Senior sets example for Hoyas with his selflessness, intensity
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jason Clark approached Georgetown’s NCAA tournament-opening victory over Belmont in the same manner he has every practice since he stepped on the Hoyas campus nearly four years ago.
Recommended Stories
While his teammates initially appeared slightly overwhelmed by the stage and the program’s recent underwhelming tournament history, Clark drove to the basket and banged home a fearless 3-pointer. He scored 10 of Georgetown’s first 14 points in the eventual 74-59 victory.
Henry Sims (11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game) may be more celebrated as the Hoyas’ facilitating big man, and freshman Otto Porter (9.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) may epitomize the Hoyas’ length and capability on the glass. But Clark, simply by doing what he has done his entire career, remains the best personification of the selfless, intense and focused Georgetown team that broke through to earn the program’s first NCAA win since 2008.
| Up next |
| No. 3 Georgetown vs. No. 11 N.C. State |
| When » Sunday, 12:15 p.m. |
| Where » Nationwide Arena, |
| Columbus, Ohio |
| TV » CBS |
| Notes |
| » Led by sophomore forward C.J. Leslie (14.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg), a high school teammate of Wizards point guard John Wall, the Wolfpack (23-12) play uptempo, have size and have five starters who score in double figures. Forward Richard Howell (11.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg) had a team-high 22 points in Friday’s win over San Diego State and led N.C. State with 14 points when it played Georgetown in Charleston, S.C., last season. |
| » While Jason Clark and Henry Sims have excelled of late, Hollis Thompson has struggled from the field. Thompson was 1-for-6 in the first half against Belmont, and he’s 1-for-9 from 3-point range in Georgetown’s last three games. Asked about his play, Hoyas coach John Thompson III said, “It hasn’t been as good as it’s going to be.” |
| » Asked for a team that reminds him of Georgetown’s Princeton-style offense, Leslie came up with one the Wolfpack played this season: Princeton. N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said sometimes getting scored on by a typical backdoor cut hurts worse than other baskets. “When you get beat on a backdoor cut, sometimes we feel like that was an eight-point play,” he said. “It’s just a two-point play. It’s what they do.” |
“I think the image that pops into most people’s head is him sitting down and having a powwow with the young guys and walking them through certain situations,” Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. “Just setting the tone and an example about how he goes about his business every day has been as important a part of his leadership as anything that’s come out of his mouth.”
Thompson touts Clark, who leads the Hoyas (24-8) with 14.1 points per game, as consistently the hardest worker in practice, a player who hasn’t lost a sprint in four years. By contrast, Georgetown’s other senior, Sims, has spent the entire season explaining his transformation after three underwhelming years.
“I noticed early on with Jason that he was a little more mature than a lot of the other kids our age,” Sims said. “He handled responsibility well. I can never remember Jason being late for anything. I always kind of looked up to him.”
Sims also saw fellow classmate and big man Greg Monroe leave for the NBA after two seasons. Clark, despite scoring in double figures since his sophomore season, had to wait three years to emerge from the shadow of Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. His embrace of a season finally spent in the spotlight is genuine, and his influence on the Hoyas is unmistakable.
“The last time I actually remember being a leader was in high school,” Clark said. “So, I mean, the year has been great. It’s a challenge, and that’s something that I’m always willing to step up to.”
