Georgetown showed its resilience tonight, beating Chaminade 88-61 just 14 hours after losing a heartbreaker to Kansas the night before. Senior Jason Clark was sublime, scoring a career high 28 points on 10-12 shooting and 6-7 from three point land. Freshman Otto Porter had a new career high of 17 points, to go along with 7 rebounds.
Chaminade is a Division II school, so getting too excited about this win is probably not in our best interest. Yet, it was nice to see the young Hoyas step on the gas in the second half and never let the home team get any momentum going. If Kansas was the stuffing, Chaminade was the string beans, and the game tomorrow against Memphis will be the pumpkin pie. The matchup against Memphis will be another measuring stick for progress, as both teams will be coming off back-to-back games. That said, Georgetown should have the edge in fatigue because Memphis played a two overtime thriller today against Tennessee.
More thoughts after El Jump.
Everybody's favorite tweeter, Jabril Trawick, seems to have turned a corner today, as he looked comfortable in the flow of the offense, took the ball to the rim, and looked much less passive than in previous games. Mikael Hopkins and Tyler Adams seemed tentative in limited minutes, while Greg Whittington continues to impress on both sides of the court. But the main story from the vaunted freshman class is Porter. Granted, it's only been four games, but he has the look of someone who could go down as one of the best Hoyas to ever put on the blue and gray. His midrange jumper is divine, he has a nose for rebounds, and plays with the poise of a senior. Of JT3 coached players, only Greg Monroe and Jeff Green have been in the same stratosphere this early in their careers. Whether he starts or not is irrelevant, it's just important that he is on the floor at least 30 minutes a game. Already, he may be the Hoya I am most comfortable with having the ball.
Clark was phenomenal tonight as well, hitting deep threes and providing leadership that we should expect from a senior. His on-ball defense is still lacking, but hopefully that improves as he sees everyone else putting in work on the defensive end, because he has the tools to be a great defender. As the season progresses, it will be important that Markel Starks creates open looks for Clark on the wing. Luke Winn from Sports Illustrated ran a great piece last year showing that Clark's field goal percentages dip tremendously with a hand in his face, so creating open looks will be imperative. He and Hollis Thompson have two of the prettiest shots in college basketball, it is going to be on Starks and the rest of the crew to make sure that they get open looks.
The Hoyas face Memphis tomorrow at 5:00pm to finish their time at the Maui Invitational. A big win over the 8th ranked team in the country could have the Hoyas sitting in the Top 25 for the first time this season.