After off the court turmoil, Georgetown Basketball got a must-needed win over Ok State. Can the Hoyas keep things going positive?
The lazy narrative for Georgetown Basketball’s upset win over Oklahoma State would be “addition by subtraction” in reference to Josh LeBlanc and James Akinjo leaving the team.
The Hoyas 81-74 victory over the Cowboys was more based on the skillset of the players on the court not what happened off.
When the season started, the backcourt of Akinjo and Mac McClung was thought of as one of the best in the country. The dynamic sophomores set the Big East on fire as freshmen.
What was ignored what the addition of Omer Yurtseven. The North Carolina State transfer is more of a traditional big man than a stretch big. The impact on Akinjo, McClung, and the team as a whole played out in real-time.
At the beginning of the season, the struggles of Akinjo and McClung were overlooked because of Yurtseven’s effective play. Then add in the fact that head coach Patrick Ewing was playing 11 players, sometimes all in the first half, a game and you can understand how hard it was for the team to build chemistry.
Unfortunately, Akinjo could never find his footing as his role evolved. With Yurtseven inside, Akinjo’s driving lanes weren’t as prevalent. That led to a slight rise in three-point attempts, a lower shooting percentage, and a dip in assists. It takes time for any player to adjust nevertheless a sophomore.
As for McClung, Yurtseven’s struggle with getting in foul trouble might have been a blessing in disguise. Ewing seemed to call more set plays for McClung earlier in games as a way to mitigate the developing dependence on Yurtseven. That would help him come out of his early funk as he started reminding everyone of how good he was as a freshman.
With Terrell Allen starting last night, Georgetown had a more traditional point guard in the lineup. There wasn’t a need for Allen to get shots. That gave McClung the opportunity to get more shot attempts in the spots he likes them. McClung would score 33 points on 12-21 shooting. It also allowed Yurtseven to get plenty of touches as he scored 19 points on 20 shot attempts.
Prior to his departure, Akinjo had led the Hoyas in shot attempts in two of the last three games. Both of those games were losses. That’s not to say he’s the reason. That’s to say that the ‘big three’ were still trying to figure out how to play with each other.
Most of all, each player looked more comfortable on the floor. That could be because the Hoyas no longer have two ball-dominant players (Akinjo and McClung) on the perimeter. It could be because players like Jahvon Blair feel as if they’ll get more minutes without having to compete for them. Strangely enough, Georgetown could play more relaxed without as many contributing players.
By going from a “big three” to a “big two” the roles on the floor became a lot more defined. On one hand this makes Georgetown less dynamic but on the other hand, it could make them a more cohesive basketball unit. We will never know what type of chemistry Akinjo, McClung, and Yurtseven would have developed by March.
But, for now, the Hoyas might look for comfort in their roles. Something that is needed if they want to make the tournament in Ewing’s third season.