NCAA Basketball: Biggest takeaways from 2019 2K Empire Classic
Georgetown – Jamorko Pickett the x-factor for Hoyas
The key trio for the Hoyas this season has been big man Omer Yurtseven and guards Mac McClung and James Akinjo. Their presence was felt in the matchup against Duke… when they were on the court. McClung only played 13 minutes in the game due to foul trouble, while Yurtseven scored all 21 points in the second half when the Hoyas were behind. All in all, the Georgetown reserves did a decent job when they played more than expected.
A guy who did struggle was Pickett, who scored just two points in 19 minutes played. It was a far different performance than the one he had against Texas, where he produced 15 points. When the junior forward plays well, Georgetown is very hard to beat. But when he struggles, like he did when the Hoyas fell to Penn State earlier this season, the team lacks other capable scorers to replace him. While the first names mentioned are key to the team on a daily basis, Pickett’s play will determine the team’s ceiling/floor this season.
Duke – The team will go as far as Vernon Carey takes them
There are two huge takeaways from the pair of games with the Blue Devils. The first being that freshman big man Vernon Carey is growing to be a force that the rest of NCAA Basketball will struggle to have an answer for. He had his third-straight 20-10 performance and has solidified himself as the go-to offensive weapon for Duke. Carey may not be the kind of player that Zion Williamson and Marvin Bagley III were (nearly impossible standards to compete with anyways) but he’ll still be one of the best big men in the country.
While his stock is going up, Matthew Hurt’s is going down. After a great opening half against Kansas to start the season, the freshman forward has been held under double-digits four of the next five games. That includes a DNP in the second-half against Georgetown, as Wendell Moore and Jack White took his place. Assuming he’s not injured, Hurt’s inability to impact the offense unless he’s wide open for a jump shot is a problem. He’s not going inside and is a bit of a defensive liability.
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It’s too early to give up on the former five-star recruit but Coach K has a history of playing certain players 35+ minutes and having a short bench. With Moore playing very well along with Cassius Stanley, Tre Jones and Carey, Hurt may be finding fewer minutes going forward unless he can break out in the rest of the non-conference slate.