The Casual Awards: Georgetown Beats Syracuse

What’s up, guys? While you were wearing comfy sweatpants and shoveling freezing rain off your porch, we were violently throwing oranges against a wall and declaring victory against our 2016 woes. Before moving on to the inevitable loss to Greensboro on Thursday night, we’re here to hand out awards to the most deserving. Away we go…..

Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award

LJ Peak.

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone can just settle down about how much our Class of 2018 recruits have underperformed. L.J. Peak doesn’t want to hear about that nonsense. All he did against ‘Cuse was score 23 points, pull down 11 rebounds and dish out four assists in one of the most well-rounded games of his career. Peak was the rock that the Hoyas needed; and he has recently demonstrated a proclivity to do whatever Georgetown needs to move forward. Shortly after handing out ten assists against Coppin State (which was the highest assist total since Markel Starks handed out 11 assists two years ago), L.J. was the difference-maker again on Saturday.

For those of you who have expressed concern about the lack of player development in the last few years, just look at Peak. The guy has gone from a below-average shooter who fouls too often and commits too many turnovers to Georgetown’s most balanced and important player. Keep up the good work, young killer.

And OMG, did you know that Peak is from Gaffney, SC, which is the hometown of President Frank Underwood? Thanks for telling us, Jay Bilas! We’d never heard that one.

The “Get ‘Em A Body Bag” Award:

Jonny Mulmore

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All of you haters were waiting for Jonny Mulmore to break out of his funk and contribute to the squad in a meaningful way. Despite only connecting on two of nine three-point attempts all season, our guy Jonny didn’t think twice about letting #10 fly from deep with the Hoyas clinging to a four point lead late against the Orange. The high arcing splash that resulted, reminiscent of the Alabama Rainmaker and #2 numbermate Jon Wallace

and his beautiful throws from deep, gave the Hoyas a seven point lead with 2:36 to go, and boosted their win probability from 76.3% to 93.5%.

For most of 2016, the JuCo junior was giving us Mul-LESS, but with a few minutes to go in one of the biggest games of the year, we were finally treated to the Mul-MOST performance of the year.

(NYHoya note: I’m calling him “Jonny” from here on out and I don’t give a shit what you think.)

Welcome Back Kotter Award:

Reggie Cameron aka Killa Cam.

“get in the car, and don’t touch nothin’, sit in the car”

Not so long ago, Cameron was rumored to be done with the program. Whether he was fretting about his lack of minutes this season or just having a bad November, none of that mattered against the Orange. Because on Saturday, Reggie didn’t have time to feel sorry for himself.

With Agau and Derrickson in foul trouble and Copeland off the team, JTIII needed someone to find seams in the middle of Syracuse’s zone, and for at least a few plays on Saturday, Reggie was the guy. During a key juncture just before the under 4 timeout, Reggie caught a pass at the foul line and connected on a massive jumper to give the Hoyas a bit more breathing room.

Regardless of what you think about RC5, just remember that when the game was on the line at the Dome, Killa Cam stepped up when we needed him the most. Let’s hope he keeps it up for the rest of this season.

The John Wooden Award for Drawing up Master Game Plans:

JTIII.

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All of you haters can sit the eff down for a second and listen. Sure, JTIII has his fair share of detractors, but if we’re going up against a 2-3 zone, I want JTIII coaching my team. Now that the Hoyas have won four of the last five against the Orange, it’s become fairly clear that Coach T understands how to exploit Syracuse’s weaknesses in the zone.

He shredded the zone with Chris Wright, and then Otto; this time around, we thought we’d have to shoot over the zone to have any chance of prevailing. We were wrong. No matter what his deficiencies as a coach may be, our guy John sure does know how to break a zone. We had Reggie and Marcus and Akoy at the foul line; we had B.J. and Jessie ready to take advantage down low; and we had Rodney and others prepared to shoot over the top. We were prepared as sh*t.

Losing to mid-majors and beating Syracuse. That’s what Georgetown does. PUT IT ON A T-SHIRT, ‘CUSE FANS.

The Where's Waldo Award

Not many of you braved the long and snowy trek up to Lower Canada, but for those of you who did, you were really difficult to spot in the crowd.

Not sure who this YOUNG CHAMPION is, but to be sitting among all of those orange-clad idiots, he deserves his own award. He is truly one tough motherf*cker.

The Patrick Ewing Award for Being a Dominant Georgetown Big Man Award:

Jessie Govan.

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Hey man, we know Jessie has had his ups and downs, but in the second half against the Orange, young Jessie found a rhythm and finished the game with 12 points and ten rebounds. That’s the kind of effort we’re going to need from the super soph every single game. Grab those defensive boards, look for the baby jumpers and step out every now and then for midrange jumpers. We know you have it in you, big fella. Now just do it every night.

The Gerry McNamara Award for Being Hired to the Syracuse Coaching Staff when you have Nothing Better to Do Award:

Eric Devendorf.

I thought I smelled him behind the ‘Cuse bench and then, lo and behold, I was right. It turns out that our guy Eric D. was recently hired as the assistant strength coach for the Orange, which, when you think about it, is probably the perfect role for a guy formerly accused of punching his girlfriend.

I’m sorry, do you not know Eric Devendorf? For those of you who recently graduated or who are still in college, here’s what you missed: During college, he was an above-average player who was involved in multiple fights, including an altercation with his girlfriend. He wasn’t suspended because Jim Boeheim thought the punishment was too harsh.

And that’s when young Eric began his career as the most unwanted journeyman in the history of obscure basketball leagues. For example….

After he graduated, Devendorf went undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft because he just wasn’t very good. He was picked up by the Reno Bighorns in the NBA D-League on December 26, 2009. He was waived on January 4, 2010. On February 9, 2010, he was signed by the Waikato Pistons in New Zealand. On April 12, 2010, he was released by the Pistons following a bar fight. In May 2010, he signed with the Melbourne Tigers. In February 2011, he was released by the Tigers. On November 3, 2011, Devendorf was selected by the Idaho Stampede in the NBA D-League. On January 5, 2012, he was waived. On January 20, 2012, he was reacquired by the Stampede; four days later, he was traded. In August 2012, he was signed by Dnipro-Azot in Ukraine; he barely lasted one season.

[INTERMISSION]

In August 2013, he signed with Hapoel Afula in Israel; in November 2013, he left the team after only six games. On February 24, 2014, Devendorf signed with Ilysiakos of Greece; he quit the team after two games. On March 12, 2014, he signed with the Super City Rangers in New Zealand. On April 25, 2014, he was released because of a back injury. In August 2014, he signed with Proger BLS Chieti of the Serie A2 Silver Basket, but his contract was voided after he failed medical tests. In January 2015, he signed with Gaiteros del Zulia of the Venezuelan League, but was released a month later after failing to appear in any games. And finally, Mr. Devendorf was last seen as a participant in The Basketball Tournament, in which he was ejected from multiple games for verbal altercations and stepping on another player.

BUT IT’S ALL GOOD, YOU GUYS. BECAUSE SYRACUSE. Per Jim Boeheim, “He’s matured as much as any player we’ve ever had. I give him a tremendous amount of credit.”

Welcome to the coaching world, Eric! You deserve it!

The DSR Award for Just Bringing it Every Damn Night:

Rodney Pryor.

Photo credit for the above awesome pic: Dan Kreytak of The Hoya

We like you, RP. And we like you so much more when you don’t force things. Against Syracuse, you just looked SMOOTH. We’ll take 20 points, six rebounds and three assists every night, old man. Keep up the effort and we can do some damage.

The Syracuse University Award for Being 0-3 against Georgetown since Departing for the ACC:

Syracuse University.

BUT WE MISS YOU SO MUCH, GUYS.

The Charlie Hustle Award:

The bartender/waiter at Bar 515 in NYC.

SwordOfBrunner caught the game with a large-ish Hoyas contingent at an official game watch in New York this weekend. More impressive than the turnout, given the trash weather, was the single staff member who attended to roughly 50 fans watching the game. Pouring drinks, serving food, clearing tables...you sir, are an American hero.

The Elias Sports Bureau Award for Really Awesome Stats:

TeamRankings.com.

Trust us, it’s a fun website. You can learn exciting things like the fact that your Georgetown Hoyas are #3 in the country in the percentage of points they score from the free throw line. They also have the 14th best free throw shooting percentage in the country.

Alas, we’re also #292 in defensive rebounding percentage. “Not so good, Al”

The Billy Graham Award for Being Really Good at Preaching:

Jay Bilas.

Look, we like Jay Bilas just as much as the next guy. He’s smart, he’s reasonable, he’s a lawyer, he’s not overtly biased in favor of Duke, and he’s handsome as f*ck. But we’re kind of getting sick and tired of the same old schtick. You have strong opinions about the way the game should be played, Jay. We get it. You’ve already successfully called for changes to the shot clock, the charge call, the circle underneath the basket, the physical style of play, etc. And people listen to you. But it’s getting kind of exhausting to listen to the same thing every night. Ya feel?

On Saturday, Bilas said that L.J. Peak “has a great look on his face when he’s playing.” Huh?

Let’s just agree that you love Young Jeezy, you hate the way the game is played these days, you like to tell jokes about how bad you were at Duke (even though you weren’t) and you like to use the phrase “really good” at least 37 times per game. Alright? Cool. Let’s move on. (Still love you, Jay.)

The Georgetown University Award for Being Terrible before Conference Play even Begins Award:

Syracuse University.

Seriously, how is Syracuse so bad? They have exactly ZERO wins against half-way decent teams this season. I guess this is why they rarely challenge themselves in November and December. Because when they do, they lose. Because they’re terrible.

[SwordOfBrunner note: This was true last year. They made the Final Four. I hate basketball]

The Nikita Mescheriakov Award for Irrational Heat Check Three Point Attempts Award:

Tre Campbell.

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

In an attempt to channel his inner Nikita, Tre has provided a daily facepalm moment every time he inexplicably throws up a shot several feet beyond the three-point line. I mean, it’s hilarious every time it happens, and sometimes they even go in, but please stop doing that. True to form, Lil Tre took one of these shots against ‘Cuse. It was spectacular in all of its glory. Or, the opposite of that.

The Eric Devendorf Award for Having Terrible Facial Hair on a Very Punchable Face:

Tyler Lydon.

I’m sorry, but did y’all know that Tyler Lydon has a terrible moustache and that he has a terrible name for this moustache. Its name is Rico. He calls his facial hair Rico.

That is not a made-up Trumpian story. It’s a true fact. Tip of the cap to Mr. Lydon for having a tremendous game, but sweet Jesus, that is some terrible facial hair.

The 1985 Big East Conference Basketball Award for Being the Greatest Conference of All Time:

The 2016-17 Big East Conference.

In case you’re not paying attention, the Big East this year is straight-up killing it. Despite Georgetown’s early season woes, THE BASKETBALL CONFERENCE has the #1 RPI and dominated its opponents on Saturday during a flawless performance. Given the strength of the league thus far, it’s clear that the Big East will get five teams into the Dance; the only question is whether it will get six or seven. St. John’s is terrible, yes, and DePaul is mediocre, but every other team can compete. Should be a fun, if excruciatingly painful, conference season.

Your Hoyas are undefeated in the post-Isaac Copeland era and are carrying a five game WINNING STREAK into Thursday night’s home affair. No reason to take our foot off the gas now. Let’s keep it going….

Let’s go Hoyas. Beat UNC-Greensboro.