The Variations of Georgetown Big Man Experiences

Georgetown finally got a win on Friday evening, beating Wisconsin, 71-61 after a pair of early-season losses. Sunday afternoon, they’ll face Duke at 1 PM at Madison Square Garden, televised on ESPN.

But while the results finally changed, what’s been fascinating in the early season is how much Georgetown is relying on two very different centers—senior Bradley Hayes, the starter, and freshman Jessie Govan, the frequently-used backup—to comprise a significant part of their offense.

In Hayes, whose emergence during last year’s NCAA tournament carried over into this season, the Hoyas have a legitimate low-post scorer.  Given his preference for long, athletic, multi-positional teams, Thompson III hasn’t had a “traditional” five since Roy Hibbert left. Joshua Smith provided some of that last year, but really, his game had more to do with an ability to move people with his otherworldly frame than any sort of post game itself.

Hayes scored 19 against Radford, where his size overwhelmed the Highlanders, but he followed that with 16 against Maryland, doing work against big men like Diamond Stone. While he did not play as well against Wisconsin, he represents a specific, back-to-the-basket presence. So it is interesting that he led Georgetown in shot attempts in the Maryland, and is just behind expected top scorer D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera on the season as a focal point.

In Govan, however, Georgetown has a center capable of scoring in the low post, but frequently makes his way outside. After taking a lone three, and making it, in the first two Georgetown games, Govan took two against Wisconsin, making one. But the fact that he was out there represents not only an opposite pole for the Hoya offensive attack from Hayes, but a floor spacing big that the Hoyas really haven’t had in Thompson’s tenure.

“They are different,” Thompson said following the Wisconsin win Friday night. “And it’s not a challenge for me. As a staff, we do our best to embrace what our guys can do. Both of them, in different ways, when they get the ball, will be a force, and open everything else up.”

To get a sense of how new it is for the Hoyas: Govan entered Friday night’s game, with his career one three-point attempt, sixth all-time among Georgetown centers who played for Thompson III in a single season. His two Friday night attempts lumped him in a three-way tie for fourth. And he should quickly become first, as the record for a Thompson Georgetown center is Greg Monroe’s 27 over 34 games.

Against Radford and Maryland, the two centers shared minutes, with Hayes getting roughly 2/3, Govan 1/3. But Thompson went with Govan for 26 minutes Friday night, Hayes 14. And not only did the Hoyas shoot 9-for-18 from three, they seemed to get excellent looks to produce those shots all night, process absolutely lining up with results.

“There’s a whole portion of what we can do offensively that we haven’t done the last few years, because we haven’t had a big guy who’s a threat out there,” Thompson said. “So to do those things, it will open up the floor even more.”

While Hayes’ development is important, and beneficial, Thompson made a point of detailing the varied game Govan possesses. He’s no Tracy Murray.

“Earlier, you alluded to the differences between the B.J. and Jesse—Jesse can score in the blocks, too,” Thompson said. “But the fact that he can make that shot, you have to guard him. You can’t just plop a guy in the lane, which clogs our cuts. So he helps with the spacing.”

And just three games in, it appears Govan will allow Georgetown to do more on the offensive end than ever before, a further answer to those who still pigeon-hole Thompson with the Princeton offense. At the moment, Thompson seems to be running two different offenses at once, and with ease.