Post by FLHoya on Dec 9, 2007 21:17:08 GMT -5
HOYAS-Jacksonville (12/9/07, 87-55 W)
You wanted a blowout.
Georgetown’s domination of the Jacksonville Dolphins on Sunday can be illustrated in any number of ways. The most readily apparent way is the score—the Hoyas scored the most points and won by the largest margin in a Verizon Center game since an 89-53 drubbing of James Madison a year and four days ago. In fact, Georgetown matched the 36 point margin—with 11:06 to go in the game.
Jacksonville’s team statistics further clarify just how lopsided the game was. The Dolphins—from the “jump-shoot first, second, and third” school of low-major opponents—posted a mere 33.9 percent mark from the field, including 4 of 17 from behind the arc. No Jacksonville player reached double figures, but ten had at least one turnover.
Finally, there were Georgetown’s stats. The two leading scorers—and it would be hard to dispute stars of the game—were freshmen Austin Freeman and Chris Wright. All twelve eligible Hoyas saw playing time, and Jon Wallace and Roy Hibbert were 8th and 9th in minutes played respectively. The spark off the bench at the end of the game? That would be Omar Wattad, who played like the Rapture was coming when the final five minutes of the game ticked off. Finally, this guy I met on the roadtrip to Winston-Salem last year, who spent all of his downtime dribbling a basketball up and down the sidewalk outside the hotel? He played too, although Bryon didn’t put up Omar-like numbers in his two minutes.
One time an instructor in a class referred to the handouts a student passed out during a presentation as “candy”. The point was—these things look nice but they’re just empty calories distracting me from the real issues you’re trying to impart up there.
I’ve noticed certain competing schools of thought on Georgetown’s non-conference schedule this season:
--Fans who are concerned at the small margin of victory in games against inferior opponents such as William and Mary, Fairfield, and Ball State in particular. These people like “candy” so we’ll call them the “Sweet Tooths”.
--Fans who bemoan the lack of a “quality non-conference opponent” on the schedule, and are convinced that the Hoyas will not be prepared for Big East conference play unless they are tested and absorb valuable lessons. We’ll call them “Vitamin Junkies”.
--Lastly, a small subset of fans who believe the Hoyas would benefit from a loss prior to conference season, whether to gain perspective, a sense of humility, or valuable experience living with failure. We’ll call them the “Brussel Sprouts”.
Silly names, but each an intriguing school of thought.
Well, today was not a day for the Brussel Sprouts—this much is clear. But was the Jacksonville game merely a sugary snack—a cupcake, if you will—for the sweet tooth in all of us (admit it, everyone including myself loves a good blowout every once in a while)? Or were there some vital nutrients that will help sustain the team come January?
I tend toward the latter for three reasons:
1. Georgetown was able to run a more up-tempo offense that was fueled by guard penetration and ball reversal putting pressure on a defense, rather than backcuts and post play.
2. Several Hoyas outside the starting lineup saw extensive playing time and made key contributions to the victory.
3. Jacksonville forced the Hoyas to deal with a full court zone press not that dissimilar from what Villanova routinely runs against opponents.
We’ll get to those in turn.
The first hint of the kind of game we were in for came just prior to the first media timeout. Roy Hibbert had turned the ball over in the post on his first touch of the afternoon, and on a second attempt to feed the big man Dajuan Summers lobbed too high. Hibbert ultimately got his first points of the game on an offensive putback, but it was what opened the window for Hibbert’s rebound and lay-in that was important: Jessie Sapp and Jon Wallace had pushed the ball up court following a change in possession, giving the Jacksonville defense no chance to set up. For the duration of the game, the Hoyas most successful offensive possessions were made by pressuring the Jacksonville defense, whether through up-tempo play off changes in possession, guard penetration, or ball reversals. Hibbert in fact made the fair share of his offensive production today on offensive putbacks, as today was one for the guards.
As if to emphasize this point, Roy was stripped on Georgetown’s next possession, and then missed a hook shot from 5-6 feet out, a touch beyond what he’d normally like to get I’d reckon.
After the missed hook shot, Vernon Macklin subbed in for Hibbert, following previous subs that brought Austin Freeman and Jeremiah Rivers into the game for Ewing and Wallace. What you had on the court now was a lineup of Rivers, Sapp, Freeman, Summers, and Macklin that was super-quick and aggressive on the defensive end of the court. This paid immediate dividends as Freeman hit a corner 3, Sapp hustled to save a ball from going out, and then hit a 3 of his own.
Sapp’s hustle play here was the first of many on the afternoon for the Hoyas. More than any game this season, today saw Georgetown playing aggressive defense, stripping balls from opponents, diving after loose balls, and looking to turn defense into offense.
Many Hoya fans have high hopes for Chris Wright because of his tantalizing ability in transition. When Wright came in for Sapp at this point in the game, the Hoyas became even that much more athletic. Almost immediately Dajuan Summers was stopped from a breakaway basket only by a hard foul, which he converted into two points.
Then the Hoyas took it to still another level of intensity. Austin Freeman came up with a steal at the perimeter and started a fast break through to Chris Wright, who threw the perfect lob to Vernon Macklin for an easy layup. Another defensive stop sprung Wright, but this time the freshman went coast to coast for the layup. The sequence ended with one more stellar defensive play, as Jeremiah Rivers swatted a shot out of bounds. When it was all over the Hoyas had completed a 12-4 run and built an 18-9 lead halfway through the first half.
The lineup of Wright-Sapp/Rivers-Freeman-Macklin-Summers/Ewing is irresistible at times. When successful, spurts like the above can become common, as each of the players is hyper-aggressive on defense and there is a good combo of penetrating guards and spot-up shooters for transition plays. Georgetown still doesn’t use a full court press, but with this lineup on the floor the halfcourt offense is no picnic.
Jon Wallace is missing from the above lineup, not necessarily an indictment, just that he doesn’t have the spurt of Wright or Sapp, nor quite the ability to create turnovers on the defensive end. What he has is droves however is heart, and he displayed it upon his return, gathering in an offensive rebound amongst three JU defenders and cashing in a layup, then coming within inches of hurdling a guy (seriously!) to tip in another rebound.
The next several minutes were a rain of three pointers: Freeman, Sapp, and Summers each had their turn, and before you knew it the Hoyas had rolled out to a 33-18 lead with 3:23 to go in the half.
The pace continued to quicken even if the play was a little sloppy towards the end of the half. Macklin used the drive and dish to find Freeman for two, Summers laid one in on the fast break, and Wright found the scoreboard once more. The half ended with an exclamation point as Vernon Macklin obliterated Jacksonville’s attempt at the buzzer, which ended an upbeat half that the Hoyas captured 39-21.
For the half, Dajuan Summers led all scorers with 9 points. Austin Freeman had 8, including 2-2 from three point range. Jessie Sapp had six points (and five rebounds!). Wallace, Hibbert, and Wright had 4, and Macklin and Ewing had 2 apiece. The Hoyas were shooting 50% from the field, including 5-13 from three point range, while holding Jacksonville to 9-26 shooting.
The one troubling number for the Hoyas was the seven turnovers they committed, three by Dajuan Summers. The one interesting number was that it took until the final minute of the half before the Hoyas committed a personal foul.
Things escalated quickly in the second half. I mean, it really got out of hand fast. After Wallace missed a runner (opened both halves that way), Sapp used a Hibbert screen to go baseline for a layup. The Hoyas then turned up the defensive pressure, using a 2-3 zone for a while that once again was characterized by great switching and help defense.
The dividends were immediate. Patrick Ewing ripped a steal and started a transition play that ended with a three from Summers. Next possession, another Ewing steal and a bounce pass that sprung Jon Wallace for a layup. Just like that a 7-1 burst to start the half and balloon the lead to 46-22.
There was more defense to come, through another Ewing steal and a Hibbert block. This time, for all of the transition and pushing the ball today, the Hoyas had their best looking possession because Austin Freeman pulled the ball back for a few seconds and hit the trailing Jeremiah Rivers for a three pointer.
At this point the game became a sort of case study, owing to two reasons:
--Roy Hibbert and Patrick Ewing Jr. went to the bench for the rest of the game.
--Jacksonville went to a full court zone press.
The Hoyas had an uneven performance against the press.
It’s tough to isolate one or two factors that made the difference between success and failure, but my best estimate would be this: the Hoyas tended to break the JU press either when they inbounded the ball quickly before the defense set up, or passed the ball over the top of the zone using the players who flashed to midcourt. Chris Wright went coast to coast one on occasion off a quick inbounds, and Vernon Macklin was the beneficiary of at least two cases when GU made the long pass from backcourt and created a 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 in the front court.
By contrast, the Hoyas failed at breaking the press when they tried to dribble through it. Rivers picked up a charge trying to press tempo, and Wallace looked dreadful at times trying to split the defense in the backcourt. In addition, the Hoyas turned the ball over at least twice trying to inbound the ball.
Remember that whole candy vs. vitamins point I made at the beginning? Here’s where the Hoyas got a big old dose of vitamins. Jacksonville’s zone press looked a lot like the 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 that Seton Hall and Villanova ran against us in January/February last year. You can bet you’ll see the Hoyas face full court pressure in the Big East this season—if you saw Nova’s comeback win against LSU on Thursday, you know they’re still pressing.
If the Hoyas can get the ball up quickly or make the extra pass, it’s clear they have the players who can score in transition. Wright and Freeman combined for a layup plus one, and Sapp + Wright were creating drive and dish chances all second half.
The margin hovered around 30 for the majority of the second half as the Hoyas experimented with a smaller, quicker, younger lineup. Even Omar Wattad saw significant minutes, entering with five to play and immediately making his mark on the game, following a missed three pointer with a strip that sprung Tyler Crawford to feed Chris Wright for a layup.
It was all over but the Jansen at this point, and Bryon entered to much fanfare two minutes from time and Wright and Wattad kept raining jumpers from all over the court. Much to cheer for this afternoon and much to learn from as well in Georgetown’s 87-55 victory. Tasted good…and it’s good for you!
(AHEAD: Omar’s offensive explosion, Wright’s offensive stuff, the ascent of Austin, and the rest of the news from Attack of the Freshmen in the PLAYER EVALUATIONS)
You wanted a blowout.
Georgetown’s domination of the Jacksonville Dolphins on Sunday can be illustrated in any number of ways. The most readily apparent way is the score—the Hoyas scored the most points and won by the largest margin in a Verizon Center game since an 89-53 drubbing of James Madison a year and four days ago. In fact, Georgetown matched the 36 point margin—with 11:06 to go in the game.
Jacksonville’s team statistics further clarify just how lopsided the game was. The Dolphins—from the “jump-shoot first, second, and third” school of low-major opponents—posted a mere 33.9 percent mark from the field, including 4 of 17 from behind the arc. No Jacksonville player reached double figures, but ten had at least one turnover.
Finally, there were Georgetown’s stats. The two leading scorers—and it would be hard to dispute stars of the game—were freshmen Austin Freeman and Chris Wright. All twelve eligible Hoyas saw playing time, and Jon Wallace and Roy Hibbert were 8th and 9th in minutes played respectively. The spark off the bench at the end of the game? That would be Omar Wattad, who played like the Rapture was coming when the final five minutes of the game ticked off. Finally, this guy I met on the roadtrip to Winston-Salem last year, who spent all of his downtime dribbling a basketball up and down the sidewalk outside the hotel? He played too, although Bryon didn’t put up Omar-like numbers in his two minutes.
One time an instructor in a class referred to the handouts a student passed out during a presentation as “candy”. The point was—these things look nice but they’re just empty calories distracting me from the real issues you’re trying to impart up there.
I’ve noticed certain competing schools of thought on Georgetown’s non-conference schedule this season:
--Fans who are concerned at the small margin of victory in games against inferior opponents such as William and Mary, Fairfield, and Ball State in particular. These people like “candy” so we’ll call them the “Sweet Tooths”.
--Fans who bemoan the lack of a “quality non-conference opponent” on the schedule, and are convinced that the Hoyas will not be prepared for Big East conference play unless they are tested and absorb valuable lessons. We’ll call them “Vitamin Junkies”.
--Lastly, a small subset of fans who believe the Hoyas would benefit from a loss prior to conference season, whether to gain perspective, a sense of humility, or valuable experience living with failure. We’ll call them the “Brussel Sprouts”.
Silly names, but each an intriguing school of thought.
Well, today was not a day for the Brussel Sprouts—this much is clear. But was the Jacksonville game merely a sugary snack—a cupcake, if you will—for the sweet tooth in all of us (admit it, everyone including myself loves a good blowout every once in a while)? Or were there some vital nutrients that will help sustain the team come January?
I tend toward the latter for three reasons:
1. Georgetown was able to run a more up-tempo offense that was fueled by guard penetration and ball reversal putting pressure on a defense, rather than backcuts and post play.
2. Several Hoyas outside the starting lineup saw extensive playing time and made key contributions to the victory.
3. Jacksonville forced the Hoyas to deal with a full court zone press not that dissimilar from what Villanova routinely runs against opponents.
We’ll get to those in turn.
The first hint of the kind of game we were in for came just prior to the first media timeout. Roy Hibbert had turned the ball over in the post on his first touch of the afternoon, and on a second attempt to feed the big man Dajuan Summers lobbed too high. Hibbert ultimately got his first points of the game on an offensive putback, but it was what opened the window for Hibbert’s rebound and lay-in that was important: Jessie Sapp and Jon Wallace had pushed the ball up court following a change in possession, giving the Jacksonville defense no chance to set up. For the duration of the game, the Hoyas most successful offensive possessions were made by pressuring the Jacksonville defense, whether through up-tempo play off changes in possession, guard penetration, or ball reversals. Hibbert in fact made the fair share of his offensive production today on offensive putbacks, as today was one for the guards.
As if to emphasize this point, Roy was stripped on Georgetown’s next possession, and then missed a hook shot from 5-6 feet out, a touch beyond what he’d normally like to get I’d reckon.
After the missed hook shot, Vernon Macklin subbed in for Hibbert, following previous subs that brought Austin Freeman and Jeremiah Rivers into the game for Ewing and Wallace. What you had on the court now was a lineup of Rivers, Sapp, Freeman, Summers, and Macklin that was super-quick and aggressive on the defensive end of the court. This paid immediate dividends as Freeman hit a corner 3, Sapp hustled to save a ball from going out, and then hit a 3 of his own.
Sapp’s hustle play here was the first of many on the afternoon for the Hoyas. More than any game this season, today saw Georgetown playing aggressive defense, stripping balls from opponents, diving after loose balls, and looking to turn defense into offense.
Many Hoya fans have high hopes for Chris Wright because of his tantalizing ability in transition. When Wright came in for Sapp at this point in the game, the Hoyas became even that much more athletic. Almost immediately Dajuan Summers was stopped from a breakaway basket only by a hard foul, which he converted into two points.
Then the Hoyas took it to still another level of intensity. Austin Freeman came up with a steal at the perimeter and started a fast break through to Chris Wright, who threw the perfect lob to Vernon Macklin for an easy layup. Another defensive stop sprung Wright, but this time the freshman went coast to coast for the layup. The sequence ended with one more stellar defensive play, as Jeremiah Rivers swatted a shot out of bounds. When it was all over the Hoyas had completed a 12-4 run and built an 18-9 lead halfway through the first half.
The lineup of Wright-Sapp/Rivers-Freeman-Macklin-Summers/Ewing is irresistible at times. When successful, spurts like the above can become common, as each of the players is hyper-aggressive on defense and there is a good combo of penetrating guards and spot-up shooters for transition plays. Georgetown still doesn’t use a full court press, but with this lineup on the floor the halfcourt offense is no picnic.
Jon Wallace is missing from the above lineup, not necessarily an indictment, just that he doesn’t have the spurt of Wright or Sapp, nor quite the ability to create turnovers on the defensive end. What he has is droves however is heart, and he displayed it upon his return, gathering in an offensive rebound amongst three JU defenders and cashing in a layup, then coming within inches of hurdling a guy (seriously!) to tip in another rebound.
The next several minutes were a rain of three pointers: Freeman, Sapp, and Summers each had their turn, and before you knew it the Hoyas had rolled out to a 33-18 lead with 3:23 to go in the half.
The pace continued to quicken even if the play was a little sloppy towards the end of the half. Macklin used the drive and dish to find Freeman for two, Summers laid one in on the fast break, and Wright found the scoreboard once more. The half ended with an exclamation point as Vernon Macklin obliterated Jacksonville’s attempt at the buzzer, which ended an upbeat half that the Hoyas captured 39-21.
For the half, Dajuan Summers led all scorers with 9 points. Austin Freeman had 8, including 2-2 from three point range. Jessie Sapp had six points (and five rebounds!). Wallace, Hibbert, and Wright had 4, and Macklin and Ewing had 2 apiece. The Hoyas were shooting 50% from the field, including 5-13 from three point range, while holding Jacksonville to 9-26 shooting.
The one troubling number for the Hoyas was the seven turnovers they committed, three by Dajuan Summers. The one interesting number was that it took until the final minute of the half before the Hoyas committed a personal foul.
Things escalated quickly in the second half. I mean, it really got out of hand fast. After Wallace missed a runner (opened both halves that way), Sapp used a Hibbert screen to go baseline for a layup. The Hoyas then turned up the defensive pressure, using a 2-3 zone for a while that once again was characterized by great switching and help defense.
The dividends were immediate. Patrick Ewing ripped a steal and started a transition play that ended with a three from Summers. Next possession, another Ewing steal and a bounce pass that sprung Jon Wallace for a layup. Just like that a 7-1 burst to start the half and balloon the lead to 46-22.
There was more defense to come, through another Ewing steal and a Hibbert block. This time, for all of the transition and pushing the ball today, the Hoyas had their best looking possession because Austin Freeman pulled the ball back for a few seconds and hit the trailing Jeremiah Rivers for a three pointer.
At this point the game became a sort of case study, owing to two reasons:
--Roy Hibbert and Patrick Ewing Jr. went to the bench for the rest of the game.
--Jacksonville went to a full court zone press.
The Hoyas had an uneven performance against the press.
It’s tough to isolate one or two factors that made the difference between success and failure, but my best estimate would be this: the Hoyas tended to break the JU press either when they inbounded the ball quickly before the defense set up, or passed the ball over the top of the zone using the players who flashed to midcourt. Chris Wright went coast to coast one on occasion off a quick inbounds, and Vernon Macklin was the beneficiary of at least two cases when GU made the long pass from backcourt and created a 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 in the front court.
By contrast, the Hoyas failed at breaking the press when they tried to dribble through it. Rivers picked up a charge trying to press tempo, and Wallace looked dreadful at times trying to split the defense in the backcourt. In addition, the Hoyas turned the ball over at least twice trying to inbound the ball.
Remember that whole candy vs. vitamins point I made at the beginning? Here’s where the Hoyas got a big old dose of vitamins. Jacksonville’s zone press looked a lot like the 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 that Seton Hall and Villanova ran against us in January/February last year. You can bet you’ll see the Hoyas face full court pressure in the Big East this season—if you saw Nova’s comeback win against LSU on Thursday, you know they’re still pressing.
If the Hoyas can get the ball up quickly or make the extra pass, it’s clear they have the players who can score in transition. Wright and Freeman combined for a layup plus one, and Sapp + Wright were creating drive and dish chances all second half.
The margin hovered around 30 for the majority of the second half as the Hoyas experimented with a smaller, quicker, younger lineup. Even Omar Wattad saw significant minutes, entering with five to play and immediately making his mark on the game, following a missed three pointer with a strip that sprung Tyler Crawford to feed Chris Wright for a layup.
It was all over but the Jansen at this point, and Bryon entered to much fanfare two minutes from time and Wright and Wattad kept raining jumpers from all over the court. Much to cheer for this afternoon and much to learn from as well in Georgetown’s 87-55 victory. Tasted good…and it’s good for you!
(AHEAD: Omar’s offensive explosion, Wright’s offensive stuff, the ascent of Austin, and the rest of the news from Attack of the Freshmen in the PLAYER EVALUATIONS)
