When Georgetown’s starters were on the floor during Saturday’s game against American, the Hoyas dominated. They opened the game on a 13-0 run and collectively shot 22-for-34.
But with such a lopsided score, the Georgetown reserves saw extended minutes. Results were less than stellar.
Jason Clark, the first man off the bench, played 23 minutes, and while he still makes his freshman mistakes, Clark has solidly earned his spot in the rotation. Similarly, Omar Wattad is not without his follies, but he’s shown a defensive acumen and a confident shooting stroke that will make him a regular.
Come Big East play, however, the Hoyas will need to play more than seven guys, and they will need help in the frontcourt. Against the Eagles, Georgetown’s reserve forwards – freshman Henry Sims and sophomores Julian Vaughn and Nikita Mescheriakov – were rather unimpressive.
With his team ahead by 30 points five minutes into the second half, John Thompson III had the opportunity to begin subbing early. Sims entered the game 4:47 into the half and Vaughn come on two minutes after that. Mescheriakov took the floor with 10 minutes still to play.
Collectively, Sims, Vaughn and Mescheriakov logged 35 minutes. In that time, they combined for five points on 1-for-5 shooting, one rebound, two assists and four turnovers. In Big East play, Georgetown will need its frontcourt cavalry – who stand 6-foot-10, 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8, respectively – to contribute more, particularly on the glass, where the Hoyas continue to struggle. The Eagles enjoyed a 30-24 edge on the glass.
When asked after the game about the play of Sims and Vaughn, Thompson was light on the specifics, but the tone of his answer seemed in line with the performance of his bench.
“I just had a bottle of Pepto Bismol,” he said. “We did not play well. You guys have heard me say over and over again, it’s about us. Particularly at this time of the year. It’s not about the opponent, it’s not about the score. It’s us trying to prepare, us trying to get better, us trying to improve. Regardless of the numbers relative to what the score is, I’m a little disappointed in how we played today. Now we have to keep moving forward and we have to learn and grow. Those guys need the minutes, those guys need the reps, and all that’s fine and dandy, but collectively, that wasn’t one of our better games.”
With 11:56 remaining in the game and Georgetown ahead 54-26, American senior guard Garrison Carr let fly one of his 11 three-point attempts. As it soared towards the basket, Eagles’ sophomore guard Matthew Wilson, standing all of 6-foot-2, turned towards the hoop, set his feed wide and pressed his body against Sims’ larger frame. When the shot clanked off the iron, Sims stayed put. Wilson leaped into the air and corralled the rebound. He kicked to senior guard Derrick Mercer, who knocked down a three.
Less than a minute later, off yet another Carr miss, Sims again had trouble grabbing the rebound over a smaller American player, eventually tipping it out of bounds. On the ensuing Eagles’ possession, the 5-foot-11 Carr missed a layup but outfought Sims for the rebound and drew a foul on his put-back try. Carr hit both free throws.
For his part, Vaughn showed flashes – he made a nice move in the post with 10:04 to go, twisting through the air to get an open look, but threw the ball clean off the backboard without it ever touching the rim.
On American’s next possession, senior forward Jordan Nichols drove straight at Sims, who remained motionless, watching as Nichols converted his layup.
escheriakov made the first three-pointer of his career, but committed three fouls, one a charge and the other two on American jumpers, both of which went in.
Georgetown’s bench shortcomings have been evident early on this year. And, with Sims, Vaughn and Mescheriakov all in their first season on the court for the Blue and Gray, their struggles are not completely unexpected. Still, with the brutal Big East opener against Connecticut less than a month away, the Hoyas need their bench to make lengthy strides if it is going to compete against the league’s top teams.
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