Georgetown Basketball: Success should be measured in baby steps
After playing several close games, head coach Patrick Ewing and Georgetown basketball scored a close victory over Seton Hall
Coming into Feb. 10th’s game against Seton Hall, Georgetown basketball had lost four in a row. In three of the losses, the Hoyas failed to hold onto leads and made game-deciding mistakes down the stretch. Their inability to close out games has come against foes from the top and the bottom of the Big East.
So many were painful that it is impossible to choose the worst. There was a one-point home loss lowly DePaul. Then there was a game-tying four-point play by Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett at the end of regulation. How about the four-point loss to Providence where the Friars ended the game on a 9-0 run?
No matter which one fans found more heartbreaking, it was a distant memory after the Hoyas 83-80 win over Seton Hall. The Hoyas finally had the late game heroics go their way as Marcus Derrickson capped off a 22-point, 18-rebound performance by hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left.
At the postgame press conference, Coach Patrick Ewing expressed his happiness with his team’s resolve.
"“We could have easily let the rope go but we fought,” Head Coach Patrick Ewing said after the game. “We came into the half with a 13-point lead and we went up a little more, but they are a very good team, they fought back and cut the lead and they tied it. We did a great job of fighting back and keeping our composure and making the shot at the end to secure the win."
So much was made out of Georgetown’s out-of-conference schedule but it was largely much to do about nothing. The Hoyas are at the beginning of a program rebuild that not only saw a change in coaching but a drastic change in style. Out was the Princeton-based offense of John Thompson III and in was Patrick Ewing’s NBA philosophy. A tougher schedule could possibly have had the team further behind than where they are now
The biggest impact in the system change has shown up in one of the worse categories for a coach, turnovers. Georgetown came into the Seton Hall game turning the ball over on 21.4% of their possessions. That ranked 315th in the nation, according to KenPom.com.
But in the win over Seton Hall, Georgetown only turned the ball over 13 times. Their primary ball-handlers, Jonathan Mulmore and Jagan Mosely, combined for only four turnovers. That’s a far cry from how they performed in the first 10 conference games, where they combined for 48 turnovers (4.8 per game).
The Hoyas’ ability to take care of the ball allowed them to show off how difficult their offense can be. Not only has Marcus Derrickson benefitted but freshman JaMarko Pickett continues to flourish. In the win over Hall, his versatility was on full display. He had already proven that he was a good spot up 3-point shooter but now he’s showing off his ability to finish at the rim along with being able to pull up off the dribble. In four of the last six games, he has scored 16 points or more.
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Fellow freshman Jahvon Blair has also shown improvement as the season has progressed. In Ewing’s offense, there are a quite a few high screen and rolls at the top of the key. Mulmore and Mosely generally drive off the screen and roll. Blair brings another dimension when the Hoyas get to that set. He is their most effective point guard shooting off the screen and roll action. In back to back contests against Creighton and Xavier, he flashed some serious chops, scoring 21 and 19 points, respectively.
It’s easy to look at Georgetown’s record and be misled by the progress they’re making. They’ve gone from being competitive to playing close games to having the ability to close games. This is the beauty of rebuilding a program, it’s measured in baby steps.