Centers and point guards are, by nature, polar opposites. The anchor of any basketball team, the center is the last line of defense while the point guard is the man in control of offense. Centers often break the seven-foot barrier while many point guards stand just six feet tall. Despite these differences, the point and the center are the crux of a team, the cogs most essential for success.

At Georgetown, this point-center duo consists of junior Kevin Braswell and senior Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. This will be the third consecutive season the pair have been together in the starting lineup for the Hoyas, and they are the most talented duo in the Big East. In addition, the two will be the official leaders of Georgetown basketball this season as the co-captains of the squad.

However, they have taken very different routes on the way to becoming the leaders and most important players for the Hoya basketball program.

Running the Point

Braswell has been the starting point guard for Georgetown from the moment he arrived on the Hilltop more than two years ago. The only junior on the basketball team (former Hoya Willie Taylor transferred after his freshman year), Braswell has been the only legitimate Big East-caliber point guard Georgetown has had in the past few seasons.

Braswell came to Georgetown from Maine Central Institute, picking the Hilltop over Clemson, Boston College, Pittsburgh and California. A Baltimore native, Braswell headed north after his junior year of high school to hone his basketball skills and prepare for a collegiate career on the hardwood.

“I went to MCI my senior year to improve my game,” Braswell said. “The coach cursed me out and said they could win without me. It made me want to go even more because it gave me something to prove. I like to prove people wrong.”

Maine Central Institute, also the alma mater of sophomore center Wesley Wilson, is located in Pittsfield, more than three hours north of Boston in the wilds of Maine. A major change of scenery for a self-described “city boy,” Braswell struggled to adjust to life in the North Woods.

The fall semester dragged on for Braswell, and regular conversations with his mother back home in Baltimore were all that kept him from leaving. Once basketball season rolled around, however, Braswell was all business, helping to lead MCI to a 35-0 record with the help of backcourt partner and roommate Erick Barkley (former St. John’s guard, now of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers). Braswell averaged 21 points, 9 assists and 4.3 rebounds while helping his squad go undefeated, but that wasn’t all he got out of his time at MCI.

“I experienced a lot of things city kids don’t experience,” Braswell said. “I even went snowmobiling.”

For college, Braswell decided it was time to head back to the city, less than an hour south of his home. Georgetown has been his home ever since, and he has taken advantage of his time here.

Braswell was named to the All-Big East rookie team after his freshman season (13.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game) and continued to develop during his sophomore campaign (14.8, 5.3, 4.7). Finally, two weeks ago, he was named to the preseason All-Big East first team heading into his junior campaign.

There’s been enough hype for Braswell heading into this season that some people have floated the idea of an early exit for the NBA, much like his former roommate, Barkley, did after two seasons at St. John’s.

Braswell rebuffed this idea, saying “I’m focused on the season. I want to play in the NBA eventually, but that’s for a later time. College is fun, so I’m happy with that.”

Big Man in the Middle

Boumtje-Boumtje arrived at Georgetown one year earlier than Braswell, looking to become the latest in the long line of NBA-bound Hoya bigmen, but his aspirations were put on hold early in his freshman season. In the sixth game of his collegiate career, Boumtje-Boumtje broke his left wrist and wound up missing the rest of the season.

Before coming to Georgetown, Boumtje-Boumtje played at local basketball powerhouse Archbishop Carroll. A native of Yaounde, Cameroon, Boumtje-Boumtje came to the United States during his high school years. At Carroll, he quickly became a standout, averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 assists per game during his senior year.

Boumtje-Boumtje was recruited by Georgetown Head Coach Emeritus John Thompson during his time at Carroll and ended up coming to Georgetown, following in the tradition of Hoya centers. Considered a “project” by many when he got here, Boumtje-Boumtje was unable to develop in his first year on the Hilltop. Multiple injuries kept him off the court for close to 11 months and hindered his advancement.

When he lined up against Temple in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament in November 1998, Boumtje-Boumtje may have been a sophomore, but he had virtually the same experience as the freshman point guard that day, Braswell. Over the course of his first full season as a Hoya, Boumtje-Boumtje developed slowly but surely, eventually finishing the season with an average of 8.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.

Last season began with a similar problem for Boumtje-Boumtje, as injuries hampered him during the early-season Hawaii tournament. He fought through nagging injuries all season long improved his numbers from his sophomore campaign. He finished last season with an average of 12.8 points, 7.7 boards and 2.4 blocks per game.

Head Coach Craig Esherick believes Boumtje-Boumtje will continue to develop further as he is able practice and play without worrying about health problems.

“Ruben has looked good in practice. He spent the summer getting healthy after the stress fracture in his left foot,” he said. “We spent last season just trying to get Ruben through. He did a great job. By all indications, he’s now fine.”

Boumtje-Boumtje has gotten some advice from players that definitely know the finer points of the center position and have helped him along the way.

“The big guys, ‘Zo, Pat and Mutumbo, really teach how to play down low,” Boumtje-Boumtje said. “They’ve been around a lot during the summer to practice.”

With the tutorials he’s received and the development he’s shown over his two full seasons, much is expected of Boumtje-Boumtje by those familiar with Georgetown’s basketball program, but Boumtje-Boumtje’s biggest critic may be himself.

“I have a lot of expectations for myself,” Boumtje-Boumtje said about his senior year as a Hoya. He added that, “It’s been fun to get back to practice. I feel as healthy as I’ve ever felt.”

Time To Shine

As the regular season quickly approaches, there is no question that this team belongs to Braswell and Boumtje-Boumtje. With senior forward Lee Scruggs sidelined for the rest of the semester, it is up to the co-captains to lead the team through the early going.

Braswell’s offensive leadership from the point is especially important this season, for a talented mixture mixture of experience and newcomers.

“Kevin has gotten more comfortable with the point position. But he has to continue to learn the point position and run the team like he did in the Big East Tournament,” Esherick said. “He has to think `How can I get Ruben the ball? How can I get Scruggs the ball? Has [Nat] Burton, has [Victor] Samnick, has Demetrius [Hunter] touched the ball?'”

While Braswell must learn to be a leader and distributor on the court, Boumtje-Boumtje must continue to establish himself as Georgetown’s “immovable object” inside. An offseason rule change might help his cause, as the NCAA has given a new directive against rough play to officials.

“The game will be called differently that it has over the past 10 years,” Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said at Big East Media Day. “There is an emphasis, with a capital E, on [limiting] rough play.”

Esherick thinks Boumtje-Boumtje and the Hoyas can capitalize on this change. “Ruben has offensive skills. If he can go to the hoop without being mugged, I’m all for that,” he said. “As long as it is consistently called that way, it can really favor us.”

If these two can come together and lead the team, Georgetown basketball will possess the intangible “it” that has been lacking in recent years.

“We want to make a good push in the Big East. We want to make it back to the tournament,” Braswell said. “It’s good [being named All-Big East], but I still have to go out there and prove it. I’d rather win the Big East Championship. I like to prove people wrong.”

There is no doubt that Braswell and Boumtje-Boumtje both want to rise above expectations and prove people wrong. If they succeed, good things await Georgetown’s basketball team this winter.