The Casual Awards: Winning > Losing.

NYHoya was at a wedding and missed the game and didn’t get to watch it on DVR until Monday night, and SwordOfBrunner is battling some kind of flu bug:

Mom’s spaghetti is en route, but in the meantime, shake off your disappointment in the Cloverfield Paradox and enjoy this abridged version of the Casual Awards before we battle Butler tonight.

The Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Derrickson.

Diving for loose balls? Check.

An incredibly efficient 22 points on only 12 field goal attempts? Check.

18 rebounds in a game where Georgetown and Seton Hall collectively had 35 and 36, respectively? Check.

ANOTHER clutch three with the game hanging in the balance? Check.

Marcus Derrickson’s development as both an offensive weapon and rebounder have been truly wonderful to watch this season, and his willingness to take big shots for us exhibits the heart of a champion.

The Random Guy in the Student Section Who Wore a White T-Shirt Under His Jersey Award For Flexing After A Strong Finish:

It was close a close race between Marcus Derrickson and the random guy in the student section who wore a white t-shirt under his jersey and flexed his guns after Marcus Derrickson finished a field goal attempt while getting fouled...but Marcus Derrickson won this one, too.

That said, I embrace the opposite of Sad Scott for this new era of Georgetown basketball

and encourage you to continue to flex on ‘em, my guy. Though allow me to suggest a darker t-shirt.

The Gregg Popovich Award for Coaching Excellence:

Patrick Ewing.

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This is the best win of Patrick Ewing’s nascent head coaching career, and the spread pick and roll set triggered by Trey Dickerson and Jesse Govan that led to Doc Derrickson’s game winning three was a great call

that looked really familiar [22 seconds in...]

The Sookie Award for Taking Good Care of the Ball:

The 2017-2018 Georgetown Hoyas

It’s Westminster Dog Show week here in NYC, which means the Knicks are taking their Kristaps-less show on the road to hopefully tank [or just give Emanuel Mudiay regular minutes, same thing], and also means I can shoehorn some dog related content into the Casual Awards, and, lo and behold, LOOK AT THIS GOOD DOGGO:

[Yes, I realize eggs are not balls, but Sookie’s talents needed to be shared]

In any event, the Hoyas are dead last in taking over the ball in Big East conference play, averaging 16.1 turnovers per game. They *only* coughed it up 13 times on Saturday, and in a game that went down to the final seconds, not giving Seton Hall extra possessions made a major difference.

[for those wondering - the best mark in the conference belongs to Villanova, who average 9.1 turnovers a game. Baby steps…]

The Tenacious D Award for Playing Tenacious D:

BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Jamorko Pickett

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Since the Villanova game, Jamorko Pickett has emerged as a force on both ends of the floor, averaging 15 points per game on both timely threes and slick drives to the basket, and providing some great defense like this highlight reel block that would make Dikembe Mutombo proud.

Perhaps his most important defensive play of the game didn’t show up in the box score, when Pickett made a closeout on a wide open Myles Powell, who had made a blistering 6 of 11 treys before his final attempt. While it is still unclear why the Hoyas did not foul on the floor to prevent said game tying attempt, Pickett’s defensive effort to contest the shot made Powell bring the ball down and step under and through to get off his attempt, throwing off his timing and form off ever so slightly, and helped the Hoyas walk off the floor with a victory in regulation.

The Wilson Phillips / En Vogue Award for Holding On:

The 2017-2018 Georgetown Hoyas

The Hoyas’ structural problems, especially with regards to point guard play, have been talked about at great length here. That said, I would imagine inside the locker room they were not lamenting the lack of a pure point guard among them as they endured a series of tough losses, but rather wondered what they could have done differently and/or when their luck would change in those situations. They made it interesting as always given the lead they squandered, but they dug in, held on, and did enough things to come out on top. As astute CasualHoya member SecondEwingEraHoya commented in the game recap via this graphic:

Hopefully they build on this well earned victory tonight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Let’s Go Hoyas. Beat Butler.