. are the team’s worst offenders, shooting roughly 40 percent better from the field than from the charity stripe.

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