It’s deep in the heart of winter, but John Thompson III is giving grilling lessons.
The Georgetown head coach’s latest cooking class took place over the weekend as the Hoyas snapped out of a worrying 3-point shooting funk. Georgetown had hit just 16.1 percent (5 of 31) attempts from behind the arc in three straight halves — the entire game in a loss at Pittsburgh and the first half against Notre Dame — before a 6-for-9 performance in the final 20 minutes of a 19-point win over the Fighting Irish. The Hoyas shot 56 percent (14 of 25) from the field down the stretch, showing they could be patient with the spatula in their hands.
“The kids are starting to see, and we all are getting better at, if we just turn it over a couple times, meaning don’t look for the first shot,” said Thompson. “’The first time I can get it off I don’t have to shoot it.’ Then all of a sudden, it’s going to be wide-open two or three passes later. In the second half, shots were easier because of our attentiveness of sticking with our offense.”
The Hoyas (14-2, 4-1 Big East), who were flat last Monday at Pitt, also know the best recipe for success includes intensity. “That’s the biggest difference, not thinking so much and just going harder,” said DaJuan Summers, who had his first career double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) against the Irish. “Scoring or rebounding will come if you play hard.”
Balancing patience with aggressiveness is critical tonight against traditional rival Syracuse, The Orange (13-6, 3-3) are down to seven scholarships players (including Lanham, Md.-native and Episcopal alum Arinze Onuako) who see significant time and have lost three of their last four games, but their vaunted 2-3 zone lured the Hoyas into a painful 6 of 25 showing in last year’s loss at the Carrier Dome. Notre Dame played less zone than Thompson expected, but the few times the Irish retreated out of man-to-man coverage, the Hoyas hinted to where they’ll look for an offensive spark against the Orange, with steady freshman Austin Freeman (DeMatha High) flashing through the middle. Freeman went 7-for-10 from the field with 16 points, his sixth straight game shooting 50 percent or better.
“He just has a keen understanding of how to play basketball,” said Thompson. “We’ve got to get him running and get a few rebounds and help his buddies out, but at the offensive end, he’s a natural.”
