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The Georgetown Hoyas' first nonconference game is on Saturday against the St. Francis (NY) Terriers in a game the Hoyas should win easily. Georgetown is looking forward to making it back to the NCAA Tournament, as well as onto the national map to represent the Big East with Villanova, who is ranked as the No. 12 team in the nation.
The Hoyas start off unranked, but if they rattle off these early victories, they could very easily supplant themselves in the Top 25.
There are a few things that you should look out for when the Hoyas take on the Terriers on Saturday, as I examine in my 3-Point Preview:
What freshman will stand out for Georgetown?
Georgetown has an amazing freshmen class, including Tre Campbell, L.J. Peak, Paul White, Isaac Copeland and Trey Mourning. The one freshman that everyone is looking forward to seeing is L.J. Peak. The veteran guys on the team complimented him a lot during Georgetown's media day session in October thanks in part to Peak's talent and abilities. He is the type of player who can drive to the basket and finish in the lane with relative ease, and the athleticism that he has is what will bring excitement to the fans and the coaching staff because it will be more in the open-court. Despite that, he can play well in the half-court setting and still be successful, too.
Tre Campbell, Isaac Copeland, and Paul White are all important pieces to the team. Campbell will get a lot of time because D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera will not run the point guard position the entire time. The one thing that the team is looking forward to is his defense because that was one underrated part of his game that people questioned. But now, he has the opportunity to showcase it. Copeland and White will have an impact in this game and will be important to the team getting a win because both can shoot around the mid-range area and drive to the basket. In my opinion, Peak will stand out in this game because the team will mostly run up and down the court if St Francis' defense is not up to par.
For what it's worth, was in the Top 40 in Effective FG% allowed last season, allowing just 45.9 percent of shots to be converted.
What type of presence will Joshua Smith bring?
Last season, Joshua Smith was out for a majority of the season, and that really altered the plans that the team had. They were set to allow him to be a player that would be dominate in the low post, score around 15-20 points a game, and get over 10 rebounds a game, or in that range. This is the first time we will see Smith since January 4. At media day, he mentioned that he felt drained after the game against Oregon Ducks in South Korea last year, but as he enters the 2014 season, Smith looks to be in tip-top physical shape.
How good of a one two punch will D`Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Jabril Trawick be?
Georgetown will have Smith-Rivera at the one and Jabril Trawick at the two, most likely. This can be a dangerous backcourt because they both can score really well. Jabril will move all around thanks in part to his tremendous versatility. Despite St. Francis' terrific defense last year, they may find themselves overmatched against this pairing, who could wind up combining for upwards of 40 points.