The first song of the Big Dance is always the toughest.
Freshman DaJuan Summers has started nearly every game this season for Georgetown, but even he wasn’t quite prepared for the Hoyas’ NCAA Tournament opener against Belmont. He went 2-for-9 from the floor, finishing with just six points and four rebounds.
But 10 days and three games later, Summers delivered clutch performance from start to finish in the Elite Eight, opening the game with two 3-pointers and finishing with eight points in overtime, including two enthusiastic dunks to put away North Carolina and send the Hoyas (30-6) back to the Final Four.
“[The first games] were tough,” said Summers, who had similar struggles in the Big East Tournament opener (two points, five rebounds). “It was my first NCAA Tournament game and I was trying to get a feel for things. I was kind of nervous, more so than anything.”
On ateam where balance thrives, Summers has earned himself the title of ‘icebreaker.’
“One of coaches came up to me and said that, ‘You realize you take the first shot of the game a lot?’”, said Summers. “I’m just trying to be aggressive because if you break the ice like, it’s easier. There’s a lot of tension early in the game.”
Nothing can quite prepare even the best of players for the intensity of competing for a national championship, but it’s often not the playing that’s difficult.
Instead, it’s those quiet moments before the big games.
But Summers’s steady improvement and growing confidence is all part of the process at Georgetown.
“I don’t think he was overwhelmed [or nervous],” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III. “Some days you play well, other days you don’t. As you get older, that happens less and less, but he comes in here and he works extremely hard. He’s someone that wants to be good … He’s someone that cares. He’s someone that wants to win.”
Final Four
Saturday, March 31
» Georgetown (30-6) vs. Ohio St. (34-3), 6:07 p.m.
» Florida (33-5) vs. UCLA (30-5), 8:47 p.m.
» All games televised on CBS
