Georgetown was as unknown coming into the year as its freshmen.
But now the Hoyas are No. 12 in the country after starting 10-1 for the fifth straight year, and among a key trio of rookies, ball-hawking Otto Porter Jr. has emerged as their most important contributor off the bench.
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“If you told me at the beginning of the year that we’d be 10-1 right now, I don’t think I would have thought we would be,” Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. “Now once you start to go through it, I’m not surprised with each and every game and how this team has grown and progressed.”
| Up Next |
| No. 12 Georgetown at No. 4 Louisville |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky. |
| TV » ESPN2 |
But Thompson wasn’t sure what he had on his roster when he took his team to China in August. A sought-after recruit but hardly a traditional one, Porter came to Georgetown by way of rural Missouri carrying pedigree — his father, Otto Porter Sr., owns records at Southeast Missouri State — but no AAU experience.
“His situation is special and his family is special in that they haven’t babied him,” Thompson said. “A lot of people who are around basketball 24/7 get babied. They are told they don’t ever have to work on anything. He was never pandered, babied or told he was the best thing since sliced bread. He’s always been taught that he has to work and improve.”
Porter scored a team-high 16 points in the first game of Georgetown’s tour, but the Hoyas’ play during two weeks overseas was overshadowed by a fight in the tour’s second game against the Bayi Rockets.
Since the college season, Porter has redefined himself as the do-it-all sixth man on a roster that is long, versatile and athletic. He’s second on the team in rebounds (5.9 per game) and steals (1.3 per game), while also averaging 8.3 points a game. Despite his size (6-foot-8), he’s at ease putting the ball on the floor, but his trademark is having a nose for the basketball.
“I’m just going to the ball wherever it goes, that’s where I’m trying to go,” Porter said. “That’s the thing with our team. We’re good rebounders. Whenever the shot goes up, we’re all crashing the boards.”
The Hoyas didn’t have anyone like him last year, and it’s turned a traditional program weakness into a strength.
“I think Otto’s mind never takes a break, and thus his body never takes a break,” Thompson said. “And so he quickly goes through the transitions that happen during a normal flow of a possession of a game. … His mind is always thinking of what’s happening next, and then he pursues the ball.”
Porter’s rapid development, along with that of freshmen forward Greg Whittington and guard Jabril Trawick, will be tested by a difficult Big East opener at undefeated No. 4 Louisville (12-0). But Thompson, like his freshmen, didn’t hesitate when asked after beating Memphis for a second time if he was surprised with Porter’s production.
“Not anymore,” Thompson said. “I think heading to Beijing, but at this point what he’s doing is not a surprise. We expect it.”
