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Big East icon Patrick Ewing was on the court again on Sunday, acting as head coach for the very first time in his career for his alma mater. The Georgetown Hoyas earned a 73-57 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins, giving the Hoya icon his first-ever win in his debut.
The Hoyas were lifted by the efforts of Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson. Govan and Derrickson combined for 40 points, 20 apiece, and shot 15-26 from the field. Govan himself had a huge day on the court. The junior big man pulled a game of a caliber that his coach probably would’ve in his heyday, as he scored 20 and grabbed 15 boards. Govan even showed off his range, converting on a 3-pointer. He also had four blocks and two steals and just two turnovers in 34 minutes of action. Derrickson, meanwhile, had eight rebounds with an assist and three steals in 30 minutes.
Dolphins sophomore Tanner Rubio had 15 points and five rebounds in 36 minutes. Rubio, who was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team last year, has gotten off to a solid start to the year after scoring 10 in the opener against the UAB Blazers. JD Notae led the way with 18 points, which he also had in the opener.
Four Factors
Four Factors
Team | eFG% | TO% | OR% | FTRate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | eFG% | TO% | OR% | FTRate |
Jacksonville | 39.1% | 30.5% | 36.6% | 40.0% |
Georgetown | 54.4% | 25.0% | 33.3% | 28.1% |
What We Learned
Govan, indeed, beasted in his first game under Ewing
I don’t want to take all the credit for it, but it’s almost like he reads the site.
No, but seriously, Govan performing this way was a nice sign. He took strides in his sophomore season, and now under Ewing, he should be in for a big season. 6-foot-10 Dolphins big man Radwan Bakkali and the rest of the defense just could not handle him at all today. If these strides keep being made, Jessie could become a force to be reckoned with.
The Hoya perimeter defense was a bit shaky
Georgetown’s defense is typically their trademark. They did show some positive signs in the victory, holding the Dolphins to just 27.5 percent on 2-point tries. Their eFG% allowed was only 39.1 percent, and they forced turnovers at a rate of 30.5 percent. With that said, their perimeter D may need to improve. Jacksonville shot a ghastly 46.7 percent from deep. For a team that allowed marks of just 32.4 percent last year and 33.7 percent against teams in the Big East, they should hope that this was just an off day.
There’s still a ways to go
As we know from their schedule, we’re probably not going to know a whole lot about Georgetown until conference play. They’re likely to have a hoard of blowouts like this one, and some spots that will just need improvements. All in all though, this was a solid start to the Patrick Ewing era. At the very least, at least they didn’t lose their opener like they did to Radford two years ago.