The Hoya Basketball Preview 2011-2012: Nov. 4, 2011

table of contents Jason Clark has been proving doubters wrong on the court for years. This year may be his last chance to do it again.

JASON CLARK | 16

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men ROSTER & SCHEDULE HOYAS IN CHINA BIG EAST SHAKE-UP

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10 12 14 16 20

2010-2011 RECAP 2011-2012 PREVIEW FRESHMEN HOLLIS THOMPSON JASON CLARK AROUND THE BIG EAST

women

ROSTER & SCHEDULE 2010-2011 RECAP 2011-2012 PREVIEW FRESHMEN The seniors of the women’s basketball team aim to capture a national championship for the program they helped resurrect.

SENIOR WOMEN | 30

PRODUCTION STAFF CONNOR GREGOIRE PAT CURRAN EAMON O’CONNOR LAUREN WEBER SHAKTI NOCHUR MEAGAN KELLY CHRIS BIEN SUZANNE FONZI

AROUND THE BIG EAST SUGAR RODGERS SENIORS

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS & DESIGNERS Issue Editor Sports Editor Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor Layout Editor Photo Editor Deputy Photo Editor Copy Chief

Photo and design of front cover and poster: Chris Bien Photo and design of back cover: Meagan Kelly

Marissa Amendolia, Preston Barclay, Nikita Buley, Michelle Cassidy, Kavya Devarakonda, Kathryn DeVincenzo, Eddie Fearon, Lawson Ferguson, Evan Hollander, Alyssa Huberts, Maggie Law, Web Leslie, Keith Levinsky, Leonard Olsen, Michael Palmer, Emily Perkins, Beno Picciano, Remy Samuels, Hansky Santos, Jeremy Tramer, Ashwin Wadekar, Porter Watkins, Sam Weiss This special issue of The Hoya is dedicated to the memory of the late John Curran — avid hoops fan, accomplished journalist and devoted family man.

The Hoya’s basketball preview is published annually in November. © 2011. The Hoya, Georgetown University, twice weekly. No part of this publication may be used without the permission of The Hoya Board of Editors. All rights reserved. The Hoya’s basketball preview is available free of charge, one copy per reader, at distribution sites on and around the Georgetown University campus. Additional copies are $1 each.

basketballpreview | 3

men

rosters&s NO. 21 JASON CLARK

NO. 0 TYLER ADAMS

NO. 23 AARON BOWEN

6-FOOT-2, 170 POUNDS

6-FOOT-9, 270 POUNDS FRESHMAN CENTER

6-FOOT-6, 200 POUNDS FRESHMAN FORWARD

SENIOR GUARD

NO. 2 GREG WHITTINGTON

NO. 25 JOHN CAPRIO

6-FOOT-8, 205 POUNDS FRESHMAN FORWARD

6-FOOT-5.5, 210 POUNDS SOPHOMORE GUARD

NO. 3 MIKAEL HOPKINS

NO. 32 MOSES AYEGBA

6-FOOT-8.5, 222 POUNDS FRESHMAN FORWARD

6-FOOT-8.5, 250 POUNDS SOPHOMORE CENTER

NO. 5 MARKEL STARKS

NO. 34 NATE LUBICK

6-FOOT-2, 175 POUNDS SOPHOMORE GUARD

6-FOOT-8.5, 238 POUNDS SOPHOMORE FORWARD

NO. 22 OTTO PORTER

NO. 55 JABRIL TRAWICK

NO. 1 HOLLIS THOMPSON 6-FOOT-7, 205 POUNDS JUNIOR FORWARD

NO. 14 HENRY SIMS 6-FOOT-10, 232 POUNDS

6-FOOT-8, 200 POUNDS FRESHMAN FORWARD

SENIOR CENTER

Nov. 12

SAVANNAH STATE

Noon

Jan. 9

CINCINNATI

9 p.m.

Nov. 14

UNC GREENSBORO

7 p.m.

Jan. 15

ST. JOHN’S

Noon

Nov. 21

KANSAS *

11:50 p.m.

Jan. 17

DEPAUL

7 p.m.

Nov. 22

TBA *

TBA

Jan. 21

RUTGERS

Noon

Nov. 23

TBA *

TBA

Jan. 28

PITTSBURGH

4 p.m.

Nov. 28

IUPUI

7 p.m.

Feb. 1

CONNECTICUT

7 p.m.

Dec. 1

ALABAMA

9:30 p.m.

Feb. 4

USF

11 a.m.

Dec. 3

NJIT

1 p.m.

Feb. 8

SYRACUSE

7 p.m.

Dec. 10

HOWARD

Noon

Feb. 12

ST. JOHN’S

1 p.m.

Dec. 17

AMERICAN

Noon

Feb. 18

PROVIDENCE

7 p.m.

Dec. 22

MEMPHIS

7 p.m.

Feb. 21

SETON HALL

7 p.m.

Dec. 28

LOUISVILLE

7 p.m.

Feb. 25

VILLANOVA

2 p.m.

Dec. 31

PROVIDENCE

2 p.m.

Feb. 27

NOTRE DAME

7 p.m.

Jan. 4

MARQUETTE

7 p.m.

Mar. 3

MARQUETTE

2 p.m.

Jan. 7

WEST VIRGINIA

Noon

HOME

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6-FOOT-5, 205 POUNDS FRESHMAN GUARD

AWAY

* MAUI INVITATIONAL

schedules NO. 5 ADRIA CRAWFORD

women

NO. 21 JASMINE JACKSON

6-FOOT-1 SENIOR FORWARD

NO. 14 SUGAR RODGERS

5-FOOT-9 FRESHMAN GUARD

5-FOOT-11

NO. 10 TAYLOR BROWN

NO. 23 SAMISHA POWELL

NO. 11 ANDREA WHITE

NO. 24 AMANDA REESE

NO. 12 TOMMACINA MCBRIDE

NO. 33 BRITTANY HORNE

5-FOOT-7 FRESHMAN GUARD

JUNIOR GUARD

5-FOOT-8 SOPHOMORE GUARD

6-FOOT SOPHOMORE FORWARD

NO. 2 TIA MAGEE 6-FOOT-2

6-FOOT-2 SENIOR FORWARD

6-FOOT-1 SENIOR FORWARD

6-FOOT-1 FRESHMAN FORWARD

NO. 13 SYDNEY WILSON

NO. 34 ALEXA ROCHE

NO. 15 MORGAN WILLIAMS

NO. 42 VANESSA MOORE

6-FOOT-6 JUNIOR CENTER

SENIOR FORWARD

NO. 3 RUBYLEE WRIGHT 5-FOOT-3

6-FOOT SENIOR GUARD

5-FOOT-9 SENIOR GUARD

SENIOR GUARD

6-FOOT-2 JUNIOR CENTER

Nov. 11

LONGWOOD

7 p.m.

Jan. 7

USF

7 p.m.

Nov. 13

MARYLAND

2 p.m.

Jan. 10

NOTRE DAME

7 p.m.

Nov. 16

LSU

7 p.m.

Jan. 15

SYRACUSE

Noon

Nov. 19

HOUSTON

2 p.m.

Jan. 17

MARQUETTE

9 p.m.

Nov. 21

MONMOUTH

7 p.m.

Jan. 22

LOUISVILLE

5 p.m.

Nov. 26

GEORGIA

12:30 p.m.

Jan. 24

WEST VIRGINIA

7 p.m.

Nov. 27

TBA

TBA

Jan. 29

RUTGERS

1:30 p.m.

Nov. 30

COPPIN STATE

7 p.m.

Feb. 4

CINCINNATI

2 p.m.

Dec. 4

RIDER

2 p.m.

Feb. 8

SETON HALL

7 p.m.

Dec. 7

PITTSBURGH

7 p.m.

Feb. 11

CONNECTICUT

4 p.m.

Dec. 11

GWU

2 p.m.

Feb. 14

VILLANOVA

TBA

Dec. 21

MIAMI

5 p.m.

Feb. 18

PROVIDENCE

2 p.m.

Dec. 29

DARTMOUTH

7 p.m.

Feb. 25

SYRACUSE

1 p.m.

Dec. 30

VERMONT

5 p.m.

Feb. 27

ST. JOHN’S

4 p.m.

Jan. 3

DEPAUL

7 p.m.

basketballpreview | 5

greatbrawlofchina

An ugly fight overshadowed an otherwise successful trip for the men’s basketball team this August.

Pat Curran

Hoya Staff Writer

It was intended to be an easy, diplomatic trip to promote goodwill between the world’s two superpowers and to provide the Georgetown men’s basketball team with some early exhibition games.

Instead, the journey proved as difficult as scaling the Great Wall.

A violent, bench-clearing, game-ending brawl in a contest against the Chinese Basketball Association’s Bayi Rockets cast a massive shadow over the Hoyas’ tour of China this summer. Fists, feet and chairs flew as the sporting representative of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army came to blows with one of the United States’ premier college teams.

The brawl raised doubts about everything from Georgetown’s toughness to the stability of Sino-American relations in the 21st century. And while Head Coach John Thompson III and the Hoyas realized the seriousness of the situation, most found a silver lining.

“Being a part of that, going through that experience, I do think that has helped expedite the coming-together process of this team,” Thompson III said. “Quite literally, they realize that you’ve got to have each other’s back.”

Thompson III was not the only one to recognize the potential benefits of an otherwise ugly situation. Senior center Henry Sims was among several Hoyas who echoed the coach’s assertion that the fight had, in fact, brought the team closer together.

“It’s good to know somebody’s in your corner if something goes down,” Sims said.

Many questions remain about the nature of the fight. The grainy internet videos leaked from

The fight began with 9:30 left in regulation and the score tied at 64. the event seem to expose the Rockets as the primary instigators of violence, and the foul shot numbers indicate a game blatantly refereed in favor of the home team. Still, the situation was resolved rapidly and diplomatically with Georgetown extending an olive branch the morning after the melee.

Although the brawl was handled as well as could be expected from a public relations perspective, it still overshadowed an otherwise suc-

The Hoyas’ eventful trip was a hot topic at media day last month.

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All photos SINA.COM

cessful tour. The Hoyas won every game they finished — no small feat, considering that they played exclusively professional teams — by an average of nearly 20 points per game.

The Blue and Gray showed off a balanced scoring attack with several players posting double figures in each game but no one eclipsing the 20-point mark. Seasoned veterans like junior forward Hollis Thompson and senior guard Jason Clark shared the scoring load with two highly touted incoming freshmen, forward Otto Porter and guard Jabril Trawick. Perhaps the most impressive performance came in the Hoyas’ first game, when they played against the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons. Porter led six players in double figures with 16 points, and Georgetown nearly reached the century mark in a 98-81 victory.

The team appeared to enjoy themselves off the court, touring the Great Wall, Old Shanghai and Tiananmen Square, among other sites. Thompson also hosted a clinic for Chinese high school coaches at the Nike Festival of Sport.

“It was fun,” Clark said. “It was an experience.

We had a good time together, a good time spending time with each other.”

The Hoyas undoubtedly wish the fight with the Rockets hadn’t marred their trip, but the bonding experience against China’s physical professional teams will help to prepare them for play in the Big East — which, at least for this season, is still the toughest conference in basketball. For a young team missing several key players from last year, that experience was essential.

“We’re going to be much different this year, and we’re going to lean on the incoming guys a lot,” Coach Thompson said. “From that perspective, the trip was invaluable.”

toobigtofail?

The nation’s premier basketball conference appears to be splintering as schools chase the real moneymaker: football.

we hardly knew ye TCU left before playing a single game in the Big East, and Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia are also defecting to major football conferences.

For the latest on the Big East, see our online coverage at thehoya.com/sports

COURTESY Fort Worth star-telegram/max faulkner

lawson ferguson Hoya Staff Writer

U

nfortunately for Georgetown’s student-athletes, much of the talk surrounding them and their teams over the next few years will have nothing to do with their accomplishments.

Instead, there will be much attention devoted to the game of musical chairs being played in college athletics, a game that has thrown the future of many conferences into question. But no major conference’s future is in as much danger as that of the Big East.

After the defections of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas Christian and West Virginia, the Big East is left with just five football teams.

Schools like Central Florida, the service academies and even Boise State have been suggested as possible replacements in the weeks following news of the departures.

The problem for a basketball school like Georgetown — which does not field a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision — and several of its Big East counterparts like Villanova, Marquette and St. John’s, is that the money in collegiate athletics is in football.

Georgetown’s decision-making process is significantly different than that of schools with big-time football programs.

“We don’t have the same level of football as the institutions that are making these changes,” Georgetown men’s basketball Head Coach John Thompson III said. “Basketball will be at the forefront of all the decisions we make.”

Perhaps the most obvious impact of the Orange leaving the Big East is the potential disappearance or marginalization of the longtime Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry, which is treasured by fans on both sides.

Complicating matters, it is not clear that all of the five football schools remaining in the Big East — Connecticut, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and Rutgers — want to stay. Not only does this make it harder to attract schools to replace the four that have left, but it incentivizes all of the FBS football schools to start exploring other options, even those who want to remain in the Big East. Because of the Big East’s large number of non-football members, this has created an interesting problem for the conference’s athletic directors: the basketball schools do not want to dilute the quality of play in their sport of choice, but it is obvious that increasing football membership is the only way to keep the conference together, even if it means accepting teams like East Carolina or UCF that have relatively weak basketball programs.

“What’s going on in our conference, in many ways, you knew change was coming,” Thompson III said. “Intercollegiate athletics is going through a transformation, a

change, an evolution, and what will happen in 26 months with the Big East is part of that change.”

These changes won’t have any immediate impact on Georgetown’s schedule, but that doesn’t mean Thompson III expects his players and staff to be able to tune out talk of conference realignment. The bas-

ketball program’s future might be in flux, but the games still have to be played. “[The Big East] is the talk of the day, and it is important,” Thompson III said. “You can’t ignore it. You can’t put your head in the sand and block it out, because it is a part of who we are and what we do.”

basketballpreview | 7

endofa for Georgetown to take on a No. 9 Missouri squad in Kansas City, Mo.

Julian Vaughn blocks a shot (left), and Chris Wright drives the baseline (right).

Evan Hollander Hoya Staff Writer

It was a season that opened amid the fanfare of a No. 20 national ranking and a fourthplace finish in the Big East coaches’ poll. But by the time the Hoyas limped off the court after an early exit in the NCAA tournament, the verdict on the 2010-2011 campaign was decidedly “disappointment.”

The winter and early spring were filled with ups and downs for the Blue and Gray — the thrill of two eight-game win streaks and the agony of five straight losses to end the season, punctuated by three painful routs at the hands of Cincinnati, Connecticut and Virginia Commonwealth; the excitement of victory over a tough Syracuse squad at the Carrier Dome; the devastation of seeing then-senior guard Chris Wright lying on the floor of Verizon Center with a broken hand.

These were the extremes of Georgetown’s seventh season under Head Coach John Thompson III. The season started with an away trip at Old Dominion Nov. 12. The gut-check 62-59 win set the tone for much of the nonconference season. The Hoyas went on to steamroll Tulane and easily cleared Coastal Carolina, Wofford and North Carolina State to win the Charleston Classic. A win over UNC-Asheville over Thanksgiving weekend set the stage

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Georgetown 111, Missouri 102 (OT) After going back and forth all night, the Hoyas trailed the Tigers, 93-89, with 26 seconds to go. After Wright nailed two free throws with 15 seconds left and Missouri made only one of a pair, Georgetown got the ball back. Then-sophomore forward Hollis Thompson missed his three-point attempt, but then-freshman forward Nate Lubick got a rebound and put the ball in the hands of then-junior guard Jason Clark, who found Wright for the equalizer as time expired. The Blue and Gray dominated in overtime, never letting the Tigers within four points and sealing an emphatic and thrilling road win.

Returning to the District, Georgetown dispatched Utah State. With that victory the Hoyas had won their first eight games of the season.

Georgetown then headed north to Philadelphia to take on Temple but fell in the final seconds, 68-65. After the loss, the Blue and Gray rebounded to win three straight, including home victories against Appalachian State and Loyola and a 17-point road victory at Memphis.

But as 2010 turned into 2011, the wheels began to come off the bus. On Dec. 29 the Hoyas were routed, 69-55, by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The Irish had a stellar defense, and despite then-senior guard Austin Freeman’s 21 points, then-senior guard Ben Hansbrough and the rest of the Irish were too much for the Blue and Gray. A win against perennial league laggard DePaul on New Year’s Day was unconvincing, and Georgetown went on to lose three in a row: a close decision at St. John’s, then two at home against West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

But amid the gloom and a slide in the rankings from No. 9 before the Notre Dame loss to No. 23, the Hoyas managed to conjure up another eight-game win streak — one that almost redeemed their season.

The streak began on a road trip to New Jersey, with Georgetown besting league foes Rutgers and Seton Hall. The Hoyas got a measure of revenge with a 77-52 win over St. John’s on a snowy night in D.C. before narrowly edging No. 8 Villanova in Philadelphia.

When they returned to the District, the Blue and Gray defeated No. 15 Louisville, 62-

’10-’11 RECAP

59, and outlasted a furious 43-point performance from Providence’s then-senior guard Marshon Brooks to win that contest, 83-81.

With the turnaround from the New Year blues, Georgetown, ranked No. 11, was able to take a five-game streak to upstate New York and archrival No. 12 Syracuse.

Georgetown 64, Syracuse 56 In another game that was close from the get-go, the Hoyas and the Orange traded leads back and forth for much of the contest. Georgetown managed to outscore Syracuse, 15-3, in the final 6:40 of the game on the back of strong efforts from Freeman, who scored 14 points, and Wright, who had nine assists. Lubick’s critical dunk gave the Blue and Gray the lead and turned the momentum decidedly in the Hoyas’ favor. It was Georgetown’s first win in Syracuse since 2002.

Flush from victory over the Orange, the Hoyas eased past a solid Marquette squad, 6960, and then saw their streak snapped when they were downed, 78-70, by Connecticut in Hartford, Conn. While the loss was disappointing, the Huskies were a solid team and few were concerned, especially after Georgetown travelled to Tampa, Fla., to defeat South

anera

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Yet another season ended in heartbreak as a red-hot Virginia Commonwealth squad brought the careers of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Julian Vaughn to an undignified close. in for an ugly showing at Madison Square Garden.

The draw put them at an immediate disadvantage as they were paired with a surging Connecticut.

Just as he had been in Hartford, then-junior guard Kemba Walker was too much for the Hoyas, and the Huskies prevailed easily, 79-62.

Still, Georgetown fans had some reason to remain optimistic, as Wright was able to return for the NCAA tournament. Despite a four-game losing streak and blowout defeats against Connecticut and Cincinnati, Georgetown nabbed a No. 6 seed playing in Chicago. And the opponent, Virginia Commonwealth, didn’t give anyone much pause.

Chris Wright broke his left hand against Cincinnati Feb. 23 at Verizon Center.

Florida, 61-55. No one thought that it would be the last time the “D.C. Three” would win in their Georgetown uniforms.

Cincinnati 58, Georgetown 46 The chill that greeted the Hoyas on their return from Tampa wasn’t just in the air — it was on the hardwood at Verizon Center. Georgetown and Cincinnati played evenly, if poorly, through much of the first half. But it was the opening minutes of the second half that saw the effective end of Georgetown’s season when Wright broke his hand while scrambling for a loose ball. Without Wright to handle the ball, the Blue and Gray went more than 12 minutes without a field goal and simply could not get in sync. Cincinnati’s victory set up a senior night against Syracuse without one of the team’s most visible seniors — Wright — on the floor.

After waiting in line overnight, the Georgetown faithful expected to see improvement from the chaos of the final minutes of the Cincinnati loss and in truth, they saw a good basketball game. But then-freshman guard Markel Starks was simply not as skilled as Wright in managing the ball and Jim Boeheim’s Orange left Verizon Center with a 58-51 win.

Matters got even worse for the Blue and Gray in the final game of the regular season, a rematch at Cincinnati. This time the Bearcats manhandled the Hoyas even more ferociously, pulling off a 69-47 rout that left Georgetown limping into the Big East tournament, barely clutching one of the single byes awarded to the regular season’s eight best teams.

With Wright still unable to play, the Hoyas were

VCU 74, Georgetown 56 A game that was supposed to be a return to form for the Hoyas quickly turned ugly during a first half in which they committed 14 turnovers and let the Rams hit nine three-pointers.

Down 35-24 at the intermission, the Blue and Gray started the second half slowly and found themselves down by 18 before mounting a small surge, cutting the lead to 51-36. The sputtering offense simply couldn’t connect, though, and the Shaka Smart-directed Rams crushed the Blue and Gray, building up an insurmountable 63-38 lead. While Thompson and Starks worked to keep Georgetown in the game, there was simply no way to cut the lead, and Georgetown was left not only disappointed by the loss but devastated by another blowout.

That wasn’t the way it was supposed to end for the D.C. Three. But a season that began with high hopes ended the same way Georgetown seasons have ended for three years running now: with a tough defeat in the opening round of a postseason tournament.

From bottom left to top right: Julian Vaughn, Austin Freeman, Nate Lubick. basketballpreview | 9

clark, thompson lead young team Michael Palmer Hoya Staff Writer

A fresh start. That’s what’s ahead for Georgetown.

After a tumultuous four years that all seemed to have the same disappointing ending, this year’s team looks to improve that record with quiet players who have a lot to prove. With 10 underclassmen, the Hoyas have more question marks than certainties this season.

One thing is clear, however: This team is much, much bigger than last year’s.

The Hoyas lost 6-foot-1 guard Chris Wright, 6-foot-3.5 guard Austin Freeman, 6-foot-9 forward Julian Vaughn and 6-foot guard Ryan Dougherty to graduation, and 6-foot-3 junior guard Vee Sanford and 6-foot-7 junior forward Jerelle Benimon transferred. Replacing them will be 6-foot-5 freshman guard Jabril Trawick, 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman forward Aaron Bowen, 6-foot-9 freshman center Tyler Adams and three freshman forwards all at least 6-foot-8: Otto Porter, Mikael Hopkins and Greg Whittington.

With their size, the freshmen could make an impact. Head Coach John Thompson III showed off his recruiting skills yet again with the Class of 2011, cracking the top 20 in ESPN’s rankings.

“I anticipate that we may be a little bit — across the board — deeper than last year’s team,” Thompson III said. “It’s just a function of guys being ready to get out there.”

Thompson III managed to lure Adams away from Duke, and the big man looks like an impact player. Adams hurt his ankle during the Kenner League,

which could be a potential long-term issue, but it’s the Mississippi native’s build that makes him invaluable. He’s not tall enough to be a pure center at 6-foot-9, but he’s got the muscle to be a forceful inside presence — something the Hoyas sorely lacked last season.

Bowen, who missed last season due to shoulder surgery, is an athletic redshirt freshman. Sophomore center Moses Ayegba is out indefinitely with an ACL injury after not logging many minutes last year.

“That was part of the reason for taking the summer trip. We had such an infusion of new faces,” Thompson III said.

“This group is in many ways [a] polar opposite of the group we had last year.”

That leaves the Hoyas with five players who have spent some legitimate time on the floor, all of whom have question marks.

“Inasmuch as we have inexperienced guys, we have guys that are ready to step up. Each person can fill a little piece of what we’ve lost and hopefully go beyond where we were last year,” Thompson III said.

The two leaders will be senior guard Jason Clark and junior forward Hollis Thompson.

Clark is a seasoned vet but had a down shooting year in 2011, and the Hoyas will need much more consistency from him. Clark shot just 22-of74 from three-point range in Big East play, barely good enough for 30 percent, while averaging just 11 points per game.

“I kind of went through a little slump last year, and that can’t happen for good

Hollis Thompson will look to shoulder more of the scoring load this year.

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Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims and Jason Clark (left to right) averaged a combined 24.2 points per game last season. shooters,” Clark said.

Thompson also struggled in his starting role as a forward early in the season. Initially one of the five starters, the 6-foot-7 Thompson couldn’t provide the Hoyas with a natural inside presence and was eventually substituted for sophomore forward Nate Lubick around the start of Big East play.

Thompson flourished off the bench, providing the Hoyas with a spark, and demonstrated his all-around play. Thompson was second on the team in rebounds with 4.4 boards per game and shot 52 percent from the field, including a 46 percent clip from beyond the arc.

Both Thompson and Clark should be able to pass off some of their rebounding duties this year. The two combined to grab 8.5 rebounds per game last season, but with a more experienced Lubick in the post and four freshmen that each stand 6-foot-8 or taller, Thompson and Clark will be able to focus more on playing around the three-point line.

Senior center Henry Sims is the most interesting returning player. A highly touted recruit when he entered Georgetown, the 6-foot-10 center failed to log significant minutes for two years. Last season, he showed a nice turnaround jump shot and some decent passing ability but again averaged just 14 minutes per game. Sims needs to become a rebounding and defensive presence as the only true center on the Hoyas’ roster, with the offensive skills that make him a natural fit for the Princeton offense. Sims added some muscle for this season — he’s benching 220 pounds — which he’ll need in the rough Big East.

“That’s been my focus this summer, to make sure my inside game is where it needs to be and take it even further. … I’ll take that on my

“Our youth will not determine success or failure this year. It’s a group that’s ready.

They will be ready.”

— Head Coach John Thompson III shoulders. … Me and Nate play well together. I enjoy playing with Nate and vice versa, so I feel like the chemistry is definitely there.”

Lubick fared well his freshman season, playing 20 minutes per game and averaging 3.5 rebounds per game. Despite a few ill-advised three-point shots, he proved to be a solid scorer and excellent passer in the post. Nevertheless, he’ll have to improve both his rebounding and scoring for the Hoyas to have a shot.

“I came from what I’d like to think is a pretty good conference in high school, but there’s nothing you can to do get ready for being in the frontcourt of the Big East,” Lubick said.

“You got to be ready to throw some out there.”

Sophomore point guard Markel Starks has been described by Lubick and Sims as a vocal leader on the floor but also needs to improve offensively, having shot less than 30 percent in limited time last year.

“I’m starting to see a great point guard in him. He can pass the ball well. He shoots the ball

well. At times he’s timid about shooting the ball.

There’ve been plenty of times where I’ve had to yell at him to shoot the ball,” Clark said.

“As a point guard you want to get others involved. … I was a little hesitant to shoot because I wasn’t making shots,” Starks said.

Ultimately, outside of Clark and Thompson, none of the players on this team have seen much playing time. All will be tested by the rigors of the league. In the best case scenario, this season will help build toward the future, especially with so many young players.

“Our expectations don’t change,” Thompson III said. “The reality of it is, we are young.

Now you say that, you forget about it, and your expectations are still the same. Our youth will not determine success or failure this year. It’s a group that’s ready. They will be ready.”

Ready or not, the Hoyas have nothing to lose this year. But they have everything to prove.

basketballpreview | 11

newblood

A lanky swingman from rural Missouri and another DeMatha product headline what looks like the Hoyas’ best recruiting class in years.

CONNOR GREGOIRE Hoya Staff Writer

firstimpressions

A year ago, freshman status meant something entirely different for a Georgetown men’s basketball player than it does today. A year ago, thensenior guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman were the backbone of a supposed national championship contender that knew what type of team it was going to be and who was going to be on the court come tip-off. Unless your name was Nate Lubick or Markel Starks, you were more or less along for the ride.

That’s not the case anymore. This year’s preseason version of the Hoyas isn’t sure of its identity just yet, and unlike its predecessor, its starting five is far from predetermined. With the losses of Wright, Freeman and forward Julian Vaughn to graduation and sophomores Vee Sanford and Jerrelle Bennimon to transfer, starting spots are up for grabs this fall — even for the freshmen.

“You look at last year, and good, bad, right or wrong — we can debate that till the cows come home — the roles were pretty much set, even coming into the year, and the competition throughout the year didn’t change any of that,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “Whereas this year it’s open, and [the players] know that. That intensity level has shown up in workouts. … There is without a doubt a high level of competition at every spot, which is good.”

But would Thompson actually start a freshman against Savannah State on opening day?

“That’s not out of the question at all,” he said.

“That’s not out of the realm of possibility at all.”

The most-hyped rookie of the bunch, forward Otto Porter, will likely be one of Thompson’s first options off the bench if he doesn’t find his way into the starting lineup by Nov. 12. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward was a late commit to Georgetown this past April and the fifth and final Hoya recruit to officially sign. He enters as the highestranked freshman of the class (No. 42 in the ESPNU

12 | thehoya

From left to right at Midnight Madness: Otto Porter, Mikael Hopkins, Jabril Trawick (dunking over Hopkins).

100), and his acquisition bumped Georgetown up to No. 14 in ESPN’s Class of 2011 recruiting rankings.

Porter’s physical build and array of on-court abilities might draw comparisons to junior forward Hollis Thompson; both are tall, lanky swingmen who can handle the ball as well as shoot, rebound and run the floor. Thus far, Thompson has enjoyed getting to know his new teammate.

“For one, he’s a good guy. I think that makes a big difference,” Thompson said. “He’s long. He can do a lot of different things.”

Porter played his high school basketball at tiny Scott County Central High in Sikeston, Mo., where he led his team to three consecutive state championships. According to senior center Henry Sims, the freshman has brought a humble, small-town attitude to the Hilltop.

“Otto’s a real low-key guy,” Sims said. “You won’t see him around campus too much. He keeps to

ottoporter He’s the prize of this year’s recruiting class.

After spurning his home state’s Missouri Tigers, Porter committed to Georgetown last April and immediately changed the perception of this incoming group. According to Henry Sims, the combo forward keeps a low profile around campus, but if he lives up to expectations, that may become harder for him to do.

himself.”

Porter is a different person on the court, though.

“He has a nose for the ball. Every rebound he always has to be involved in,” Sims said. “He’s a good player. He knocks down open shots. He’s a good weapon to have, but horrible to play against because he makes everything.”

After Porter, two other members of the freshman class also appear on the ESPNU 100. One of those is center Mikael Hopkins (No. 78), who has the opportunity to construct a prominent role for himself on this year’s team.

Hopkins hails from nearby Hyattsville, Md., and he graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School, Freeman’s alma mater. The 6-foot-8 big man filled out at the end of his high school career and weighs in at 222 pounds, providing a new shot-blocking presence and post-up option for the Hoyas.

Hopkins is joined by another newcomer at center in Tyler Adams, a 6-foot-9, 270-pound space-

mikaelhopkins Austin Freeman may be gone, but DeMatha still has a representative on the Blue and Gray’s roster this year. Hopkins is the big man with the highest expectations of any in the freshman class, and he’ll likely be the first to challenge for serious playing time in the frontcourt. Nate Lubick and Henry Sims are far from shoo-in starters.

eater from Brandon, Miss., whose wide body is a welcomed and much-needed addition to an otherwise lanky Georgetown roster. Forward Greg Whittington — a native of Columbia, Md., who didn’t draw much attention in recruiting until the summer before his senior year of high school — is narrower at 6-foot-8 and 205 pounds.

Whittington rounds out the new faces of the frontcourt with a more perimeter-based game.

Sophomore forward Nate Lubick has talked to the Hoyas’ freshman big men about the challenges they’ll face during their first year playing

his class at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, has been noted for his edginess and fiery style of play, which will likely sit well with fans. However, his playing time may be somewhat determined by the development of sophomore guard Markel Starks.

But one thing is certain: The freshmen are going to play.

“They’re going to get squeezed, and they’re going to get squeezed early and often. That’s going to happen,” Thompson said. “The key might be how they respond and how quickly they grow up and how quickly they get accustomed

“There’s nothing you can do to get ready for being in the frontcourt of the Big East. These are some big boys.”

— Sophomore forward Nate Lubick in the Big East.

“It’s a long season. The Big East, especially for big guys, is a really rude awakening,” Lubick said. “There’s nothing you can to do get ready for being in the frontcourt of the Big East. These are some big boys.”

Lubick also expressed his worries about the lack of experience Georgetown will have in the frontcourt when he or Sims is on the bench.

“Looking at that on paper, the Big East is the wrong league to have that kind of depth in,” he said. “A lot of new guys are going to have to step up and contribute really early. … I’m considered a veteran, and I’m a sophomore. I don’t really know anything either.”

While Sims, Lubick and the freshmen jostle for playing time in the frontcourt, the Hoyas’ third ESPNU 100 recruit, guard Jabril Trawick (No. 80), will try to navigate his way through the backcourt. Trawick, who is the shortest member of

jabriltrawick As shown at Midnight Madness last month, the shortest member of the class has ups.

Trawick impressed during the Hoyas’ games in China, scoring in bunches, and he has a high level of energy on the court that will go over well with the fan base. He’ll provide much-needed depth at guard this year and into the future.

to performing at this level.”

Starks, for one, knows all too well the struggles that can accompany a freshman’s adjustment to that level. He graded his freshman year performance a D- and noted that the college game is like nothing he’d been a part of before.

“College is a beast,” he said. “It’s a different animal.”

So while Starks tries to learn from his mistakes as a freshman and use them to improve his production as a sophomore, this year’s freshmen — while presented with the grand opportunity to fight for a starting job at Georgetown — will face the immense challenge of contributing immediately to a team trying to prove its doubters wrong and restore its standing among the elite of the Big East.

“We never have been averse to playing freshmen if they’re ready to play,” Thompson said.

Soon, then, we’ll know if they’re ready.

gregwhittington greg Whittington needed to put on weight coming out of high school, and he’s begun that process modestly as he enters his freshman season.

The 6-foot-8 forward is still only 205 pounds, though, and until that changes, it’ll be tough for him to contend inside in the Big East. Given time, he could become an important piece of the frontcourt mix.

At Midnight Madness: Tyler Adams (above) and Greg Whittington (below).

tyleradams The injury he sustained playing in the Kenner League over the summer poses immediate worries about Adams’ long-term durability, but if he does stay healthy, the big man could become a game-changer.

He’s 6-foot-9 and 270 pounds — not your average-sized recruit — and the Hoyas will gladly give him a shot when he’s ready.

basketballpreview | 13

hollisthompson back to the lab again

lawson ferguson Hoya Staff Writer

W

hen junior forward Hollis Thompson declared for the NBA draft last spring, Georgetown basketball fans could have been forgiven for a brief moment of panic. The 6-foot-7 forward was impressive in his first two years on the Hilltop and had been penciled in by many as one of the leaders and primary scorers for the 2011-2012 Hoyas with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Julian Vaughn set to graduate.

Thankfully for the Hoya faithful, Thompson ultimately elected to return for his junior season and is poised to play a bigger role than he did last year when he started 22 games and was fourth on the team in minutes played.

Thompson averaged just 4.8 points in 19.5 minutes per game as a freshman but 8.6 points in 23.3 minutes per game last year.

“It was a great memory, [and] I learned a lot,” Thompson said. “I figured it would be the last time I could test the waters [of the NBA draft], so I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity. ... I got some pretty good feedback as far as where my game was, what they wanted to see from me and how I should improve over the rest of my college career.”

Thompson, an accomplished long-range shooter who connected on 46 percent of his

bump this year. He started 22 games last year but found himself relegated to the bench during the latter third of the season, as the team’s rebounding problems caused Head Coach John Thompson III to insert 6-foot-9 then-freshman Nate Lubick into the starting lineup. While Thompson III has yet to announce his team’s starting five for this year, it’s a safe bet that the junior will be starting and seeing major minutes. Thompson, though, remains unfazed by what is likely to be

“I got some pretty good feedback as far as where my game was, what they wanted to see from me and how I should improve over the rest of my college career.”

— Thompson on his pre-draft workouts last spring three-point attempts last year after hitting 44 percent his freshman year, used the advice he got during the pre-draft workout process to shore up the other parts of his game.

“Over the summer I decided to work on my body, my ball-handling and then my leadership role on the team, being able to lead the team through my actions and my words,” he said.

A more versatile Thompson has the potential to terrorize Georgetown opponents this year, as he has already proven himself as a big-game player.

Although the Blue and Gray have been upset in the opening round of the past two NCAA tournaments, none of the blame for those losses can be pinned on Thompson. The Los Angeles native has averaged 21 points per tournament game — missing only four of 18 shots in the process — despite playing a mere 25 minutes per contest. Thompson’s 26-point, seven-rebound performance was the lone bright spot of last year’s shocking loss to Virginia Commonwealth.

Thompson’s playing time should also get a

a lot of extra responsibility.

“To be honest, it doesn’t change my mindset that much,” Thompson said of his new role on the team. “I have to approach everything as I did last year, and I think if I do that I’ll be fine.”

Easing the transition that Thompson and many of his teammates are making this year will be the team unity spurred by the brawl on the team’s trip to China. “[Before the trip] when we said ‘bonding’ and all that stuff, we had no idea,” Thompson said. “After an experience like that, you really know that your team has your back. You never want that to happen, but as far as team bonding goes, it was a good experience for us.”

It is no secret that the last couple seasons have not gone according to plan for the Hoyas.

But, with a stronger, more versatile and more experienced Thompson leading the way, the inexperienced Blue and Gray team still has a chance to do what it hasn’t done for the past few years: Make some noise in March.

hollisbythenumbers

44.9

Career three-point field goal percentage, the best in Georgetown history

26

Points in last season’s NCAA tournament loss to VCU on 8-of-10 shooting

4.4

Rebounds per game last season, up 2.0 from his freshman year basketballpreview | 15

jasonclark Something to prove

michael palmer Hoya Staff Writer

I

n July 2006, Jason Clark, a rising junior at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Va., was given the following rating at a Reebok ABCD summer camp.

“Weaknesses: Clark needs to become stronger. His legs are extremely skinny and his lack of strength limits his ability to get to the rim off the dribble. Sometimes players that are as lanky as Clark improve their handle, strength and confidence as they begin to fill out. That could happen with Jason, too.”

Three months later on Oct. 18, 2006 — his mother Audrey’s birthday — Clark became the first member of Georgetown’s 2008 recruiting class.

Five years later, Clark is now a senior captain. He remains a long-armed, lanky, 6-foot2 guard with wicked athletic skills, but he has become a veteran who has started in the Hoyas’ last 66 games. Georgetown has gone 44-22 in that stretch.

“I was always at Georgetown games. I went to high school 15 minutes away from here. I loved the atmosphere, I loved the crowd, and I couldn’t wait to get on the court,” Clark said.

Clark has become stronger, developing into a scoring threat in the rough-and-tumble Big East, and he has grown in confidence.

“He’s ready for what this year holds for him, and I don’t necessarily think that from an offensive perspective or a defensive perspective. I don’t think there’s going to be a drastic change,” Head Coach John Thompson III said.

“I’ve never had anyone question my heart,” Clark said. “But they’ll say, ‘He can’t do this because of his size, the ability to take his team to the top and take his team to win.’”

Clark isn’t hostile, nor does he talk about his critics with a chip on his shoulder. Clark does appear to recognize, in fact, that he has a lot to prove. Rarely has he captured the headlines that follow the Hoyas.

That is, not until this past summer.

In August, the Hoyas embarked on an exhibition trip to China, billed as an exercise in sports diplomacy by the State Department and featuring a team visit from Vice President Joe Biden. However, the trip turned ugly when a brawl erupted between the Bayi Rockets and the Hoyas in Beijing. Clark found himself right in the center of it.

In video clips of the fight, Clark is shown being fouled in the backcourt, to which he took exception. Clark swung his arm in a half-punch, half-shove at the Rocket player who committed the foul, but was thrown to the ground by another Rocket player from behind.

Pretty soon, the court was full of Hoyas and Rockets pushing and shoving. One particularly startling image from the melee shows Clark on the ground, a kick being aimed in his direction by one of the Rockets, a team made up of People’s Liberation Army soldiers.

“Everybody has their opinion about the brawl, and nobody ever wants to have a brawl. But I think it was a good thing for us.

We know when we go to battle with other teams that we’re going to have each other’s backs,” Clark said.

“I mean, I was as new to the whole thing as everybody else. I think, after the brawl, I knew how to handle myself, how to speak to the media about it. We were getting calls, emails and texts about everything, ‘What’s going on?’ And you knew you had to just answer, ‘We’re OK,’ because you don’t want to stir up anything that was already as big as it could be,” he added.

Georgetown quickly moved on, but Clark’s role was that of primary leadership. He stood up for his team, standing next to Head Coach John Thompson III at the peacemaking ses-

Clark, shown leading a fastbreak against Cincinnati, averaged 12 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a junior last season. sion with the Rockets the next day and handling the entire affair with class.

Yet while Clark may be reaching star level at the national stage, he has always been well-known in the Metro region. The Washington Post named him its all-Met player of the year his senior year of high school, and he entered Georgetown as part of a national top-10 recruiting class.

Of course, he was never the headliner.

Austin Freeman was the all-Met player of the year prior to Clark. Local product Chris Wright had entrenched himself as the starting point guard, and Greg Monroe, now the starting center for the Detroit Pistons, was the jewel of the class of 2008 with Clark and senior center Henry Sims as the complimentary pieces.

“I knew I was a great defender, a good shooter, good dribbler, and I knew I had to come in and be a better defender, better shooter,” Clark said. “But I knew that my job was to make the hustle plays. That’s what Coach Thompson wanted, not [for me] to be a scorer — dive on loose balls, get rebounds I wasn’t supposed to get.”

Starting was not an option for Clark his freshman year. Jessie Sapp, Clark’s mentor during his freshman season, was an all-Final Four team honoree, and Wright and Freeman were McDonald All-Americans in the backcourt.

But Clark was inarguably one of the most versatile players, and he has maintained that role. His quickness makes him a great defender and a lethal cutter in the Princeton offense.

basketballpreview | 17

His crossover dribble creates a menacing echo when it hits the floor, the ball passing between his legs multiple times as he moves down the court. He can dunk with ease and get to the basket.

On the other end, Clark has proven an adept wing player, grabbing more than 300 rebounds. Already among Georgetown’s all-time

top 30 in steals, Clark will likely join elite company this season: If he scores 100 more points and grabs 103 more rebounds, he will become the 23rd Hoya to make the all-time top-40 list in both points and rebounds.

“He has shared the spotlight with Chris and Austin in terms of the attention that [the media] has given him, and that’s much dif-

ferent this year, where clearly he is the elder statesman out there. And he’s ready for that,” Thompson III said.

For all of the future accolades, Clark lacks one glaring feat: a single postseason win. In three seasons, Clark is 0-2 in the NCAA tournament and 0-1 in the NIT. That record and the loss of highly touted players from Clark’s past years — Monroe, Wright, Freeman and Monroe’s Pistons teammate DaJuan Summers — leave Clark’s Hoyas inexperienced and with a lot to prove.

Even Clark considers himself underrated.

“I want to go out and prove to everyone that I am capable of leading a basketball team and leading them to victories,” he said. “The critics say a lot of things about some players, and usually it’s their size. ‘He won’t be able to do this or be able to do that.’ I like to prove people wrong when they have negative things to say about someone.”

Sometimes it’s difficult to understand how Clark could be underrated. He was a member of the “D.C. Three,” one of the best backcourts in the nation last season, and he’s been centerstage in some big-time Hoya games.

When Snowpocalypse hit D.C. in 2010, literally freezing all activity within the District, Georgetown had a home game against thenNo. 2 Villanova. Clark repowered the arena by himself with six three-pointers on seven attempts, helping to bury the Wildcats and lead the Hoyas to an important victory.

Then, nine months later in Kansas City, with the Hoyas playing a de facto away game against Missouri, Clark hit three straight treys in overtime to sink the then-No. 8 Tigers.

That’s not to say Clark hasn’t had his share of misses, two of which came against archrival Syracuse. In February 2010, Syracuse had built a 23-point lead over the Hoyas with less than 18 minutes to go in the game, but Georgetown somehow battled back. After Monroe missed a foul shot, he jumped on his miss and grabbed the offensive rebound, sending an outlet pass to Clark, who was standing just left of the top of the threepoint line.

Clark elevated into his smooth jump shot, with the ball arcing to a devastating clang off the front of the rim. Just an inch more on the shot, and the Hoyas would have been up by one point. Instead, the Orange escaped with a win.

On Feb. 26 last season, Syracuse again led Georgetown at Verizon Center, this time by 12 points with 17 minutes left. Then Clark led a surge. He hit three treys in front of a crowd that included Bill Clinton and Alonzo Mourning, and with 40 seconds left and Georgetown down by three, the ball found Clark open in the right corner behind the three-point line. He lifted into the air, but

OCT. 18, 2006

Named all-Met player of the year and Virginia most valuable player as a senior at Bishop O’Connell.

JAN. 14, 2009

Becomes the first recruit of the Class of 2012 to commit to Georgetown.

WINTER 2008

Scores a season-high 12 points as a freshman in an 88-74 win over Syracuse at Verizon Center.

THE WASHINGTON POST PHOTO

18 | thehoya

Syracuse then-junior forward Kris Joseph just got a hand on his shot, blocking it and ending Georgetown’s chance for another spectacular come-from-behind win.

They were tough losses, but Clark took them in stride.

“Even though we lost that game, I had so much fun playing in it. It hurt to lose, sure, but those are the games you remember,” Clark said.

“You have to make it fun. You have to. Of course, you have to go out there and be serious. There are millions and millions of people watching you. There are people shouting at you, negative things, positive things. I think it’s a big focus thing. You have to focus on the game, what’s at hand, remember everything you have to do. But it’s an adrenaline rush, playing in front of so many people. It’s a great feeling.”

He’s the sort of player Georgetown needs at this stage, one who genuinely enjoys playing the game. But he also understands his team’s position as underdog. Years of high pressure and stress to imitate the 2007 Final Four team seemed to create a sense of urgency for previous teams, who were taking cues from their leaders. With Clark at the helm, that pressure doesn’t seem to be there. Instead, there’s a

much more subdued atmosphere, stemming from a captain that has as much to prove as his team. In that same way, Clark still has the ability to become whatever Georgetown needs him to be on the floor. “[Clark] means a lot, because he’s been a consistent player for us all three years. He knows what it takes,” Sims said. “He has a lot of knowledge, and he’s not afraid to teach the freshmen and everybody else on the court.”

Athletic enough to defend and rebound but quick and skilled enough to create chances for himself, Clark could play at either guard spot or small forward. With sophomore guard Markel Starks likely to start at the point and freshman guard Jabril Trawick flashing serious athletic skills, Clark will likely be spending most of his time at his more familiar shooting guard position.

“In many ways it’s a natural progression.

It’s a progression that he’s prepared himself for,” Thompson said. “But Jason is still Jason.

Jason goes about his business in a workmanlike fashion. He gives you an honest effort everyday in workouts. Every game he’s going to give you an honest effort and that focus. That giving of himself is something that the freshmen are seeing and everyone else is seeing.”

But what does Clark see?

“I think I see the game much differently. It’s slowed down now, a lot after my freshman year, but it’s very slow to me now,” Clark says. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger. People may not see that because of my size — I’m skinny, I’m lanky — but I’ve gotten a lot stronger. I know where my shots come from. I know how to score. I know how to get my teammates involved. Basically, everything about the game has changed for me.”

The 2006 evaluation still seems to reverberate as a criticism, but Clark has his eyes on more than proving his critics wrong. His answer to a question about his team’s goals for the season is telling.

“I think definitely winning championships, but overall, I guess … ” He paused, not satisfied with that answer, looking for the right one.

“We can’t have a one-game-and-out tournament,” he said. “A big accomplishment is making it to the tournament, but a bigger accomplishment is winning games in the tournament. We want to win the games we’re supposed to win and not drop off. An accomplishment for us is to be better than we have been in the past.”

Challenge accepted.

Finishes his sophomore season with a team-best 67 three-point field goals made.

NOV. 30, 2010

Misses all three of his three-point attempts in the Hoyas’ 74-56 NCAA tournament loss to VCU.

MARCH 2010

Scores a career-high 26 points to help Georgetown to a 111-102 overtime win over Missouri.

MARCH 18, 2011 basketballpreview | 19

aroundth

C

onnecticut and Syracuse tied for the top spot in the Big East coaches’ poll, with UConn earning seven first-place votes to the Orange’s five. The Hoyas were picked to finish 10th out of 16 teams.

ASHWIN WADEKAR & LEONAR

1. CONNECTICUT The defending national champions lost the heart and soul of their team in Kemba Walker but have taken all the right steps to be in the mix again. Head Coach Jim Calhoun has one of the best classes of freshmen in the nation, with DeAndre Daniels, Ryan Boatright and Andre Drummond. The Huskies will need sophomore Shabazz Napier to assume more ball-handling duties and sophomore Jeremy Lamb to have a breakout season in order to return to the Final Four.

4. PITTSBURGH

5. CINCINNATI

The Panthers will look to big men Khem Birch, a McDonald’s All-American, and Malcolm Gilbert to fill the void left by Brad Wanamaker, the most efficient player on the team, Gary McGhee, a force down low defensively, and Gilbert Brown, an excellent shooter and athlete. The team returns guard Ashton Gibbs and wingman Nasir Robinson, the core of the offensive unit last year. Their sheer amount of talent should allow the Panthers to thrive once again in the Big East.

Cincinnati lost four solid bench players in Rashad Bishop, Ibrahima Thomas, Larry Davis and Darnell Wilks, but Head Coach Mick Cronin will welcome six freshmen. The Bearcats also return their core offensive unit of juniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon alongside sophomores Cashmere Wright and Sean Kilpatrick. If the freshmen provide some scoring off the bench and Kilpatrick continues his offensive output from last year, then Cincinnati will be a contender.

8. VILLANOVA

9. NOTRE DAME

The Wildcats lost the heart of their team in guards Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes and forward Antonio Pena, but a new core may be best for Villanova, who collapsed at the end of last year and lost its final six games. With Fisher gone, junior point guard Maalik Wayns is now in complete control of the Villanova offense. Junior center Mouphtaou Yarou will carry the team down low, and junior guard Dominic Cheek is another legitimate scoring threat.

Notre Dame will have trouble matching last year’s surprising Big East success. The team relied heavily on departed guard Ben Hansbrough and was already weak down low before losing Tyrone Nash and Carleton Scott. The Fighting Irish welcome back Tim Abromitis, who was crucial last season, but they will need more from point guard Eric Atkins and wingman Scott Martin. Notre Dame will likely fall to the middle of the conference that they won last year.

13. SETON HALL

14. SOUTH FLORIDA

The Pirates have lost their main offensive threats in guard Jeremy Hazell and forward Jeff Robinson, but senior point guard Jordan Theodore and his classmate, forward Herb Pope, return to lead Seton Hall this season. Head Coach Kevin Willard brings center Kevin Johnson and shooting guard Aaron Cosby, both three-star recruits, to Newark, but with the loss of Hazell’s pure scoring threat and their limited depth, it could be a rough year for the Pirates.

The Bulls had only three league wins last year, but most key players return, including senior forward and leading scorer Augustus Gilchrist, junior guard Jawanza Poland, senior guard Hugh Robertson and redshirt senior forward and leading rebounder Ron Anderson Jr. The Bulls will miss assist production from point guard Anthony Crater, and Head Coach Stan Heath had limited success in recruiting, bringing in junior college transfers and two low-profile recruits.

20 | thehoya

hebigeast

RD OLSEN Hoya Staff Writers

1. SYRACUSE

3. LOUISVILLE

Syracuse’s only major loss was forward Rick Jackson, who grabbed the bulk of the team’s rebounds last year. Freshman and Scout.com’s No. 2-ranked center in the nation, Rakeem Christmas, should be able to replace Jackson, as he and guards Trevor Cooney and Michael Carter-Williams make up a talented recruiting class. The Orange return their top scorer, senior forward Kris Joseph, as well as senior guard Scoop Jardine.

Louisville loses Preston Knowles, whose leadership and play-making abilities will be missed, and Terrence Jennings, whose interior game was solid. But the Cardinals return junior Peyton Siva and senior Kyle Kuric, guards who were instrumental in Louisville’s run to the Big East championship game last year. Louisville also brings in one of the best recruiting classes in the country, including McDonald’s All-American forwards Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan.

6. MARQUETTE

7. WEST VIRGINIA

Marquette loses forward Jimmy Butler and guard Dwight Buycks, who combined for a bulk of the scoring but also committed a majority of the team’s turnovers. Head Coach Buzz Williams made sure the Golden Eagles played to their full potential last year, reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, but the Golden Eagles need someone to step up and lead the team, on and off the court, if they want to remain in the top half of the Big East.

A new-look West Virginia has lost three of its top-five scorers — guards Casey Mitchell and Joe Mazzulla as well as forward John Flowers — but welcomes a group of six freshmen. The Mountaineers also bring back their best player in dual-threat senior forward Kevin Jones as well as senior guard Darryl Bryant. Head Coach Bob Huggins has a knack for consistently putting out good teams, and don’t expect this year to be any different.

11. RUTGERS

12. ST. JOHN’S

Last season ended in controversy in the Big East tournament, but Head Coach Mike Rice appears to be turning things around. The Scarlet Knights have seven freshmen, including three four-star recruits in guards Myles Mack and Jerome Seagers and forward Kadeem Jack, who will redshirt. Rutgers lost its leading scorer in Jonathan Mitchell, but the newcomers should join sophomore forward Gilvydas Biruta and junior swingman Dane Miller to improve the offense this year.

Last year was a turn-around season for Head Coach Steve Lavin and the Johnnies, as the team made its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002. Lavin now brings in Scout.com’s third-ranked recruiting class, headlined by guard D’Angelo Harrison and forwards Sir’Dominic Pointer, Maurice Harkless, Norvel Pelle and Amir Garrett. The NCAA has ruled Pelle and Garrett academically ineligible, but they will likely return in time for conference play.

15. PROVIDENCE

16. DEPAUL

The Friars took a huge hit with the loss of Marshon Brooks, the conference’s leading scorer last year and the team’s leading rebounder. With Brooks gone, there will be more pressure on Providence’s struggling defense, which ranked secondto-last in the Big East last year. The backcourt duo of Vincent Council and Gerard Coleman will look to carry the offense in Brooks’ absence, with forward/center Bilal Dixon and forward Kadeem Batts picking up the slack on the boards.

DePaul finished last season with a single conference win and has lost almost its entire starting five. Its incoming class provides more talent than the team had on its roster last year, and despite the relative inexperience of the squad, the Blue Demons should manage multiple Big East wins. Secondyear Head Coach Oliver Purnell’s top recruit, shooting-guard Charles McKinney, will likely start right away and give DePaul a much-needed offensive spark.

basketballpreview | 21

2010-2011 bittersweet PRESTON BARCLAY Hoya Staff Writer

The Georgetown women’s basketball team capped off a 24-11 (9-7 Big East) season with its second run to the Sweet 16 in program history and the first in seven seasons under Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.

“We had a really good season,” WilliamsFlournoy said. “We had some big wins in there during the regular season. We didn’t do as well in the Big East as we would have liked to have done, but the Big East got us ready and prepared to play in the NCAA tournament. Altogether a very good season, and probably the only downfall being that we didn’t do as well in the Big East as we would have liked.”

“Last season, I wouldn’t say it was perfect,” senior forward Tia Magee said. “It was up and down, but throughout everything, we learned and we grew as a team.”

monicamcnutt

The Hoyas followed up a breakthrough 2009-2010 season with another strong year that culminated in a narrow Sweet 16 loss to UConn.

The Hoyas peaked at No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Despite finishing at No. 23 at the end of the season in the AP Poll, the Blue and Gray were awarded a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. They defeated No. 12 Princeton in the first round, 6549, and No. 4 Maryland, 79-57, in the second round, before falling to No. 1 overall seed Con-

rebounds per contest.

The lone senior on last year’s squad, guard Monica McNutt, was second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game and started all 35 games for the Hoyas. She also added 4.3 rebounds per contest in 30.4 minutes per game.

“I’m going to miss her,” Rodgers said. “She was a good leader. I don’t think we’ll have

Rodgers drives (above), and McNutt consoles Magee after GU’s final loss to UConn (right). necticut, 68-63, in the regional semifinal after leading for most of the contest.

“When the NCAA [tournament] came around, that was when we really pulled together,” Magee said. “We kind of just made a decision as a team that this was our time to shine. We had a lot to prove. We took it a game at a time, we stuck together, we had each other’s back through everything and we almost pulled it off against UConn.”

Other notable results included early-season nonconference victories against No. 4 Tennessee and local rival Maryland, a major conference victory against then-No. 8 West Virginia and two close losses to Connecticut in the regular season and conference tournament.

“The Big East is the best women’s conference ever,” junior guard Sugar Rodgers said. “You have some of the best players in the conference. … It was tough. You’ve got to play hard every night.”

Rodgers led the Hoyas in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per contest, including a season-high 34 in the NCAA tournament second-round win over Maryland. Rodgers also pulled down the most rebounds of anyone on the roster and led the team with 90 steals.

Then-junior guard Rubylee Wright also contributed with 7.7 points and 5.0 assists per game, while Magee added 8.2 points and 5.2

a leader like that for a couple years, so just her leadership is what I’m going to miss the most.”

“She was the main one that pulled us together,” Wright said. “The qualities that she had last year and us being there and being able to see how she brought the team together, I think we’re prepared to do the same this year.”

Georgetown averaged 64 points per game as a team and held opponents to a mere 56.5.

Defense was undoubtedly the Hoyas’ calling card last year, as they forced 21.5 turnovers — including 10.8 steals — per game.

But while the Blue and Gray defense was nothing short of excellent, rebounding was clearly the team’s Achilles’ heel. Although they narrowly edged opponents 36.5 to 36.4 per game, they were outrebounded by many of the upper-echelon teams, including 44-37 in the NCAA tournament loss to Connecticut.

Three-point shooting, however, helped the Hoyas overcome their rebounding deficiency.

They averaged 6.9 makes from beyond the arc per contest, most coming from McNutt and Rodgers.

The Hoyas think the elevation of seven juniors to fill the vacancy left by McNutt will be enough to push them to even greater heights in 2011-2012. If preseason media hype is to be believed, they may be right.

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thenextstep Beno picciano Hoya Staff Writer

Advancing to the Sweet 16 and narrowly falling to the most storied program in women’s basketball might have been satisfactory for any other program that had qualified for the NCAA tournament just twice in its history.

But for a Georgetown squad that returns 12 Hoyas to the hardwood this winter, including twotime All-American junior guard Sugar Rodgers, this year’s end goal is something slightly sweeter.

“I’m just hungry to win. … This year we want to go past the Sweet 16. We’ve been there twice, and I’m sick of that,” Rodgers said. “I think this is our

From top left to bottom right: Rubylee Wright, Tia Magee, preseason all-Big East selection Sugar Rodgers.

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year, and I’m going to keep saying that, too.”

If the Blue and Gray’s high hopes are to become reality, however, the experienced squad must find a way to fill the gaping void left by the graduation of floor general Monica McNutt. With seven seniors and three juniors filling out a roster ripe with upperclassmen, Georgetown is far from lacking in veterans who are ready to assume vital leadership positions.

“Although our expectations are high, and everyone out there thinks that we are supposed to do extremely well this year, if we don’t have [players] step up and become the leaders that we need them to be — on and off the court — that is something that could affect us in a negative way,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “I think they’ve really understood that, and we’ve had a lot of seniors step up.”

The Hoyas are renowned for their up-tempo, pressure-oriented style of play, forcing opponents into turnovers and capitalizing for quick points.

In contrast, the Blue and Gray have been relatively less effective in other areas, such as rebounding.

With many key pieces returning to a group which is expected to earn its third consecutive NCAA tournament berth, not a great deal of change is expected with respect to team strengths and weaknesses.

“We put in a different press, just something to add a little more aggravation to teams, but we just want to continue to do the things we do well — running in transition, pressure defense,” WilliamsFlournoy said. “Of course, we probably need to rebound better, but that’s really nothing to practice

upon, we just keep emphasizing it and hope that one day it will happen.”

Rodgers led last year’s team in scoring with 18.7 points per game, which was second-best in the talent-rich Big East. The junior has received national acclaim for her offensive explosiveness and particularly for her sharpshooting. Rodgers shot 34.8 percent from beyond the arc but also showed her versatility by leading the team with 2.6 steals per game.

Supporting Rodgers’ point production will be Magee, who will assume a greater offensive workload in her final season. Traditionally a forward, Magee’s role will potentially be more flexible this season, as the emergence of paint presences such as 6-foot-6 junior center Sydney Wilson and 6-foot2 junior center Vanessa Moore could allow her to log minutes at guard. Senior forward Adria Crawford, the team’s hard-working hustle player in the post, returns as another key piece of the puzzle.

Senior point guard Rubylee Wright, last season’s team assists leader, is expected to control the flow of the offense and contribute more scoring, while senior guard Alexa Roche is also expected to find herself in a greater supporting role in her senior season.

Three freshmen, including dangerous guard Taylor Brown, join the Georgetown ranks this year and will be expected to discover and develop their roles on the team throughout the course of the season as they adjust to the college game. “[We’ve emphasized] technique, a lot of technique. … We’re a very disciplined team,” Roche said.

“On defense there are very specific positions, no gray areas, making sure that for freshmen [schemes] are fresh in everybody’s mind, so when we come to the game we don’t have any errors. And if we do have any errors, we know exactly how to fix them.”

As usual, the Hoyas have a rigorous nonconference schedule before entering the gauntlet of Big East play. The second game of the season pits the Blue and Gray against local rival Maryland, whom Georgetown defeated in the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring. The Hoyas’ nonconference slate includes a healthy array of matchups with foes from the 2011 NCAA tournament field, including a visit to LSU, a home date with Miami (Fla.) and a meeting with Georgia in Las Vegas.

“Our nonconference schedule is unbelievable.

It’s extremely tough. I should fire the person who put it together,” Williams-Flournoy joked. “But I hope it’s a schedule that gets us ready to compete in the Big East.”

The Hoyas will debut Nov. 11 when they take on Longwood at McDonough Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

quicklearners MAGGIE LAW

Hoya Staff Writer

With seven seniors and three juniors leading the women’s basketball team this season, it may be tough for underclassmen to make an impact on the court. But if any players are up to the job, freshmen Taylor Brown, Brittany Horne and Jasmine Jackson are.

“The freshmen will be good this season,” junior guard Sugar Rodgers said. “Taylor, she’s going to get to the basket and she’s going to score.

Brittany’s going to hit threes and play defense, and Jasmine’s just going to do what the other two don’t.”

Brown and Jackson will play next to Rodgers at guard this season while Horne will fill in at forward. All three rookies are known for their fearless mentality and the intense level of play they bring to the hardwood.

“They play hard all the time,” senior forward Tia Magee said. “Defensively, it doesn’t matter if the person’s bigger than them or if they don’t know what they’re doing, they still play hard.”

All three freshmen bring strong offensive skills and much-needed scoring power to the Hoyas this season. Brown tallied over 1,500 points in her high school career, averaging 20 points and five assists per game during her senior season. Horne also hit the 1,000-point mark her senior year, ending her high school career with over 1,200 points and an average of 18 points per game. Jackson averaged 30.2 points per game as a senior and graduated as the all-time leading scorer from Old Bridge High School with 1,845 career points.

“Taylor brings in the scoring capability that every team needs, and we definitely needed another scorer,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “She’s practicing and training well, and she went through preseason like it was nothing.

I think she’s probably going to make the biggest impact right away.”

Brown didn’t travel far from home when she chose to play on the Hilltop. The 5-foot-7 point guard was a four-year letter winner and two-year

Three freshmen, including local product Taylor Brown, fight for playing time on a senior-laden team.

captain at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md. Last spring she was named the 2011 player of the year by The Washington Post and the 2011 Gatorade player of the year for the state of Maryland.

The rookie guard may be small, but she doesn’t let her height fool anyone.

“Taylor — she’s so little, but she’s so quick and she’s so fearless,” Magee said. “She’s not afraid of anything. If she gets to play, she’s going to go score.”

Jackson, on the other hand, does bring some size to the court this season. The 5-foot-9 freshman was named the No. 26 point guard prospect in the class of 2011 and No. 8 in MSG Varsity’s top players from New Jersey.

“When Jasmine plays, I know she’ll be really, really good,” Magee said. “She’s a point guard, but she’s also a shooter. She’s really strong, but more importantly, she’s mentally strong for a freshman.”

The Hoyas will look to Jackson’s impressive ballhandling skills as well as her high energy level and uncanny feel for the game.

“Jasmine brings in a good point guard quality,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She’s a big, strong guard, and she knows how to run a team.”

Horne stands out in the freshman class as the only forward but will likely prove to be a key post player for the Blue and Gray this season. The rookie was named first team all-state as a senior at Carmel High School in New York after averaging 15 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. She was also nominated for the McDonald’s High School All-American game alongside classmates Brown and Jackson.

Combining these diverse talents, Georgetown’s freshmen can certainly make a big impact on the team this season.

“I feel like this season they won’t just be the freshmen that sit on the bench and wait their turn. They’ll give us good minutes, and they’ll give us good plays,” Magee said. “They’ll come in and they’ll know their role, and they’ll do it to the best of their ability.”

Taylor Brown was named 2011 player of the year by The Washington Post.

However, given the toughness of the Big East and the experience the Blue and Gray already has, the amount of playing time for the three newcomers may be limited.

“I really don’t know how much of an impact the freshmen will have on the team this year, just because we are junior- and senior-heavy,” Williams-Flournoy said. “The biggest impact will probably be Taylor. For Jasmine and Brittany, I think as we get closer to the Big East they will get over being freshmen and become the players that they are capable of being.”

“They all bring in different qualities that are helpful,” she said. “Now all they have to do is learn how to turn it up a notch and go from high school to college. But the fact that they come to Georgetown says that they want to compete.”

While the freshmen may not see major minutes this season, they will bring their hard work to the court and help the Hoyas as they pursue their ultimate goal: an NCAA championship.

“They’re babies, but they’re learning and they’re eager to learn,” Magee said. “They just go, go, go.”

firstimpressions taylorbrown

brittanyhorne

Brown averaged 20 points per game as a high school senior and won multiple player of the year awards last season.

She’s the headliner of this class, so look for her to be the first freshman to step on the court at McDonough Arena.

Tia Magee now has a protege.

The only frontcourt freshman, Horne was an all-state first team member in New York and averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game as a high school senior.

jasminejackson Jackson was an all-state first team member on the other side of the Hudson River. She was ranked the No. 8 player in New Jersey

by MSG Varsity and averaged a staggering 30.2 points per game for Old Bridge High School last year.

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aroundth

L

ast year’s national runner-up, Notre Dame, received nine firstplace votes in the preseason coaches’ poll to bump UConn from the top spot for the first time since 2005. The Hoyas were picked to finish fifth.

EVAN HOLLANDER & Keith

1. NOTRE DAME One of the early favorites for the NCAA title after falling to Texas A&M in last season’s championship game, 76-70, the Fighting Irish will see almost all their scorers return and will again have three of the best players in the land in junior guard Skylar Diggins, senior guard Natalie Novosel and redshirt senior forward Devereaux Peters. The freshmen class includes All-American guard Madison Cable, and three of the freshmen led their high schools to state championships this spring.

4. RUTGERS

6. DEPAUL

Rutgers was on the fringe of the top 25 for much of last season but was throttled by eventual national champions Texas A&M, 70-48, in the second round of the NCAAs. The Scarlet Knights return six of their top scorers, including all-Big East second team senior forward April Sykes, who nearly tripled her point total from 2009-2010 last year. Junior forward/center Monique Oliver will play beside Sykes in the frontcourt, and redshirt senior guard Rushdan Khadijah is one of the best passers in the country.

Last season DePaul defeated ranked opponents St. John’s, Syracuse and Stanford and beat Georgetown, 82-57. DePaul is led by senior forward Keisha Hampton, who this summer was a key piece of the USA Women’s World University Games team, for which Georgetown Head Coach Terri WilliamsFlournoy was an assistant coach. A five-freshman recruiting class will attempt to compensate for the loss of graduated senior forward Felicia Chester and senior guard Sam Quigley.

9. WEST VIRGINIA

10. SOUTH FLORIDA

Graduation badly hurt the Mountaineers, who lost five seniors, including top-scoring guard Liz Repella (14.7 points per game) and forward and leading rebounder Madina Ali. West Virginia will have to rely on the leadership of junior center and captain Asya Bussie, who has started every game of her WVU career. Forward Jessica Harlee, guard Brooke Hampton and guard Taylor Palmer, all sophomores, averaged double-digit minutes last year, and their contributions will decide the team’s fate this season.

The Bulls finished last year on a high note by defeating Villanova and No. 18 Georgetown, and senior guard Andrea Smith averaged 16.5 points per game and was the thirdhighest scorer in the Big East. Although South Florida has an experienced and talented backcourt, their frontcourt needs work. The Bulls lost their top two rebounders in graduated center Porche Grant (8.6 rebounds per game) and forward/ center Leondra Doomes-Stephens (5.2 rebounds per game).

13. VILLANOVA

14. PROVIDENCE

The Wildcats finished near the bottom of the Big East last year at 12-19 overall but should improve this season as they return their top-five scorers. The leader is junior forward Laura Sweeney, who dropped 11.5 points per game as a sophomore. Sweeney also averaged a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game, and her progress at the end of the season had to be promising for Wildcat fans; she recorded double figures in 13 of Villanova’s 14 games.

The Friars lose their leading scorer in forward Mi-Khida Hankins but will return six seniors and two juniors to provide leadership this season. Head Coach Phil Seymore, who has a 75-103 record at Providence, has also brought in four freshmen, but they will merely serve as a complement to redshirt seniors Tiffany Hurd and Teya Wright. Wright played in all 29 games last season and averaged nine points and eight rebounds per game.

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hebigeast Levinsky Hoya Staff Writers

2. CONNECTICUT

3. LOUISVILLE

UConn bedeviled Georgetown all last season, including pulling out a five-point victory over the Hoyas in the Sweet 16.

The Huskies return much of their Final Four squad, including last season’s Big East rookie of the year, Bria Hartley, and senior guard and all-Big East first-team member Tiffany Hayes. Connecticut also brings in the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class, which includes guard Brianna Banks, forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and center Kiah Stokes.

Senior forward Monique Reid led the team with 15.5 points per game last season and made the all-Big East first team for the second straight year. Sophomore guard Shoni Schimmel, who put up 33 points to lead the Cardinals into the NCAA regionals, will be joined by her sister, Jude, a freshman guard.

With almost all of the key parts of last year’s team back, Louisville could make a serious run in the national tournament this season.

7. ST. JOHN’S

8. SYRACUSE

Last year inconsistency plagued the Red Storm, who only recorded back-to-back wins once after December. They won one game in the NCAA tournament but fell to Stanford in the second round. St. John’s only graduated one starter, and the team’s foreboding frontcourt of junior Shenneika Smith and senior Da’Shena Stevens remains intact. The team lost graduated senior forward Centhya Hart in the post, but junior guard and prolific passer Nadirah McKenith is back.

Syracuse’s strength will be down low with junior center Kayla Alexander and senior forward Iasia Hemingway. Alexander was an all-Big East selection last year and scored a teamhigh 14.8 points per game, while Hemingway, an all-Big East honorable mention, was the team’s top rebounder. Graduated starting guards Tasha Harris and Erica Morrow are gone, which leaves the Orange with several questions in their backcourt.

11. MARQUETTE

12. PITTSBURGH

The Golden Eagles won 24 games and went to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, but the senior leadership that sustained that run has graduated.

Head Coach Terri Mitchell has recruited six freshmen, but it’s doubtful that they will be able to replace the 74.8 percent of scoring that left the team via graduation. The team’s only junior, forward Sarina Simmons, averaged only 7.5 points per game last season, and there are no seniors on the squad.

The Panthers had a disappointing 2010-2011, which closed with a loss to Marquette in the Big East quarterfinals. Now the youngest team in America, Pittsburgh has no upperclassmen. Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Anderson is the only returning starter and averaged just 5.2 points per game last year, but Head Coach Agnus Berenato has done a good job on the recruiting trail. ESPN ranks the class of five incoming freshmen No. 18 in the nation.

15. CINCINNATI

16. SETON HALL

The Bearcats went 9-20 last season and won just two Big East games. The only bright spots were two members of the Big East all-freshman team, guard Kayla Cook and forward Jeanise Randolph. Michigan transfer and junior guard Dayeesha Hollins will help fill the hole left by the graduation of guard Shareese Ulis, one of the best players in team history.

Head Coach Jamelle Elliot has a 21-38 record in her first two seasons and is facing an uphill battle in 2011-2012.

The Pirates won only one game in Big East play last year, but their entire starting lineup returns this season looking to improve that record. Senior guard Jasmine Crew will be the team’s leader, but the Pirates have plenty of talented young players. Sophomore guard Ka-Deidre Simmons was an allBig East freshman team player last year. Seton Hall also added two McDonald’s All-American nominees, freshman guard Alexis Brown and freshman center Chizoba Ekedigwe.

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sugarrodgers Eyes on the prize

Pat curran Hoya Staff Writer

S

ugar Rodgers is back and better than ever.

The Hoyas’ star guard — already the Big East’s most dominant scorer — spent the summer finetuning her jump shot, practicing free throws and staying in shape for her upcoming junior season. All that and another year of tournament experience under her belt from last year’s run to the Sweet 16 spells nothing but trouble for opposing defenses.

“I’ve been working on tightening up jump shots, free throws,” Rodgers said, visibly more relaxed in an interview setting than in the past. “I’m trying to get in the 90 percent [free -throw shooting] club. Threes, I’m trying to get like Ray Allen — 50 percent.”

Rodgers has been a force to be reckoned with since arriving on the Hilltop in 2009.

She led the Hoyas in scoring as a freshman and was second only to Connecticut’s Maya Moore in last season’s Big East scoring race.

She lit up Maryland for 34 points and nine rebounds in the second round of the 2011 NCAA tournament and was instrumental in the postseason run that established Georgetown among the elite of women’s basketball.

Now, however, it’s about more than scoring. With the graduation of Monica McNutt, the Blue and Gray lost their vocal leader and biggest locker room presence. And although the six seniors will undoubtedly shoulder some of that responsibility this season, Rodgers knows she will be expected to speak up more often and provide leadership for the younger players.

If the team’s practices thus far are any indication, she’s ready for the job.

“You can definitely tell that she’s become an upperclassman,” senior forward Adria Crawford said. “She’s a lot more vocal than she has been in the past. She’s a lot more ‘gimme the ball’ instead of just letting it come to her.”

Rodgers’ most notable career achievements thus far have been made with the ball in her hands, but perhaps her biggest improvements this season have come off the

ball. Teammates and coaches have noticed a marked increase in the star guard’s intensity level on the defensive end, which may be enough to earn her McNutt’s old spot at the head of Georgetown’s trademark full-court press.

“She’s been more than points. Defensively, she has been great,” senior forward Tia Magee said. “She’s been playing the top of our press, and she’s been doing a really, really good job.”

But while Rodgers has been spectacular in her two years wearing the blue and gray, she is still far from perfect. The superstar’s greatest weakness has always been her lack of consistent focus; she can show flashes of brilliance only to disappear for long stretches. But with upperclassman status comes a newfound sense of urgency, and Rodgers’ weakness could soon be a thing of the past.

“Playing hard every night, I think I lacked that,” Rodgers said. “I played when I wanted to play. Now I’m going to play hard, because I’m trying to get to the championship game.”

The NCAA title may seem ambitious for a program with only three tournament trips to its name, but the championship game is definitely more than just a pipe dream. The rotation from last year’s Sweet 16 squad remains intact with the exception of McNutt, and Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s solid recruiting class will likely make immediate contributions. The new players, in fact, are talented enough that they may be able to take some of the scoring load off of Rodgers.

“I think she’ll score more than what [McNutt] did,” Rodgers said of freshman guard Taylor Brown. “Taylor can dribble and get to the basket. It’ll even take pressure off me. If she’s scoring, people will go and check her, then I can score.”

The national press has finally taken notice of the Hoyas’ success, and the team won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year. ESPN’s early preseason rankings from last spring named Georgetown the nation’s No. 9 team, and Rodgers was recently named to the Wooden Award preseason top 30 by the Los Angeles

Athletic Club.

Rodgers, however remains focused on the real prize.

“That actually doesn’t mean nothing to me.

Until I get the award, that’s when it means something,” Rodgers said. “I’m just trying to win it, and I’m just trying to go to the championship game.”

Although all signs indicate the Georgetown superstar is more focused and mature entering her junior year, the self-confidence and spontaneity that made Rodgers great in her first two seasons is clearly still present.

“For some reason, she has stepped out a little bit further to shoot the three. As long as it goes in, we’ll keep letting her stay that far,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She’s been playing with a lot of confidence. ... The better she plays, the better we are altogether as a team.”

For the rest of the Big East, the latest word on Sugar is anything but sweet.

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mostlikelytosucceed Beno Picciano Hoya Staff Writer

In the fall of 2008, seven freshmen arrived on the Hilltop to join a program whose name instilled little fear in the hearts of opponents.

Georgetown was fresh off a campaign in which it had struggled to stay above .500, finishing 15-14 overall and stumbling to a 5-11 conference record with no postseason. The Blue and Gray had not won a Big East tournament game in seven years, and over 15 seasons had passed since their one and only trip to the NCAA tournament.

Fortunately for the future of Hoyas basketball, none of those freshmen cared.

With a disciplined work ethic and naive fearlessness, the seven recruits redefined the character of a program that desperately needed direction.

Three years later, they enter their senior season on the heels of two consecutive NCAA appearances, a trip to the Sweet 16 and a campaign in which the Hoyas stayed in the top 25 all season.

Courtesy georgetown sports information

“I think the seven seniors came in with a different type of attitude and mindset,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “It wasn’t so much, ‘OK, we’re not supposed to be that good, we’re not supposed to win this game,’ but they just came in with a different type of attitude: ‘Why not? Who said so?’ … They are definitely the seven that came

“Our class, we’re loud, we’re outgoing, we’re the most excited. We can be obnoxious, but we’re also the most eager.”

— Senior forward Tia Magee in and helped us turn this program around.”

“We just wanted to win. That’s all we knew. … We weren’t really worried about the past, the records and who we were supposed to lose to.

We were basketball players just like every other team,” senior forward Tia Magee said. “We just went into every game fearless. We just wanted to play ball like everybody else, and our mentality reflected onto all our teammates. Winning and not accepting less than that is just kind of our mentality as a team now.”

The start to this diverse but cohesive group’s final year is symbolic of the end of a transitional stage for the Georgetown program — one from mediocrity to national prominence. Even as the ephemeral nature of their collegiate careers has become apparent, “the seven” are determined to continue their progress.

“It’s a lot more exciting. … I have a sense of urgency,” senior guard Alexa Roche said. “We don’t have time to mess up. We need to get to where we were at the end of last year before [our] first game.”

Given the departure of guard Monica McNutt, the heart and soul of last year’s team, the eldest Hoyas will need to assume greater responsibility and leadership on and off the court. For Magee and senior point guard Rubylee Wright, two close friends who return to the Blue and Gray’s starting lineup, it’s clear that the veterans’ time is now.

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last dance A championship appears to be within the seniors’ grasp this year. Most early national rankings place the Hoyas in the top 10.

The women’s basketball program looks dramatically different than it did when the senior class arrived at McDonough three years ago.

Seniors highlighted at this year’s Midnight Madness from left to right: Adria Crawford, Alexa Roche, Rubylee Wright, Tia Magee, Amanda Reese, Tommacina McBride, Morgan Williams.

“I have to be prepared for my teammates, and I started to realize I’m the oldest now. There’s nobody to baby me. I’m supposed to be there to answer all the questions, show them how to work, show them what they’re supposed to do. I have to set the example,” Magee said.

Leading last year’s team in rebounding — a traditionally difficult statistical category for past Blue and Gray squads — with 5.2 boards per game, Magee’s big presence down low reflects the major contributions she is anticipated to make this season, both statistically and intangibly.

“I think the team listens to her well, and I feel that through her hard work she’s able to make everybody else [reach] her level and work just as hard,” Wright said. “She will yell at you on defense if you aren’t getting that stop or that steal, and I think that her energy that she brings to the team will help everybody play better.”

Magee can convert opportunities from her customary position at the post but is also capable of knocking down mid-range and longer jumpshots. While junior All-American guard Sugar Rodgers led last year’s team with 18.7 points per game, Magee is also expected to fill the slot of the primary supporting scorer. Magee was third on the team last year with 8.2 points per game.

“This year I’ll need to be more of a leader, more

outspoken, more of a point scorer and do the little things, but it’s stuff that I’m very capable of doing,” Magee said.

Wright, Georgetown’s assists leader with 5.0 helpers per game last season, is by far one of the smallest players on the floor at 5-foot-3, but the playmaker’s on-court presence and demeanor make up for it.

“Even though Monica was not the point guard, she was still the leader on the floor. Now it’s Ruby’s turn to be the general on the floor,” WilliamsFlournoy said.

Wright is largely charged with the responsibility of facilitating an up-tempo style of play which has characterized itself as one of quick transitions. Not only will she look to continue her oncourt contributions in distribution, scoring and defense, but Wright will need to help guide the newer guards on the team.

“She’s been doing a really good job of running the team and fixing the little things and making good suggestions. She keeps the team going,” Magee said of her teammate. “She has already been a great, great leader for the guards and point guards that are just coming in. She’s done a good job of instructing them and teaching them.”

In addition, Roche has made strides to establish herself as a leader, and senior forward Adria

Crawford — the Hoyas’ spark plug and hustle player in the paint — will continue her vital contributions.

The senior class is rounded out by forward Tommacina McBride, guard Morgan Williams and redshirt junior forward Amanda Reese.

“I think we have a lot of pressure on us to grow up, and I think we’re reaching that point.

We have this chip on our shoulder because everybody’s saying, ‘Oh, the seven freshmen, seven sophomores, seven juniors, seven seniors.’

There’s so much pressure relying on that,” Crawford said. “I think we know it’s time to step up, so it’s a really exciting moment to [start] the season.”

Results notwithstanding, one thing is for certain: This year’s senior unit will lead, and they will lead with the same enthusiasm that they have brought to the program in their first three years as Hoyas.

“Our class, we’re loud, we’re outgoing, we’re the most excited. We can be obnoxious, but we’re also the most eager,” Magee said.

While they may not always top the scorecard or make the headlines, the Class of 2011 has its eye on besting last year’s Sweet 16 performance.

Regardless of the team’s ability to successfully navigate through a rigorous schedule, “the seven” have already made their lasting impact on a program — one that won’t be soon forgotten.

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