Fansided

College basketball week 16: 5 important things to know

By Chris Stone

NORMAN, OK - FEBRUARY 17: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks at the court after passing the half court line against the Texas Longhorns at Lloyd Noble Center on February 17, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 77-66. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - FEBRUARY 17: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks at the court after passing the half court line against the Texas Longhorns at Lloyd Noble Center on February 17, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 77-66. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: NBA Hall of Famer and former Georgetown Hoyas player Patrick Ewing is introduced as the Georgetown Hoyas’ new head basketball coach at John Thompson Jr. Athletic Center on April 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: NBA Hall of Famer and former Georgetown Hoyas player Patrick Ewing is introduced as the Georgetown Hoyas’ new head basketball coach at John Thompson Jr. Athletic Center on April 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

4. Georgetown’s making progress under Patrick Ewing

The idea that program building takes time and head coaches can’t make significant waves in their first season appears to be nothing more than what Memphis fans tell themselves so they can sleep at night. Chris Holtmann has already changed the conversation surrounding Ohio State, for example, and Will Wade is already locking up 5-star recruits at LSU. In the nation’s capital, another first year head coach is making waves.

Although Georgetown likely won’t be dancing this season, the Hoyas’ performance relative to recent years is a positive. Under first year head coach Patrick Ewing, Georgetown’s already won as many games as it did last season thanks to a putrid non-conference slate. More importantly, though, they’ve already matched last season’s win total in the Big East with four games to play. Recent wins over Seton Hall and at Butler are the highlight.

Ewing’s helped inject new life into some of the Hoyas’ most valuable upperclassmen as well. Junior Jessie Govan’s numbers haven’t changed much on a per 40 minutes basis, but his ability to stay on the court and avoid foul trouble this season has been a boon. Then there’s Marcus Derrickson, a 6-foot-7 junior who’s averaging 20.5 points per 40 minutes this season compared to 14.0 in 2016-17. Freshmen Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair have shown promising signs, too, and now Ewing is set to bring in a top 50 recruiting class for the second straight summer.

The Hoya Paranoia isn’t back quite yet, but Ewing has things on the mend. This week, Georgetown has another chance to make a statement as Xavier heads to Washington, DC on Wednesday.