It all looked so easy: Georgetown’s Princeton-style offense was clicking away, with crisp passes and sharp cuts ending in backdoor lay-ups, open three pointers finding the net, and freshman Greg Monroe confounding Hasheem Thabeet. Five minutes into the regular season Georgetown led #2 Connecticut by 15 points in Hartford. After finishing off the Huskies, Georgetown appeared headed towards a strong Big East season and a deep NCAA run. Maybe the Hoyas peaked too soon.
After starting out 3-2 in the Big East the Hoyas unraveled, finishing up the regular season 7-11 and losing a first round game to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament. Georgetown’s vaunted defensive strength faltered, and a once flowing offense predicted on back cuts and sharp passes stagnated as the season wore on, turning them into a jump shooting team struggling to find a rhythm.
Georgetown’s Slide in Numbers
After a win against Syracuse in January to get to 12-3 overall, Hoya fortunes fell dramatically as they lost 11 of their final 15 games. In virtually every important statistical measure of team success Georgetown foundered, as graphically shown by Liz Clarke of The Washington Post in her March 11, 2009 article “One and Done for the Hoyas.”
First 15 Category Last 15
71.1 Points Per Game 63.4
60.7 Opp. Points Per Game 66.3
49.3 Field Goal Pct. 44.5
33.3 Rebounds Per Game 30.5
13.7 Assists Per Game 13.1
12.3 Turnovers Per Game 15.9
For a program that prides itself on defense, the opposition ppg increase is dramatic. As the season wore on the Hoyas couldn’t make critical stops, and Marquette and Syracuse rang up 90+ points on the Hoyas during that stretch. On the flip side, their 7.7 team ppg drop offset nights when the defense came to play; in 5 out of the last 15 games they held the opposition to under 65 points yet still lost.
Jesse Sapp’s Season
Perhaps no one on the Georgetown team mirrored the fortunes of the team more than senior Jesse Sapp. A starter for the first 22 games of the season, Sapp’s dwindling production led to his benching against Syracuse in February that lasted through the final eight games of the season. Sapp’s best games came against out-of-league opponents early, as he averaged 9.9 points per game. But he struggled in Big East competition, averaging 5.2 ppg for the season.
Georgetown Bench
Georgetown’s depth going into the season may have been a concern but by the end it was a disaster. Primary bench players Omar Wattad, Jason Clark, Henry Sims and Julian Vaughn averaged less than three ppg, providing no help on offense when a spark was needed. Nakita Mescheriakov came off the bench until the Sapp benching, but was equally ineffective. The Hoyas clearly suffered during the year with no contributions off the bench.
Georgetown’s 2008-2009 Season
Georgetown’s 2008-2009 season can only be viewed as a disappointment for players, coaches and fans alike. What began with such promise in Hartford ended in some level of ignominy, losing two times within one week to St. John’s, one of the worst teams in the Big East. The most difficult pill to swallow is the high quality wins mixed in with the difficult losses: Georgetown beat Memphis, Villanova, and Syracuse, all quality NCAA Tournament-bound teams.
At this point the best the Hoyas can hope for is a bid and successful run in the NIT to salvage a disappointing season.
