This column, my first for THE HOYA, was originally going to be a rather blunt criticism of Vernon Macklin. I was going to begin with a quote from an article written during Macklin’s sophomore year of high school comparing him to Kevin Garnett, and I was then going to explain just how baffling that comparison has proven to be. I was planning on giving Macklin credit where I thought it was due, but for the most part, I was going to be pretty scathing in my critique. After Macklin’s 10 points in 12 minutes last night against Pittsburgh, I’ve decided to change my tune. When Rivals released its inaugural ranking of the Class of 2006 in January 2004, Macklin was ranked fourth, behind only Greg Oden, Brandon Wright, both of whom are now in the NBA, and Derrick Caracter. When Macklin enrolled at Georgetown, he was the 12th ranked player in the country and the Hoyas’ first McDonald’s all-American since Anthony Perry in 1997. But let’s forget about trying to figure out whether Macklin has met expectations. John Thompson III would tell you expectations are largely irrelevant. Let’s not bother wondering what went wrong with Macklin. It is unfair to him and, really, it is a waste of time. Georgetown needs Vernon Macklin to play a significant role. Forty-six games into his college career, he has struggled more often than not to do so. But rather than writing him off now (after his best game in blue and gray), it is better to examine where he needs to be for the Hoyas to re-enter the upper echelon of college basketball – a level I think they fall just short of right now. Before this season, Macklin’s teammates raved about how much he had improved. To a man, they all said that he would be this year’s breakout performer. Last night may have been the first time he’s shown it. With the departure of Jeff Green, Macklin has seen his minutes increase to 15.9 a game, and his scoring rise to 4.1 points per contest. acklin’s offensive game is extremely raw . As far as Georgetown’s system is concerned, Macklin’s passing ability – and I don’t want to downplay how good a passer I think he is and how much that can help the team – allows him to fit in. Sometimes, though, I can’t help but think that his skill set is not quite right for the Hoyas’ system. Macklin’s strengths, his ability to run and score in transition, are usually hidden by Georgetown’s plodding Princeton offense; his best games this season had been those in which the Hoyas set aside the normal scheme and pushed the ball. As conference play continues, those games will likely be few and far between. Look at Georgetown’s other forwards over the past few seasons: Brandon Bowman, Jeff Green, Patrick Ewing Jr. and DaJuan Summers have all possessed far more versatile offensive skill sets. Macklin can’t shoot from outside and thus far has not been able to make up for it with superior post moves. He will need to continue to refine them to stake a claim to increased playing time. He appears not to know what to do on too many occasions, but those instances are starting to become less and less frequent. Macklin’s go-to move is a little running hook, but rather than making his move directly to the hoop, it’s almost like he goes a few feet past the basket. It seems like wasted motion. Against the Panthers, however, he displayed an impressive repertoire of moves, showing an ability to score off of a pick and roll, after posting up his man, and on hook shots that relied upon some nifty footwork. Macklin needs to continue to be creative in the half-court offense, something he has struggled with in the past. What’s more, Macklin has seemed hesitant at times to be physical because his free throw shooting, at 21.7 percent, is beyond abysmal. Against Memphis on Dec. 22, it looked like he avoided contact so as not to have to go to the charity stripe. That cannot happen. With his size, he can’t be afraid to bang inside. As Roy’s backup, that essentially must be his job description. Defensively, Macklin has been adequate this season, but given his athleticism, it certainly seems like he could be better. Sometimes, he looks lost. At other times, he is too active and picks up cheap fouls. Macklin has all the physical tools to be a good defender; perhaps he just needs to spend more time getting down the fundamentals. He has blocked 12 shots already this season – including two last night. Where Macklin has the most room for improvement is on the glass. Given his size, athleticism, and reputation for being a ferocious rebounder, he should be able to grab more than 2.3 a game and do more to help the Hoyas overcome their rebounding woes. Last night, Macklin failed to grab a rebound, and Pittsburgh picked up nine offensive boards while Macklin was in the game. By all accounts, Macklin is a hard worker, and I’m glad he is here at Georgetown. But for him (and the team) to have success this year – to say nothing of next season when there will be an influx of frontcourt talent – Macklin will need to improve within the context of Georgetown’s system. I’m not ready to give up on Vernon Macklin. Georgetown will need the Big Ticket if it is going to punch its ticket to a second straight Final Four. Bailey Heaps, a former managing editor of THE HOYA, is a junior in the College. He can be reached at heapsthehoya.com. SPREADING THE FLOOR appears every other Tuesday in HOYA SPORTS.