The Casual Awards: Hoyas Sweep St. John’s

The government may be shutting down, but the Casual Awards remain open for business.

And what better time to celebrate our lads in blue and gray than shortly after an INSTANT CLASSIC against the Johnnies of Queens, Nueva York.

Gather round and distract yourself from political gridlock and the inevitability of another Patriots Super Bowl victory with the latest and greatest edition of your CASUAL AWARDS. Away we go!

The Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:

Marcus Derrickson.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This one was easy. Our guy Marcus gets the nod after playing a team high 47 minutes, scoring a team high 27 points, pulling down a team high 11 boards, scoring ALL of our points in the first overtime, and hitting a tightly contested three from NBA range plus to force a second overtime session.

Derrickson has been one of the unequivocal bright spots in a tough season to date. His offseason workout regimen and long nights in the gym are definitely paying off in a major way. Ewing and Orr have had a tremendous influence in molding young Marcus’s game, as he has added a range of post moves, interior passes and midrange jumpers to his already stellar perimeter touch. He no longer looks tired or slow, and he’s finally starting to grab rebounds like a man.

And before you get on him for those missed free throws in overtime, Young Doc is shooting 88% from the charity stripe on the season.

Keep doing your thing, big man.

The Larry Johnson Award for Game Changing Four Point Plays:

Jagan Mosely.

The second OT session was off to a ragged start, with the two teams combining for 1 made FG in 5 attempts early on, before our boy Jiggy received a pass in the corner after some nice Georgetown perimeter ball movement and drilled a three pointer in front of the Hoya bench while being fouled.

He calmly drilled his FT to give Georgetown a six point cushion, and the breathing room proved crucial down the stretch.

Next time flex the L, Jagan.

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

Jessie Govan.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve already documented Jessie’s impressive junior year improvements, but it’s worth repeating because Inspector Go-Go-Go-Van has done a remarkable job of running the floor, rebounding and staying out of foul trouble. The fact that Saturday’s game marked the first time Jessie was in foul trouble is nothing short of remarkable, especially after a season in which he was perpetually too slow to stay on the floor.

Jessie is straight up competing with MANCHILD Angel Delgado for being the biggest double-double machine in the conference. It’s obvious that his big man sessions with Big Pat and Louis are paying off. One more year of seasoning and Jessie should be the best big man in the league.

Also, if you go pro after this season, we will cry, so please don’t. Don’t make me bring in my chief negotiator.

https://view.yahoo.com/show/saturday-night-live/clip/4615741/the-herlihy-boy-house-sitting-service?

The 2016 Chicago Cubs Award for Breaking Obnoxious Curses:

Your Georgetown Hoyas.

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to defeating the Johnnies on Saturday, the Hoyas had lost nine consecutive home overtime games. Yes, it’s true. We did our research. NINE STRAIGHT HOME OVERTIME LOSSES. How is that even possible? If it seems like we are always terrible in extra frames at home, it’s because we are. Since 2000, your Hoyas have played 19 home overtime games and, including the most recent victory, have only won FIVE of them. This was Georgetown’s first home overtime win since December 14, 2008 against Memphis in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration. [game recap here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/12/13/ST2008121301441.html]

Don’t believe us? See if any of these games ring a bell

Cincy in 2009

Syracuse in 2009

Marquette in 2014

Radford in 2015

Butler in 2016

Butler in 2017

Seton Hall in 2017

Syracuse in 2017

Butler (again!) in Dec 2017

Sorry if you’re curled up in the fetal position sobbing right now...but seriously, Butler has defeated us three consecutive times at the Phone Booth / Vault. And they won all three games in overtime! Again, how the shit is that even possible?

Hopefully Saturday’s win was the start of a new streak for us. Watch out, world.

And bring your green hat.

The Entenmann’s Award for Having the Worst Turnovers:

Your Georgetown Hoyas.

::checks to see if Entemann’s is an SB Nation advertiser::

::sees coast is clear::

Entenmann’s Apple Turnovers are trash.

Similarly, our turnovers are no laughing matter. This one, however, always makes me laugh:

Anyway, back to the lecture at hand—Jagan, Jonny, Jamorko and Jahvon (and, let’s be honest, EVERYONE ON THE TEAM) have all struggled at times to hold onto the damn ball. Whether this is a talent issue, a system issue, a coaching issue, a discipline issue, or a “names that begin with the letter J” issue, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that the Hoyas are 337th in turnovers per game, and there are only 351 teams in all of college basketball. We are officially the most turnover prone team in a major conference, and yet, it somehow looks even worse than those statistics indicate.

If there were a stat for most offensive fouls in the country, I’m sure we’d be at or near the top because of our tendency to ram into stationary players and move while screening. And as much as I love our periodic full court press, what’s the point of stealing the ball if you’re just going to give it right back? Our turnover-fest against STJ at the Garden (Round 1 between Mullin and Ewing) may well have been the worst game of basketball we’ve ever witnessed in our lives.

Please stop turning the ball over. We have enough to worry about in this country.

The Verve Pipe Award for Being Only Freshmen:

The Freshmen: Jahvon Blair, Jamorko Pickett, and Antwan Walker.

Alright, that turnover critique felt harsh, so we just want to say, keep your heads up, my dudes. You’re only freshmen, but you have a ton of promise.

But just in case these turn out to be the last Awards of the year (likelihood: 70%), a few words of advice for each of you:

Jamorko: First, we’re sorry that people keep misspelling your first name. We will never make that mistake. We know the second vowel is an “o” and not an “a”.

Second, we know it’s been an up and down year. You came in with the most promise, and our roster is going through a transition, so Coach Pat clearly gave you the green light to shoot whenever you wanted (because, frankly, we needed scorers). When conference play began, you had some jitters: you were a little loose with the ball, you shot a bit too often and you started to get pushed around by bigger guys.

But fear not: the STJ game was a perfect example of what can happen when you play within yourself and exhibit your strengths. Your 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists kept the game competitive when Jessie G. was in foul trouble. Your four makes from beyond the arc demonstrate not only your smooth shooting stroke, but also what happens when you are patient and take shots in the flow of the offense. And nice work on those entry passes to the bigs. Love the improvement. You’re gonna be a star in this conference soon enough. I look forward to the days when we’re screaming “Stick it, Pickett!” Keep pushing.

Jahvon: You probably have the prettiest shooting stroke on the team and you’re the closest thing we have to a pure shooting guard. You have a knack for getting to the rim and you’ve been consistent from the line.

While it’s true that you’ve had some frustrating moments with the ball, you’ll only get better. Work on that handle, especially the right hand, keep plugging away on defense, and soon enough you will become a staple of our offense. Love your energy. Keep it going, young warrior.

‘Twan: You logged in some solid minutes early in the season, but Coach Pat has understandably kept you behind our more veteran bigs, but your time will come. For a guy your size, you’ve demonstrated a tremendous amount of hustle and athleticism, and you’re solid when we go to a press. Just keep working on your shot (to keep defenses from sagging), continue to hit the weight room, and keep grinding. Keep that energy up.

The “Do You Work On That Shot?” Award for Hitting a Step Back One Legged Jumper:

Marcus Derrickson.

Fortunately, the next time Big Pat asks Marcus if he ever practices the stepback fall-away jumper, he can say yes. The Good Doctor connected on one such Dirk Nowitzkian effort in the second overtime while doubled on the low block AND absorbing contact.

The Anthony Tolliver “Take Charge” Award:

[this is a blocking call but i really wanted to use this Joey Crawford GIF]

Jagan Mosely.

Per the stats wizards, NBA dude Anthony Tolliver leads the world in drawing charges (http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-nba-player-whos-so-good-at-taking-charges-we-created-a-stat-for-him/).

We couldn’t find the data for the equivalent player in college, but Jiggy has to be pretty close to the top, right?

Without fail, the Jersey native draws contact, falls to the floor, pumps his fist, and declares victory. It’s like he was coached by Bob Hurley or something.

Keep up the good work, Jiggy. You’ve got a little Jabril in you, young man.

The Jahvon Blair Award for Having a Name that Sounds Like DeJuan Blair:

Jahvon Blair.

I keep calling him DeJuan Blair and it pisses me off. For those of you who are too young to remember DeJuan Blair, he was a beast of a power forward who played for Pitt (and in the NBA) a decade ago. He would terrorize us.

And yet, DeJuan Blair was probably in my top 5 of opposing Big East players who I respected more than hated (even though he would abuse us constantly) because of plays like this.

Here are a few other guys I admired, despite their monstrous games against the Hoyas (in no particular order):

Jae Crowder

Marcus Hatten

Kris Jenkins

Dominique Jones

Quincy Douby

Kris Dunn

Kemba Walker

Kelan Martin

Eric Devendorf*

*Just kidding. He is literally the worst.

The “Man, I Wish we had Just Beaten Syracuse Award”:

All of us.

We’re about to miss the Tournament for the fourth time in five years. At the moment, we’re closer to DePaul than Villanova. And yet, if we had just somehow found a way to hold on against that crappy Canadian orange-clad team...

We’ve enjoyed being undefeated against ‘Cuse ever since they deserted the Big East. It hurt to lose to those guys. And it’s even worse because they handed Big Pat his first loss.

Had we won, the rest of the season would’ve been gravy. Everyone agrees.

Boo. Not boo urns.

The Joel Embiid Award for Commitment to Trusting the Process, No Matter How Dark Things Seem:

The diehard fans who continue to attend every Georgetown basketball home game.

This season’s home slate has featured the incredibly frustrating home overtime loss to Syracuse (after we blew a 13 point second half lead), the heartbreaking double overtime home loss to Butler (in which we gave up a 20 point lead), the shellacking by Creighton, and the absolute undressing at the hands of Villanova (we were down by 40+ points at home!), and we’re not even halfway through Big East play yet. Those of you that attend [NYHoya included] probably feel like gluttons for punishment sometimes...

...and yet, we’ve got to trust the process. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

For those of you who show up to these games...this award is for you, for not listening to the folks who shake you and say “JUST STOP DOING THIS TO YOURSELVES!” and for investing the time and money into watching this program as it tries to reinvent itself again.

Almost midway through conference play, your Hoyas have performed, well, as expected? Though they have not notched any wins against likely NCAA Tournament teams, they’ve hung tough with a few, and the young Hoyas will have plenty of opportunities to break through on that front with upcoming tilts against Nova, Xavier (twice), Butler, and Seton Hall.

Keep grinding.

Keep fighting.

Keep hoping Tom Brady gets kidnapped the day before the Super Bowl like Dan Marino did in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Trust the process.

Let’s go Hoyas. Beat DePaul.