Ighoefe Featured In Orlando Sentinel
Class of 2019 recruit Timothy Ighoefe is featured in an Orlando Sentinel article about the growth of NBA interest in Africa.Ighoefe attends school in Senegal, not far from the newly built NBA Academy center."All you have to do here is just focus on basketball and school," Ighoefe said. "You don't have to be worried about anything else. In Lagos [Nigeria], it's different. There are a lot of distractions." "It's a continent with over a billion people, with a fast-growing economy, fast-growing young urban population. That's a good recipe for the NBA long term," said NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum. As for Ighoefe, he has work to do to be prepared for the college level. "I need to work on my speed, running down the floor baseline to baseline," Ighoefe said. Georgetown 90, Richmond 82
Despite missing its starting backcourt to injury, the Richmond Spiders gave the Georgetown Hoyas a game, and then some. Georgetown's 92-82 win before 4,912 at Capital One Arena was not settled into the final minute of play, a reflection of solid offensive play by the Spiders and some spotty defensive work by the homestanding Hoyas all night long.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
This game opened close and stayed that way. The Spiders got strong play early from senior Junius Johnson, who scored eight early points as UR took a 15-14 lead. Georgetown responded with five straight from senior Greg Malinowski and a short basket by Govan, 21-15, en route to a run that saw GU take a 10 point lead at 30-20. But three factors weighted the Hoyas down in the first half: poor shooting from Mac McClung (1-8), poor perimeter defense from James Akinjo, and a silent night on both ends of the court from Jamorko Pickett, all of which spurred on the Spiders to keep things close. Despite eight straight points from Jessie Govan to close the first half, Richmond shot 55 percent from the field and 5-11 from three point lead to close the gap to 40-35 at the break. Five straight from Richmond center Grant Golden opened the second half and the Spiders were within two, 42-40. Despite threes from McClung and Pickett, UR closed to 52-51 at the 14:50 mark. Seven straight points from Mac McClung, en route to a season high 16 points, helped regain the momentum but Richmond kept hanging around. Georgetown got a great game on both ends of the floor from senior Greg Malinowski. Over three series midway in the half, Malinowski fed Jagan Mosely for a basket, sank a long three, and picked up a basket inside to put the Hoyas up 73-62 with 8:50 to play, only to see freshman Jake Wojcik (20 points) keep Richmond in the discussion with outside shooting and crisp interior passing. A pair of baskets each from Govan and Golden kept their respective teams going heading into the final minutes, but Richmond tired late and the Hoyas took advantage. Golden took a missed shot and a gave up a turnover in consecutive series down the stretch, while McClung and Akinjo closed out the scoring at the line. Jessie Govan led all scorers with 29, one off his career high, followed by 16 from McClung, 13 from Akinjo, and 10 from Malinowski. Richmond's starting five accounted for all 82 points it scored, finishing with 12 three pointers but just three offensive rebounds all evening. Georgetown's defense was lacking across the board in this game, and one which will be tested by an underrated Liberty club next week, as the team gets a rare in-season break next weekend. "We played terrible," said Ewing in post-game comments. "If we want to beat the teams I expect us to beat, we have to do a much better job. They shot 12 for 26 from the three. If we can't guard the paint and also the three-point line, we're going to get beat." The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 29 1-5 3-5 2-5 0 6 2 13
McClung 32 2-7 2-5 6-8 3 1 2 16
Pickett 19 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 1 1 3
Mourning 26 4-10 0-0 0-0 3 2 4 8
Govan 36 11-14 0-1 7-7 9 1 1 29
Reserves:
Mosely 19 1-3 0-1 2-4 2 8 1 4
Malinowski 20 2-2 2-4 0-0 7 5 1 10
LeBlanc 16 3-5 0-0 1-1 5 0 1 7
Johnson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Team Rebounds 6
DNP: Blair, Muresan, Robinson, Carter
TOTALS 200 24-46 8-18 18-25 37 24 14 90
Georgetown 93, Campbell 85
A career high 27 points and 12 rebounds by Trey Mourning overcame a 45 point effort from Campbell guard Chris Clemons as Mourning led the Georgetown Hoyas to a 93-85 win over Campbell before a holiday audience at Capital One Arena Saturday.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Georgetown scored the first 10 points of the game and were never threatened, although Campbell guard Chris Clemons did his part to make it competitive. The 5-9 senior scored eight of the Camels' first 12 points as Campbell closed to 15-12, but Georgetown pushed a 15-2 run midway through the half. Clemons led the Camels back to 39-33 with 2:14 to the break, but a Jamorko Pickett three and five straight by James Akinjo within 59 seconds took the Hoyas to a 47-33 lead into halftime.Consecutive threes by Mourning and Akinjo to open the second half extended the Hoyas lead to 53-35, but the Camels never really went away. Georgetown led by as many as 22, but Clemons keyed a 18-3 run late in the game that closed the lead to 84-77 with 1:16 remaining. Josh LeBlanc answered with a basket and a free throw, but Clemons answered with another three to close to 87-80 with 23 seconds left, having scored 25 points in the final 14 minutes of play. A three point play from Josh LeBlanc extended the lead to 89-80 but the Camels weren't through. The Hoyas guarded Clemons on the the next possession, but Clemons fed Isaac Chatman for the basket, 89-83. The teams traded free throws to close the scoring. Clemons was all but unstoppable for the Camels in this one. He scored 18 of Campbell's 35 points at the half but was 9 for 14 in the second half, with five threes and six rebounds to rally the Camels from what had become a steady 20 point deficit. Clemons, who has been favorably compared to a smaller version on Allen Iverson, did all the things scorers need to be successful at the next level. including hitting five of six down the stretch to close the gap. For Georgetown, the unexpected star of the game was Trey Mourning, who eclipsed his career high by halftime and showed both offensive skills and defensive intensity throughout the game. In key stretches where Jessie Govan was disconnected from the offense or where Jamorko Pickett was not effective on defense, Mourning stepped up and drive the Hoyas to a lead that it could defend. With the 27 point, 12 rebound effort, the Mournings become the first father-son combination at Georgetown to each post a double-double in their respective careers. The Hoyas got another strong effort from freshman guard James Akinjo (17 points, four assists) and the kind of sixth man contribution from Josh LeBlanc (11 points, four rebounds in just 15 minutes) that will be in demand as Big East play approaches. Overall, Georgetown shot 49 percent from the field and surrendered just three turnovers after halftime. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 26 4-7 1-4 6-6 2 4 3 17
McClung 23 0-3 2-4 0-0 1 1 1 6
Pickett 21 1-3 1-2 0-0 7 3 1 5
Mourning 34 7-11 1-2 10-13 12 2 3 27
Govan 27 6-9 0-1 1-2 4 2 1 13
Reserves:
Blair 18 0-1 1-5 2-2 6 3 0 5
Mosely 16 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 3 1 3
Malinowski 16 2-2 0-2 0-0 3 1 2 4
LeBlanc 15 5-6 0-0 1-2 4 2 2 11
Johnson 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2
Team Rebounds 1
DNP: Muresan, Robinson, Carter
TOTALS 225 26-45 7-22 20-25 40 21 14 93
Opponent Scoring Records vs. Georgetown
Top Scorers Vs. GeorgetownCampbell's Chris Clemons leads the nation in scoring with a 31.6 average. It's only the eighth time Georgetown has met the nation's leading scorer in a game.Here's the recap of these prior meetings:
Hoyas Sign Second Center For 2019
In confirming the
Little is known about Timothy Ighoefe, a 6-11, 220 lb. center from Lagos, Nigeria, signed this week. Ighoefe played with the NBA Academy-Africa team this summer under the direction of former George Mason Assistant Roland Houston and former Georgetown guard Joe Touomou (C'99) and scored 14 points in one of the team's summer games. He is not listed on any recruiting service lists but is believed to have significant potential. |
Report: Walker Transfers To URI
A Twitter message has announced a transfer for former Georgetown forward Antwan Walker.
"Thank you to all of the schools that showed interest in Antwan during this transfer process," wrote Trey Mines, Walker's former high school coach at H. D. Woodson (DC). "I couldn't be more happy with his decision to join a great program and staff! We are excited and extremely thankful to be a part of the Rhode Island Hoops Family!"The Rams are coached by David Cox, who was an assistant at Georgetown from 2007 through 2010.
The 6-9 Walker averaged 2.6 points in 2017-18 before being kicked off the team last month. He will have three seasons of eligibility with the Rams, beginning in the spring of 2020.
Big East Out of Top 25
For the first time since Feb. 8, 1982, not a single Big East team is on the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week.
The web site Business Insider pointed out that the Big East was last out of the poll on January 26, 1982, but misidentified DePaul (then not a member of the Big East) as having returned for the February 1 poll. Among contemporary Big East teams, it was Georgetown that returned to the poll on February 8, 1982.A pair of losses for Villanova last week sent them out of the top 25 sent them out of the Top 25 for the first time in six years. Other teams with votes include Butler and St. John's.
What are the last appearance in the poll per each Big East team? For Georgetown, it's been too long, having missed the last 60 weekly polls over the past three seasons.
| Team | Last Appearance |
| Villanova | Nov. 12, 2018 (#8) |
| Marquette | Nov. 12, 2018 (#24) |
| Xavier | Mar. 12, 2018 (#3) |
| Seton Hall | Jan. 15, 2018 (#19) |
| Creighton | Jan. 8, 2018 (#25) |
| Butler | Mar. 13, 2017 (#21) |
| Providence | Feb. 15, 2016 (#23) |
| Georgetown | Mar. 16, 2015 (#22) |
| St. John's | Jan. 5, 2015 (#24) |
| DePaul | Nov. 30, 2000 (#21) |
Escape From Montego Bay:
Georgetown 76, South Florida 73 (OT)
Trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, a three pointer by freshman James Akinjo forced an overtime where Georgetown hung on to a 76-73 win over South Florida Sunday in the Jamaica Classic.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
South Florida (3-1) started cold and Georgetown did not take advantage. At one point the Bulls missed 13 straight attempts and 20 of 24 overall, but numerous Georgetown turnovers, poor shooting, and an inability to get the ball inside only allowed Georgetown a 19-11 lead. Mac McClung's first three of the season pushed the Hoyas to a 24-14 lead at the 5:40 mark, but USF answered with a 11-2 run and closed to 28-26 at the half.Georgetown fans then saw a rerun of Friday night's sluggishness versus Loyola Marymount, as USF outscored the Hoyas 17-4 and led by 11, 43-32, before coach Patrick Ewing sat four starters and urged his team to go inside to Govan. that they did--Govan was 1 for 8 in the first half and responded by making none of the next ten points and seven of his next eight shots, as the Hoyas crept back in the game.
Down five, 56-51 with 3:46 to play, the Hoyas went to work. An Akinjo steal and basket closed to 56-53, followed by a Govan three, an Akinjo assist to Josh LeBlanc, and an Akinjo jumper to put the Hoyas up 60-59 into the final minute. Collins answered with a jumper at 0:43, whereupon Jahvon Blair fouled Collins at midcourt, setting up two more free throws, 63-60. On the next play, Akinjo had an open look from the top of the key and tied the score, 63-63, his only three of the game. A late drive from USF netted a basket after the whistle to sound overtime.
Georgetown never trailed in the overtime, with early baskets from Govan and LeBlanc putting the G-men up 67-63. USF closed to 71-69, then forced a Akinjo travel with 1:05 to play, but returned the favor 11 seconds later. Akinjo answered with a drive, 73-69, and added a free throw at the 0:36 mark, 75-70. A late three closed to 75-73, but Blair hit one of two to close the scoring.
Both teams improved their shooting considerably from the first half. From a 30 percent shooting mark at halftime, the Hoyas shot 54 percent in the second half, while USF went from 26 percent in the first half to 46 percent thereafter. The game may have been won at the foul line, where Georgetown went 21 for 27 from the line compared to USF's 16 for 27.
After its weekend in Jamaica, Georgetown has a lot of work ahead of it. Outside of Jessie Govan and Josh LeBlanc, its shooting is lacking and its defense is inconsistent. Everyone on this team has work ahead of them, and while the next three opponents are no better than South Florida, they are probably no worse, either, and could step up and give Georgetown the kind of games it saw this weekend.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 36 4-8 1-4 3-4 2 5 2 14
McClung 17 2-4 1-3 0-0 2 0 1 7
Pickett 33 1-4 0-1 0-0 5 1 1 2
Mourning 17 1-2 0-1 1-2 5 0 4 3
Govan 39 8-15 2-4 5-5 6 1 4 27
Reserves:
Blair 30 0-1 1-5 1-2 2 2 2 4
Mosely 13 1-1 0-0 4-6 2 1 2 6
Malinowski 7 0-1 0-0 4-4 1 0 1 4
LeBlanc 26 3-4 0-0 3-4 10 1 3 9
Johnson 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Carter 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team Rebounds 6
DNP: Muresan, Robinson
TOTALS 225 20-40 5-18 21-27 42 11 22 76
Trouble In Paradise:
Loyola Marymount 65, Georgetown 52
Tap the brakes, folks.
Coming off the team's exciting 88-80 win at Illinois, Patrick Ewing's Hoyas turned in a listless effort in a 65-52 loss to Loyola Marymount in the Jamaica Classic Friday. The Hoyas missed their first 15 three point attempts and were ineffective all evening.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Neither team hit double figures in the first ten minutes of a sleepy first half. A pair of Josh LeBlanc dunks paced Georgetown to an early 14-010 lead, but weak defense and an inability to shoot from outside allowed Loyola to get back in, taking a 18-17 lead. Georgetown ended the half on a 9-3 run to take a 26-21 lead despite shooting 35 percent for the half.The Hoyas opened up the second half with all the intensity of a Kenner League nightcap, turning the ball over four times in the first four minutes. LMU guard James Batemon, held to five points at the half, outscored the Hoyas 12-2 to open a 36-28 lead and the Lions were not seriously threatened thereafter. The Lions led by as many as 15 in the second half as Georgetown shot with neither intensity no accuracy, hitting its first three at the 3:19 mark of the second half after missing its first 14. Batemon, who scored 22 of LMU's 44 second half points, closed the game out at the free throw line.
Georgetown's starters all looked the worse for wear. Mac McClung continued his three point odyssey, missing all three attempts and finishing scoreless, while Jamorko Pickett went 0-5 overall. Govan, led the scorers with 20 points, much of it from the foul line. The starters combined to go 2-16 from three point range and shot 25 percent from the field. The Lions picked up 13 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the uninterested Hoyas 38-28.
This is the first time since 1957-58 that the Lions have won four consecutive games by more than 10 points each. It also marks the Hoyas' first loss to a West Coast Conference school since Dec. 29, 1996, a loss to Pacific at a neutral site game in Las Vegas.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 31 2-6 1-5 3-4 2 2 4 10
McClung 20 0-0 0-3 0-0 1 0 3 0
Pickett 30 0-3 0-2 0-0 5 1 1 0
Mourning 20 2-5 0-1 0-0 2 1 1 4
Govan 36 4-9 1-5 9-10 11 2 2 20
Reserves:
Blair 12 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0
Mosely 11 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 3 2 1
Malinowski 11 1-1 1-2 0-0 1 0 2 5
LeBlanc 24 5-6 0-0 2-4 5 0 2 12
Johnson 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Team Rebounds 3
DNP: Muresan, Robinson, Carter
TOTALS 225 14-30 3-19 15-20 30 10 19 52
Green: Give McClung Some Room
Three games in, the hype around freshman Mac McClung is out there. But former All-American Jeff Green told the Washington Post that people need to take a step back.
"Let him grow into who he's going to be and then you define it," said. You can't put these expectations [on him]. You think he's going to be, like, the next [Iverson], people been calling him 'White Iverson'. There's no player that's going to be Allen Iverson. He's going to be who he's going to be."First 2019 Recruit Signs Letter Of Intent
The Georgetown Class of 2023 has its first member, as Columbia (SC) center Malcolm Wilson signed a letter of intent Wednesday.
The 6-10, 205 lb. center is a project player. His coach, Yerrick Stoneman, told WIS-TV that "Offensively, we've said he's lacking a little bit, but he's worked so hard on that. Last year, I wouldn't even ask him to shoot a 15 to 19 foot jump shot. This year, we've got sets where he can have the opportunity if he chooses to. So, offensively, he's gotten a lot better."Wilson is projected as a backup to junior Omer Yurtseven, who is sitting out the 2018-19 season as a transfer. Georgetown has three open scholarships for this year's recruiting cycle.
A Fight To The Finish: Georgetown 88, Illinois 80
The class of 2022 has arrived.
The trio of James Akinjo, Mac McClung and Josh LeBlanc combined for 45 points, with an Akinjo floater with 40 seconds to play proving the clincher as Georgetown earned its biggest non-conference win of the Patrick Ewing era, an 88-80 win at Illinois in the opening day of the Big East-Big Ten Gavitt Games.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
The first half was high energy from the start. Illinois raced to a 6-0 lead as Georgetown gave up three turnovers within its first four possessions. The Illini scored on five of its first six attempts and staked a 10-3 lead, but the Hoyas began to work inside and cut into the lead. Baskets by Josh LeBlanc and Jamorko Pickett closed the lead to two at the 15:10 mark, 12-10, but an 8-0 Georgetown run took advantage of a 0-7 run by the Illini and GU took the lead with 12:27, 16-15.Jessie Govan has just two shots in the first half as guard play drove the first half. James Akinjo scored eight points and carried six assists, while Mac McClung shook off some early jitters to score on back to back drives to give GU a 32-26 lead at the 4:02 mark. McClung sat with two fouls and the Illini quickly took advantage, scoring nine straight before a Jahvon Blair three at the 2;15 mark, 35-35. Shooting 59 percent from the field but with 10 turnovers, the Hoyas took a 39-37 lead into the break.
Georgetown opened the second half with two early baskets but a quick foul to Pickett sent him to the bench for much of the second half as Ewing opted to go with Greg Malinowski on defense. Leading 47-40, the Hoyas absorbed a 10-2 Illini run at the 15:32 mark, 50-49, but answered with back to back baskets by McClung and Govan to retake the lead, 53-50. Georgetown shot 67 percent to open the second half while Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu continued his hot hand, tying the score at 55 and leading the illini on a 9-0 run midway through the second to half to earn a 65-61 lead.
The Hoyas weren't done. A McClung assist to Mosely closed the margin to 65-63. A steal, basket, and foul shot by LeBlanc tied the score at 66, but a pair of turnovers and 6 for 8 shooting by the Illini set the Hoyas back, 72-68 with 7:37 to play. LeBlanc answered at the 6:24 mark, but with the UI defense tightening around Govan and Akinjo, Greg Malinowski hit a big three to put the Hoyas up 73-72 at the 5:24 mark, McClung picked up a steal and a dunk, 75-72, and Georgetown never trailed thereafter.
Georgetown pushed the lead to 79-74 with under 4:00 left, before more Illinois defensive pressure forced turnovers and the Illini closed to 79-78 with 2:21 to play. The teams traded foul shots with 1:54 to play, 81-80, before a camera review negated a LeBlanc block and turned the ball back over to Illinois. A missed three by Illinois' Kipper Nichols returned the ball to GU with 1:03 to play, whereupon Akinjo drove the lane without fear and sent a floater skyward that connected and earned him a foul shot to go up 84-80.
Returning to the game for his defense, Pickett picked up a late block with 0:22 to play and the game was not in doubt thereafter.
A great game across the board. Every player that saw game time scored, with 38 points from the GU bench.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 36 6-9 0-2 7-7 3 7 3 19
McClung 29 6-10 0-4 0-0 3 4 3 12
Pickett 15 1-2 1-2 0-2 6 0 4 5
Mourning 27 1-2 0-1 1-1 5 1 2 3
Govan 32 3-5 1-2 2-2 6 2 2 11
Reserves:
Blair 13 1-1 3-4 0-0 1 0 1 11
Mosely 11 1-2 0-1 2-2 1 0 1 4
Malinowski 11 0-0 1-2 0-0 3 1 0 3
LeBlanc 21 7-9 0-0 0-0 7 0 0 14
Johnson 7 3-4 0-0 2-2 2 0 0 8
Team Rebounds 2
DNP: Muresan, Robinson, Carter
TOTALS 200 28-43 6-19 14-16 39 15 16 88
Some Fun From The Twitterverse
Last year, it was a candid question to Marcus Derrickson. For one night, anyway, Patrick Ewing spoke a little too soon about James Akinjo and social media was there:
what's that patrick? pic.twitter.com/FvmdD3dv3e
— nick (@nick_pants) November 14, 2018
Georgetown 85, Central Connecticut St. 78
In a game that should not have been as close as it was, head coach Patrick Ewing learned a little more about what the Georgetown Hoyas have (and still do not have) following a 85-78 win over Central Connecticut State before a Saturday evening crowd of 5,270 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
What the Hoyas have, of course, is Jessie Govan. The 6-10 senior opened the game with Georgetown's first seven points and 11 of its first 13, facing only limited opposition from Central's 6-9 Deion Bute, who struggled with early foul trouble. The Blue Devils (1-1) kept it close with some early threes and by staying away from Govan inside. A three pointer by Ian Krishnan brought CCSU to a 15-13 lead, its second and last lead of the game, and Georgetown responded in kind a 7-0 run, capped by a Mac McClung dunk midway through the half. It was the only highlight of the game for McClung, whose touch was off all night and who looked frustrated at the defensive sets offered him.From a 25-22 Georgetown lead with 6:22 in the first half, the Hoyas need the first half on a 12-4 run to take a 11 point lead at the break. Georgetown committed only two fouls the entire first half and this kept CCSU off the foul line, while Georgetown was 9 for 12 from the line at the break.
That the Blue Devils were able to make it a game in the second half started with the fine play of guard Ian Krishnan, who scored 10 of CCSU's first 11 to open the half and got the game back into single digits, where it stayed for most of the second half. Central closed to five at the 14:10 mark, 46-41, before Govan went inside for a pair of baskets to push the lead back to nine, 50-41. Georgetown pushed the lead to 11 for all of 13 seconds before CCSU leading scorer Tyler Kohl, who had been quiet in much of the first half, began to speak up. Kohl hit back to back threes to bring the Blue Devils back to five at the 11:07 mark, and the game began to ebb and flow with the Hoyas in the lead, but not comfortably so.
Two keys to the Central attack were possible areas of improvement for Georgetown. The Blue Devils were 4 for 14 from three point range in the first half but shot 8 for all after halftime, taking advantage of the perimeter experience of freshman Mac McClung and James Akinjo. Inside, the Blue Devils were more effective going inside on Trey Mourning, who had a career high 12 points but was weak defensively.
Four runs by the Blue Devils in the half were answered by the Hoyas, of three of which were answered by three pointers, including a pair from Jamorko Pickett and one from Govan. Pickett's final three with 1:40 to play put the Hoyas up 12, and while the Blue Devils continued to play to the final whistle, Georgetown was not seriously threatened thereafter.
Krishnan's 28 points led all scorers as the Blue Devils shot 54 percent from the floor in the second half. Govan led all Georgetown with 26 as four Hoyas were in double figures. But three areas remain points of emphasis as the Hoyas prepare for a week long road trip this week, beginning at Illinois.
Guard play is a work in progress. Akinjo and McClung were a combined 4 for 20 and each struggled to create their own shot. Next, inside play was heavily dependent on Govan, as Mourning and Josh LeBlanc were beaten to the basket. Third, while Jamorko Pickett is comfortable sitting on the perimeter, he needs to be comfortable inside the three. Pickett took no two point shots in this game and has just one attempt this season.
But it was Pickett's defense, bit his offense, that won praise from Ewing in post-game remarks.
"He was on their best player, so he had to exert himself," Ewing said. "He made shots for us when he needed him to make shots."
"I took more threes than I should have, but they were good shots," Pickett said.
After a one year absence, Georgetown returns to the Big East-Big Ten Gavitt Games Tuesday at Illinois, followed by the Jamaica Classic this weekend. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 32 1-5 1-5 8-8 3 7 1 13
McClung 24 2-5 0-5 0-0 1 4 2 4
Pickett 30 0-0 4-7 0-0 5 1 4 12
Mourning 32 4-6 0-1 4-5 6 2 3 12
Govan 32 8-11 2-3 4-7 8 1 0 26
Reserves:
Blair 18 0-1 3-7 0-2 0 4 0 9
Malinowski 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 0
LeBlanc 16 1-2 0-0 2-2 2 2 0 4
Johnson 10 0-1 1-1 2-2 4 0 0 5
Team Rebounds 2
DNP: Mosely, Muresan, Robinson, Carter
TOTALS 200 16-30 11-29 20-26 34 21 10 85
Georgetown 68, Maryland-Eastern Shore 53
Jessie Govan led a balanced scoring effort as the Georgetown Hoyas pulled away from Maryland Eastern Shore, 68-53, in the season opener for both schools.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Georgetown started a pair of freshmen at guard for the first time in a season opener since Nov. 23, 1990, when Joey Brown and Charles Harrison took to the court against Hawaii Loa. Mac McClung opened the scoring and James Akinjo added an early pair of threes as Georgetown led 15-9. The Hawks closed to 17-15 before its outside shooting caved; the Hawks were a mere 1 for 12 from three point range in the first half as the Hoyas built a 31-15 lead.
Nine early turnovers held the back the Hoyas, with a 31-21 lead at the half. The Hoyas built a 17 point second half lead early in the second, 38-21, but more turnovers followed the G-men as UMES closed to 41-29. The lead returned to 17 midway in the half and stayed there, as the Hawks, 7-25 last season, could not maintain any consistent shooting. Free throws from Greg Malinowski pushed the lead to 21 inside seven minutes remaining, where it remained for much of the remainder of the game until the final two minutes of play.
Nineteen Georgetown turnovers did not win Patrick Ewing's approval, given how this was a major problem last season.
Govan's 13 led all scorers. The Hoyas also got 11 from Jamorko Pickett, 11 points and 11 rebounds from Josh LeBlanc, along with eight each from Akinjo and McClung.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Akinjo 26 0-3 2-5 2-2 1 7 0 8
McClung 23 4-8 0-2 0-0 2 1 1 8
Pickett 22 1-1 3-4 0-0 4 2 1 11
Mourning 28 2-7 0-2 3-4 7 1 0 7
Govan 26 3-4 2-3 1-2 7 0 4 13
Reserves:
Blair 14 0-0 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 3
Mosely 18 0-1 0-1 0-0 3 2 1 0
Malinowski 18 0-0 1-3 4-4 4 1 1 7
LeBlanc 23 4-4 0-0 3-5 11 0 3 11
Carter 2 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 1 0
Team Rebounds 1
DNP: Muresan, Robinson, Johnson
TOTALS 200 14-27 9-24 13-19 40 14 13 68
Ranking The Coaching Jobs In The Big East
Georgetown is seen as the best coaching job in the Big East, but not without some jabs at the program, according to a Stadium anonymous poll of Big East coaches and assistants.
"It's the best job in the league because it has everything you need," said one assistant. "So many players locally, big-time resources, a new practice facility and tradition." But another cautioned that "There hasn't been much energy at Capital One Arena, and it's probably too big for Georgetown, especially when they aren't winning. ""The only other [knock against GU] has been the Thompson family, and the perception that Big John runs everything over there," said one Big East head coach. "That didn't help when they were trying to hire a coach."
One assistant coach minced no words on the worst job in the league, DePaul.
"DePaul was good, but the only people who remember are those in the nursing homes."
HOYA Basketball Preview
