The Morning After: Georgetown Hoyas vs. Duquesne Dukes

Georgetown forward Otto Porter leaves game after getting hit in the face | CollegeBasketballTalk
Freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the way offensively with 19 points off the bench, and forwards Mickael Hopkins (eight points, 14 rebounds) and Greg Whittington (15 points) were productive as well. But the Hoyas, playing just two days after their game against Florida was called at halftime, struggled when it came to taking care of the basketball as they finished with 17 turnovers. And if Porter has to miss any game action as a result of the injury things get tougher for a team expected to go through some growing pains as a result of their overall youth.

Georgetown vs. Duquesne Post Game Quotes - Georgetown University Official Athletic Site
JT3 on pushing the tempo in the second half... "We want to run. This year's team is a team that can really get up the floor, but to run you have to get rebounds and you have to get stops, you can't just say, let's run. I think we have the kind of team where it doesn't matter who brings the ball up. Greg can bring it up, Otto can bring it up, our guards can bring it up, we can just get it and go and everyone else can fill the lanes. With that being said, we made some bad decisions at key points. Two possessions, I don't know the exact time line, but under three minutes, where we don't have a clear advantage and we're still trying to push the ball up, but that's what this time of year is for is to figure that out."

Vox Populi " Postgame Roundup: Hoyas stumble past Dukes 61-55 to open season
Without Porter, Georgetown’s offense looked to be out of sorts, something junior forward Nate Lubick admitted to after the contest. "I think that might have been part of why we looked a little sloppy is that we started thinking about Otto not being in the game too much and people started to look for their own offense a little too much. Even without Otto, we need to be willing to stick to our stuff and run everything through."

Georgetown loses Otto Porter, but finds a way to get by Duquesne - Washington Times
"We were just getting the ball to the open guy and he was open," Thompson said. "D'Vauntes can score — he can shoot and he can score. He was the recipient. Our guys found him and he put the ball in the basket. But we needed that. There’s no doubt about it. We were kind of struggling a little bit there and he made shots."

Hoyas Best Duquesne In Home Opener - The Hoya
Everyone anticipated that the Georgetown men’s basketball team would face some challenges early in its nonconference schedule. Very few people anticipated they would come against Duquesne.

Georgetown vs. Duquesne: Otto Porter Jr. leaves with injury, Hoyas hold on - The Washington Post
The Hoyas started four players 6-8 or taller; Duquesne, none. Nonetheless, the Hoyas struggled to get the ball inside and couldn’t get much to fall from the perimeter, while Duquesne bolted to an 8-3 lead. Smith-Rivera came in for junior Markel Starks roughly five minutes into the game and knotted the score with a three-pointer, then struck again from long range to put Georgetown ahead.

Smith-Rivera steps up after Porter injured in Georgetown victory | WashingtonExaminer.com
Two nights after their first attempt at a season opener, the Hoyas looked like they were playing outdoors again. Markel Starks (nine points) slipped in the lane as he drew a foul and missed his first five shots. Hopkins' first free throw attempt appeared to catch a wind gust -- his airball sailed right of the rim -- and Georgetown had four straight possessions that ended in turnovers.

Big East Opening Weekend: The Good, The Bad, And The UglyRush The Court | Rush The Court
The Hoyas are not deep enough to withstand a major injury to their best player and they can’t expect Smith-Rivera to shoot the lights out every night, so they will need Porter to come back soon and contribute offensively. Regardless of how much time he is forced to miss, it was still a bad injury for a player with high hopes this season.

Otto Porter’s Head Injury Exposes Georgetown’s Weakness InsideRush The Court | Rush The Court
In losing Sims, Georgetown not only lost 11.6 points and six rebounds per game, they also lost a team-leading 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per contest too. So although Hopkins had a couple of comfortable possessions in the second half and finished with 13 points on 5-12 shooting, a broader look at his line — including zero assists, four turnovers, and no blocks — more accurately reflects his growing pains.