PROGRESS REPORT: Georgetown Shows Growth While Not Meeting Expectations

Hoyas’ competitiveness reveals improvement, despite outcomes

Your Georgetown Hoyas jump three spots on the KenPom rankings to a season-high 61! I assume we’re all feeling great, right? RIGHT??

Once again there are no moral victories. But despite two disappointing losses this past week, the Hoyas continue to surpass expectations. That isn’t just worth some good feelings. It does mean something in the end…but only if they put some wins together. In their toughest two-game stretch so far, the Hoyas were soundly handled by a UConn team that was fresh off a bad loss and focused all of their powers on a young Hoya squad. While it was disappointing that the team couldn’t land a more competitive result in front of the biggest crowd to watch a game in years, extra credit should be awarded for effort. Georgetown then came up short on the road against St. John’s after again putting the screws to an opponent in the first half only to see them roar back in the second.

These games were a bit of a Rorschach test – you’ll see what you want to see, and while we all saw different things, they are all correct.

I saw a young team trying to learn how to win on the biggest stage with a tiny margin for error. This team is still playing well above my expectations. For those who are really frustrated by a three-game losing streak, I get it. But on the other hand, I really don’t get it. This team is absolutely moving in the right direction and is ahead of schedule. They also have an elite unit (defense), which is truly remarkable, given how bad they’ve been over the past few years. Wins will come because this is a good basketball team, albeit flawed. Enjoy the ride, not only the results.

Let’s dive in.

Malik Mack – C+
UConn: 9pts, 3-12 25% FG, 1-5 20% 3PT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 3 TOV, 37 MIN
St. John’s: 13pts, 5-17 29% FG, 1-5 20% 3PT, 2-3, 4 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 5 TO, 37 MIN

Malik has been asked to do a lot this year, and the ask has only gotten larger without Jayden. He is expected to run the offense, serve as the primary ball-handler, and be a scorer, all while being an excellent perimeter defender. So far, I think he’s been fantastic, but I think the ask caught up to him this week against two of the bigger and more athletic teams in the conference. His scoring took a hit as he just struggled to get to his spots around the basket and in the mid-range against the size of UConn and St. John’s. He also struggled from three despite hitting a couple of big shots, including a late one against St. John’s that got the Hoyas to within one. After a stop, they came back down, and he had another open three that he missed. Consistency is often a victim of fatigue, and I think that’s ultimately what got him. I’d like to see them try and run some more high pick and roll to give him space and to help them get the ball to Sorber (see more below). I also think when you need him to be a scorer, having him take a few possessions off-ball would help. They just don’t have the luxury of doing that consistently without Epps. Defensively, he was great again this past week. The strides he’s made defensively from early in the season are kind of remarkable. I give him a ton of extra credit for that.

Micah Peavy – B-
UConn: 14pts, 5-12 41% FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-8 FT, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5 TO, 35 MIN
St. John’s: 21pts, 9-20 45% FG, 1-2 50% 3PT, 2-4 FT, 7 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 4 TO, 40 MIN

As with Malik, you saw the challenges of asking guys to play above their roles in these two games. Micah is not a 20-shot-per-game guy, but the team has needed him to be. Again, I think the workload caught up to him against St. John’s, where he was inefficient and missed several layups. None of them were easy, but they all should have been made. Micah is excellent as a third or even second option offensively. The lack of ball movement against St. John’s – a direct result of St. Johns’ pressure – hurt the Hoyas, particularly Peavy, who is best off of ball reversals. His defense remains elite, and he manages to make a ton of impact plays, including turning defense into offense. He was the catalyst (along with Curtis) in Georgetown’s first-half run to go up by 15 against St. John’s, capping it off with an absolutely monster dunk: https://x.com/GeorgetownHoops/status/1879336940346224774

I mean, good lord, Micah. That poor guy has a family. Side note: it is genuinely insane and probably worth discussing how that was not called a foul. This angle gives a better look: https://x.com/HilltopHoops_/status/1879337311001039054. I mean, just because Peavy murdered the guy doesn’t negate the full-body contact.

Drew Fielder – C
UConn: 3pts, 1-2 50% FG, 1-1 3PT, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 TO, 20 MIN
St. John’s: 4pts, 2-3 66% FG, 0-1 3PT, 12 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 36 MIN

I imagine this will be controversial because if you just look at the box scores, Drew didn’t have a great week. But I continue to think Drew’s contributions are harder to track than most. He plays a key role as a connector and rebounder on the offensive end. Ultimately, you’d like to see him be more involved offensively, but he continues to make shots from inside the arc. He just doesn’t take many. I don’t think that will change much, but they can use him a bit in the dunker spot (along the baseline) in pick and roll (with Sorber). He’s been good there this year. Defensively, he’s been solid, though he has a little bit of a tendency to rotate slowly to shooters. That got him a seat on the bench against UConn and seems to be a source of frustration for Ed. I think he’s being asked to do a lot defensively, and that’s just an area for improvement. But he gets extra points for the intensity and toughness he shows in rebounding. He looked positively ferocious on a couple of grabs in between 2 and 3 St. John’s bigs.

Thomas Sorber – B
UConn: 9pts, 3-9 33% FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-6 FT, 10 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 4 BLK, 2 TO, 34 MIN
St. John’s: 5pts, 2-4 50% FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 4 TO, 32 MIN

Sorber was outstanding defensively in both games. His defensive growth has been extremely impressive. He is a big part of their top-20 defense. His rim protection is special. He’s 34th in the nation in block percentage and second in the Big East. Oh, and here’s a fun stat I found: he is the best defender in the league. No biggie. That’s right, he is first in the Big East in Defensive Rating ahead of Deivon Smith and his teammate, Micah Peavy. So that whole “Oh, he’s just good on the offensive end” argument is completely bonkers. Offensively, he struggled a bit against the physicality of UConn and St. John’s.

Georgetown needs to get him more shots. Some of that is on Cooley to get them into different looks, some on the guards to throw entry passes, and some on Sorber to establish position. Sorber has been in some absolute wars to get position in the post. He has done well, but he’s still lacking some lower-half strength. Against St. John’s in particular, he would get position and then be knocked off the spot, causing the guards to hesitate to throw the entry pass to him. The solution to that is part, just get stronger, part, please call some blatant fouls, and part, throw good entry passes, but he is so good with the ball (at any spot on the floor) that I honestly don’t think he needs to work as hard to get so deep on post-ups. If they are pushing you up the floor, let them, then turn and hit the mid-range or attack the basket. He picked up what looked like a painful knock to his elbow late in the St. John’s game, and like other knocks he’s taken, he came back in late. I am not sure he’s 100% healthy, but I hope he’s OK. He’s the most important player on this team.

Caleb Williams – C
UConn: 3pts, 1-4 25% FG, 1-2 3PT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 20 MIN
St. John’s: 0pts, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 15 MIN

Caleb had a more typical week for a Freshman playing against two of the best teams in the conference. He started against UConn and was good. He lacked some of the activity he’d shown in previous games but remained solid defensively. With Epps back in the starting lineup against St. John’s, he came off the bench and was largely a non-factor. He’s in a tough spot as a spot starter, as his minutes and role are going to change depending on whether he’s starting or not. I expect him to bounce back next week.

Jordan Burks – C-
UConn: 4pts, 1-1 FG, 2-2 FT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 14 MIN
St. John’s: 0pts, 1 STL, 6 MIN

Jordan struggled to find his role this past week. He was mostly a non-factor in the St. John’s game and was not as effective against UConn as he has been. He needs to focus on bringing defensive intensity and going to the rim offensively.

Curtis Williams – A-
UConn: 15pts, 4-6 66% FG, 3-4 75% 3PT, 4-4 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, 22 MIN
St. John’s: 11pts, 5-8 62% FG, 1-4 25% 3PT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 TO, 24 MIN

Curtis may have been the Hoyas’ best player this past week. He is shooting the absolute lights out right now and may be the best shooter on the team. He’s 41% from three on the season. The team desperately needs that, and he showed off his ability to just go get and make tough jumpers in both games. He was the choice to start for Epps in the second half of the St. John’s game. He tried to do a little too much midway through the second half and gave up a bad turnover. After that, Cooley went to Caleb. I thought both were probably the right calls. However, his shooting is a lifeline for the Hoyas, and he is still a plus defender. If he continues to play like he did these past two games, he changes the upside for this team.

Jayden Epps
UConn: DNP
St. John’s: 4pts, 1-6 16% FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 10 MIN

He tried to go against St. John’s and reportedly tweaked the lower body injury. Even at 80% and bad efficiency in the first 10 minutes of the game, you can see how much his presence helps the Hoyas’ offense. They just need a guy for whom the defense has to account on that end. They need him to get healthy.

Offense – D Currently ranked 153rd in Off. efficiency per KenPom (previously 119th)
UConn: 92.5 Off. Rating, 45% eFG, 46% 3PT (15 att.), 68.4 AST. Rate
St. John’s: 88.5 Off. Rating, 40% eFG%, 21% 3PT (14 att.), 37.5 AST. Rate

Once again, I think the offensive system and sets are actually quite good. They struggle to make shots consistently and don’t have the personnel, particularly without Jayden. Ed’s comments post-game on getting Sorber more shots are encouraging:

And for those of you saying, “Well, why didn’t he do anything about it.” I invite you to chill just a bit. I get the frustration, but I think the staff is doing an excellent job with this team on both ends, and I trust them to figure it out. It’s not a simple switch that you flip. As I mentioned, some of it is on the staff to draw up plays to get Sorber the ball. But some of it is Sorber getting position and guys throwing entry passes (a skill that has largely left the game as it has moved away from post-play). I think running more pick-and-roll will help. I also expect we’ll see more flex sets that disappeared after they spammed them in the Creighton game. I’d also like to see them try to run some side pick-and-roll with the ball handler on the wing rather than up top. Running that with an empty side (no shooter in the strong side corner) with Sorber can be a good way to get into an easier post position if the initial action doesn’t work.

This is a good, short primer on roll and post-action for those interested.

The end shows the Kick Back Entry, which involves the ball handler kicking the ball back to a perimeter player at the top of the key, who then throws the ball to the post player who has sealed their defender deep. The Hoyas have run that a bit this year, and I think it’s a good action for them to get Sorber touches but also to get Micah and others the ball in space on the kick back. With their current personnel, the Hoyas have offensive limitations. They just aren’t a good shooting team. For what it’s worth, they had probably their best shooting game of the year against UConn. Unfortunately, it came against the best offensive in the country in a desperate, must-win spot. I would not overanalyze the St. John’s game, as they play the most disruptive defense in the league and get away with a lot of physicality. Georgetown wasn’t good enough in that game, but let’s see how they respond over the next few games before drawing big conclusions about the coaching.

Defense – A Currently ranked 20th in Def. efficiency per KenPom (previously 31st)
UConn: 104.9 Def. Rating, 54% eFG, 15.3% TOV Rate, 73% DRB Rate
St. John’s: 88.5 Def. Rating, 40% eFG, 12.1 TOV Rate, 73% DRB Rate

The defense is just elite. That’s just what it’s going to be this year. They are up to the top 20 in the nation. It’s not a fluke. They have mixed in the zone well this year, though I thought the zone was a little shaky against St. John’s. Did I mention they have two of the three top defenders in the conference in Sorber and Peavy? Well, they also have 5 of the top 20 players in defensive rating, which happens to be their starting lineup. They are really good defensively. Their defense is going to give them a chance to win any game. I honestly can’t believe I wrote that. That alone makes this season a success in my book.

Next Week

This next week, and really the next five games, are huge for this team. After the toughest three-game stretch of the season (Marquette on the road, UConn home, St. John’s on the road), Georgetown has a feisty DePaul team, a weird Villanova team, The Providence Game™, the St. John’s revenge match and Butler who is just bad.

Georgetown is favored in two of those games (DePaul and Butler) but has a realistic chance in all of them. 3-2 would help stabilize things for them. 4-1 would be amazing. 5-0, a minor miracle. In the next two, Georgetown is by far the superior defensive team, but both DePaul and Villanova have had good offensive seasons. Neither game will be easy; both games are winnable, and one game (DePaul) is probably a must-win to right the ship and end the three-game skid. Get it done!