Point guard averaging 24.3 points in last three games for Georgetown
Georgetown head coach John Thompson III was asked after his team’s New Year’s Eve win over St. John’s if he thought during the game that junior point guard Chris Wright, who was scoring at will in the first half, might be on the verge of matching the career-high 34 points he had the game prior against Harvard.
Before answering, Thompson hedged, looking over his left shoulder to Wright himself.
“Did it cross your mind?” he verified — and Wright was not about to dispute — before turning back. “It did not cross my mind at all.”
Mind-blowing individual scoring statistics have not been a staple of Thompson’s tenure with the Hoyas (11-1, 2-0 Big East). Even Jeff Green’s 14.3 points as a senior don’t jump off the page. But it’s getting harder with every game to ignore Wright’s growing influence.
That includes in the scoring column of the box score.
In the three games since registering a season-low four points in Georgetown’s 61-57 loss to Old Dominion, Wright has averaged 24.3 points on better than 64 percent shooting from the field.
And if Thompson isn’t noticing, then it’s pretty clear Wright’s offense is coming right out of the flow of the Georgetown offense.
“He’s getting to the point where he has a terrific understanding of when is the time for him to go and when it isn’t,” said Thompson. “As he continues to, and as we as a team continue to get that understanding, we will just be that much more effective.”
Thompson has also praised Wright for recognizing the crucial possessions in which his teammates, such as sophomore center Greg Monroe, can thrive.
“That caring is why we’re going to continue to get better,” said Thompson.
“Sometimes you just have to start making plays, in any kind of way, not just scoring,” said Monroe. “At times, I feel like I do have to take over.”
Monroe himself was limited to 10 points and a season-low four rebounds in the Hoyas’ win over DePaul on Sunday, a performance he’s unlikely to duplicate at Marquette (9-5, 0-2).
