Georgetown not losing identity after coming off loss Communication sits at the top of a suddenly plentiful list of challenges Georgetown faces after dropping its third Big East game of the season, in convincing fashion, at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
But one message is clear: the Hoyas aren’t abandoning who they are or what they’ve done to get themselves into the top tier of the conference standings.
When asked the level of adjustment he’d contemplated ahead of facing Connecticut (14-6, 4-4 Big East) on Wednesday, Hoyas coach John Thompson III said, “Specifically in this case, am I making changes to the starting lineup? No.”
| Up Next |
| Connecticut at No. 14 Georgetown |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » ESPN2 |
Of course, Thompson has played down the significance of his starting five all season and fiddling with part of rotation could hurt the Hoyas (16-4, 6-3) more than it could help. But nearly every member of that first group is on notice after getting outscored by the Panthers as a unit 66-35.
After hitting a combined nine 3-pointers in consecutive games against Cincinnati and St. John’s, Hollis Thompson is shooting 3-for-10 (30 percent) in the last three games from behind the arc and 12-for-32 overall (37.5 percent).
“I don’t think that teams are getting me out of my rhythm,” Hollis Thompson said. “I think I just got to keep playing my game.”
Coach Thompson disagreed, saying that his junior guard needs to refocus on defense, rebounding and hustle plays when shots aren’t falling.
“I think that for the most part this year, Hollis has done a good job of working at and becoming a complete basketball player, as opposed to someone that just shoots,” Coach Thompson said. “I think lately, when he’s missed his first couple shots, he’s backed off. That gets to shooters.”
Senior center Henry Sims continues to average 2.8 turnovers a game, cutting into his team-leading 3.6 assists, while leading scorer Jason Clark (15.6 ppg) failed to reach double figures for the first time in eight games at Pitt.
Sophomore forward Nate Lubick went scoreless for the second time in the last four games against the Panthers, and sophomore guard Markel Starks missed time in the first half with early foul trouble, which has plagued him on multiple occasions during the year.
“I would just say we’re a young group,” Starks said. “Everybody forgets that. Everybody forgets that we have 10 underclassmen, three upperclassmen. … I don’t think we’ve been erratic. We just went through a little slump, and we’re going to bounce back, we always do.”
Starks’ defense in the second half played a big role in helping the Hoyas make a charge against the Panthers, but the effort was undercut by poor attention to detail in zone defense and late switches in man-to-man. Pitt finished with the highest shooting percentage (52.1) against Georgetown this year, not an encouraging sign with one month to go before the postseason.
“Our communication is part of the reason why our defense was bad the other day,” Thompson said. “I think that was an exception as to how we’ve been as opposed to a rule. … Hopefully it’s out of our system.”
