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The Washington Post
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DAILY 03-15-07 MD SU E9
Thursday, March 15, 2007 E9
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NCAA Tournament
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EAST REGION
[2] GEORGETOWN vs.
[15] BELMONT
HOYAS ROSTER
No. Name
Pos. Yr. Pts. Rb. Ast.
1
Vernon Macklin
F
Fr.
2.9
1.4
0.6
2
Jonathan Wallace
G
Jr.
11.1
2.8
3.0
3
DaJuan Summers
F
Fr.
9.1
3.6
1.0
4
Kenny Izzo
F
Sr.
0.1
0.1
0.0
5
Jeremiah Rivers
G
Fr.
1.4
1.5
0.7
21
Jessie Sapp
G
So.
8.7
4.0
3.4
22
Tyler Crawford
G-F
Jr.
2.1
1.6
0.4
24
Octavius Spann
F
So.
0.5
0.5
32
Jeff Green
F
Jr.
14.3
6.1
33
Patrick Ewing Jr.
F
Jr.
4.0
1.9
0.9
52
Sead Dizdarevic
F
Sr.
0.2
0.1
0.0
55
Roy Hibbert
C
Jr.
12.7
6.3
0.9
BRUINS ROSTER
No. Name
Pos. Yr. Pts. Rb. Ast.
2
Shane Dansby
3
Keaton Belcher
G-F
So.
5.1
4.4
1.4
F
Fr.
3.9
2.3
0.5
4
Josh Goodwin
G
Sr.
6.2
2.6
1.7
14
Andrew House
G-F
So.
0.6
0.5
0.1
20
Andy Wicke
G
So.
9.5
1.9
2.8
23
Mike Dejworek
C
Fr.
1.1
0.3
0.1
24
Justin Hare
G
Jr.
14.4
2.8
2.5
0.0
25
Patrick Brand
F
So.
0.0
0.3
0.0
3.3
30
Matthew Dotson
F
So.
7.1
4.5
1.9
32
Boomer Herndon
C
Sr.
10.9
5.4
0.5
33
Will Peeples
F
So.
2.4
3.0
1.7
40
Henry Harris
G
So.
5.6
2.6
2.1
45
Andrew Preston
C
Sr.
8.5
4.9
1.1
WHEN: 2:45 p.m. WHERE: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C. (14,665).
TV: WUSA-9, WJZ-13 RADIO: WTEM (980 AM).
RECORDS: Hoyas (Big East champion), 26-6; Bruins (Atlantic Sun champion), 23-9.
WINNER FACES: Boston College-Texas Tech winner on Saturday in Winston-Salem.
Front court: Belmont has two 6-foot-10 seniors — starter
Andrew Preston and reserve Boomer Herndon — who
will try to contain Georgetown’s 7-2 Roy Hibbert (.693
field goal percentage). “If he’s going to make seven out of
10, we’re going to try to make him make seven outside of
the lane and keep him away from the basket,” Herndon
said. But a bigger concern for the Bruins might be trying
to find someone who can guard 6-9 Jeff Green and 6-8
DaJuan Summers, a pair athletic forwards who are
comfortable both inside and outside the arc.
Back court: The Bruins often surround one post player
with four shooters, and they have six players who
have made at least 20 three-pointers this season.
More than 60 percent of the shots taken by
Andy Wicke, Justin Hare, Matthew Dodson
and Josh Goodwin have come from beyond
the arc. The Hoyas need to be attentive, as
they were in the second half of the Notre
Dame game. The Irish got open looks
and made 8 of 14 three-point attempts
in the first half, but only 2 of 12 in the
second.
Benches: Belmont’s top two
scorers, Hare (14.4 points) and
Herndon (10.9 points) come off
the bench. Junior forward Patrick
Ewing Jr. has always provided an
energy boost for the Hoyas, and
lately he has become an offensive
threat as well. He has scored in double
digits in three of his past five games.
Coaches: Georgetown Coach John
Thompson III is in the NCAA
tournament for the fourth time in
seven seasons as a head coach. He
twice took Princeton to the NCAAs.
In his 21 seasons at Belmont, Rick
Byrd has taken the Bruins from the
NAIA into the NCAA Division I,
and now he has them in their
second straight NCAA
tournament. He has won more
than 500 career games and is
in the NAIA hall of fame.
— Camille Powell
STARTERS ARE SHADED
RESULTS
NOVEMBER
Hartford
W, 69-59
at Fairfield
W, 73-60
at Vanderbilt
W, 86-70
Ball State
W, 69-54
Old Dominion
L, 75-62
Oregon
L, 57-50
at Duke
L, 61-52
Towson
W, 69-41
James Madison
W, 89-53
Navy
W, 65-44
Oral Roberts
W, 73-58
at Michigan
W, 67-51
DECEMBER
Winston-Salem St. W, 76-32
JANUARY
Notre Dame
W, 66-48
at Seton Hall
W, 74-58
Villanova
L, 56-52
DePaul
W, 66-52
at Pitt
L, 74-69
Cincinnati
W, 82-67
at Rutgers
W, 68-54
FEBRUARY
at St. John’s
W, 72-48
at Villanova
W, 58-55
at Louisville
W, 73-65
at Cincinnati
W, 75-65
Marquette
W, 76-58
Pitt
W, 61-53
West Virginia
W, 71-53
at Syracuse
L, 72-58
MARCH
Connecticut
W, 59-46
vs. Notre Dame*
W, 84-82
vs. Villanova*
W, 62-57
vs. Pitt*
W, 65-42
*BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
DIFFERENCE MAKER
The Big East player of the year,
Jeff Green, seemed to make
every big play as the Hoyas won
the conference tournament (for
which he was named the event’s
most outstanding player). He is
averaging 19.3 points in his past
four games.
Local Flavor
Not only are plenty of area college teams competing in the NCAA tournaments, but a number of players from area
high schools, many of whom left the area for college, will be playing this month, as well:
STARTERS ARE SHADED
RESULTS
NOVEMBER
UNC Wilmington
L, 88-83
Fisk
W, 83-54
at Fordham
W, 56-49
at Middle Tenn.
L, 64-57
at IUPUI
W, 67-61
North Florida
W, 87-32
Jacksonville
W, 76-62
at Michigan State L, 67-58
IUPUI
W, 76-66
Rice
W, 87-85
at Saint Mary’s
L, 71-60
DECEMBER
at Ark.-Little Rock W, 72-57
at Illinois
L, 77-51
JANUARY
at East Tenn. St.
W, 75-74
at Campbell
at Kennesaw St.
W, 63-45
at Gardner-Webb W, 70-54
L, 79-67
Mercer
W, 72-47
East Tenn. St.
L, 80-70
Stetson
W, 73-71
Kennesaw St.
W, 85-66
Lipscomb
L, 50-55
at Stetson
W, 62-58
Campbell
at Mercer
W, 84-77
at Jacksonville
W, 86-71
at Lipscomb
L, 60-70
at North Florida
W, 74-54
Gardner-Webb
W, 87-55
Gardner-Webb*
W, 79-61
Campbell*
W, 79-63
FEBRUARY
W, 92-68
MARCH
at East. Tenn. St.* W, 94-67
*ATLANTIC SUN TOURNAMENT
Roy Hibbert will
be a big challenge
for Belmont,
which will try to
contain the
7-foot-2 center
with two 6-10
players.
DIFFERENCE MAKER
The Bruins’ best shooter, Andy
Wicke, has made at least five
three-pointers in four of his past
eight games. He made
10 of 12 three-point attempts
against Gardner-Webb last month
and 5 of 11 in the Atlantic Sun
tournament championship game.
Hoyas’ Early Growing Pains
Yield to a Seasoned Maturity
HOYAS, From E1
Stanley Hodge
Scottie Reynolds
Brittany Mitch
Kyle DeHaven
MEN
WOMEN
Player
High School
College
Pos.
Yr.
Player
High School
Dokun Akingbade
Bladensburg
GW
College
Pos.
Yr.
F
Sr.
Jazmine Adair
Anacostia
GW
F
So.
Dwayne Anderson
St. John’s
Will Bowers
Spalding
Villanova
G-F
So.
Jessica Adair
Anacostia
GW
F-C
So.
Maryland
C
Sr.
Whitney Allen
Woodbridge
GW
F
Jr.
Andy Burns
Gini Chukura
Ireton
Virginia
F
Fr.
Ana Baker
Arundel
UNC-Asheville
G
So.
Good Counsel
Maryland
F
Sr.
Charese Baldwin
Patuxent
UMBC
Ross Condon
Potomac School
Villanova
G
Sr.
Katie Baldwin
Loudoun County
UNC-Asheville
F-C
Jr.
G
Sr.
Dante Cunningham
Potomac (Md.)
Villanova
F
So.
Ashleigh Braxton
Forest Park
Pitt
G
Fr.
Steve Danley
DeMatha
Penn
F
Sr.
Kenan Cole
St. John’s-PH
GW
G-F
Sr.
G-F
So.
G
Fr.
Mamadi Diane
DeMatha
Virginia
Rob Diggs
Gwynn Park
GW
Lawrence Dixon
Spalding
Holy Cross
Kevin Durant
Montrose Christian
Texas
G-F
So.
Marissa Coleman
St. John’s
Maryland
F
So.
Christy Cushnie
Madison
Holy Cross
G
So.
G-F
Fr.
Kyle DeHaven
Herndon
Delaware
G
Jr.
LaKeisha Eaddy
River Hill
Temple
G
Fr.
James Eversley
Centreville
VCU
F
Fr.
Nana Fobi-Agyeman
Hayfield
J. Madison
C
Fr.
Patrick Ewing Jr.
National Christian
Georgetown
F
Jr.
Kalika France
Bishop McNamara
Purdue
G
Sr.
G-F
So.
F
Jr.
Marcus Ginyard
O’Connell
North Carolina
James Gist
Good Counsel
Maryland
Morgan Hatten
Churchill
UMBC
G
Jr.
Stacy Hunt
South River
UMBC
G
So.
Jeff Green
Northwestern
Georgetown
F
Jr.
Alena Koshanksy
Chantilly
Delaware
Aubrey Hammond
Woodberry Forest
Vanderbilt
G
Jr.
Thea Littlepage
Holy Cross
Delaware St.
Eric Hayes
Potomac (Va.)
Maryland
G
Fr.
Briana McFadden
Good Counsel
Holy Cross
G
Sr.
F-C
So.
G
Fr.
Roy Hibbert
Georgetown Prep
Georgetown
C
Jr.
Iman McFarland
Bishop McNamara
North Carolina
F
So.
Stanley Hodge
Gonzaga
Niagara
G
Jr.
Kaili McLaren
Good Counsel
Connecticut
F
Fr.
Justin Jackson
Fredericksburg Acad. Tennessee
G
So.
Brittany Mitch
St. John’s
Duke
G-F
Fr.
Cameron Lewis
St. Albans
Penn
F
So.
Chinata Nesbit
Ballou
Robert Morris
F
Jr.
Jason McAlpin
Paint Branch
Maryland
G-F
Jr.
Selena Nwude
Eleanor Roosevelt
Pitt
F
Fr.
Alan Metcalfe
Notre Dame Acad.
Vanderbilt
F
Jr.
Amanda Robinson
Patuxent
UMBC
F
Jr.
Lorenzo Miles
Gonzaga
Niagara
G
Sr.
Karessa Sauls
Bowie
Prairie View
Nigel Munson
DeMatha
Virginia Tech
G
Fr.
Jameka Smith
Potomac (Va.)
Delaware St.
Jeremy Myers
Bullis
Cen. Conn. St.
G
Fr.
Wanisha Smith
Riverdale Baptist
Duke
G
Jr.
Dave Neal
O’Connell
Maryland
F
So.
Xenia Stewart
Riverdale Baptist
Pitt
G
So.
Peter Prowitt
Potomac School
Stanford
C
Jr.
Ethlynne Thomas
Watkins Mill
Delaware
G
So.
Scottie Reynolds
Herndon
Villanova
G
Fr.
Ashley Thompson
McDonough
Delaware St.
F
Fr.
Jessie Sapp
National Christian
Georgetown
G
So.
Nina Uqdah
Riverdale Baptist
J. Madison
F
So.
Tunji Soroye
Montrose Christian
Virginia
C
Jr.
Kristie Watkins-Day
Old Mill
Temple
G
Fr.
Sheray Thomas
Riverdale Baptist
Kentucky
F
Sr.
Shantel Wilson
H.D. Woodson
Old Dominion
G
Sr.
Darian Townes
Carroll
Arkansas
F
Jr.
Chauntise Wright
Bishop McNamara
Louisville
C
So.
Greivis Vasquez
Montrose Christian
Maryland
G
Fr.
Deron Washington
National Christian
Virginia Tech
F
Jr.
Sam Young
Friendly
Pitt
F
So.
G
Fr.
G-F
So.
Varsity Letter
area high schools playing in the men’s and women’s
tournaments this year. He caught up with six players and
bounced a series of questions off them.
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If you’ve ever wondered about what NCAA tournament-bound
college basketball players think about being in the middle of
March Madness, check out Preston Williams’s Varsity Letter in
today’s Extras. There are more than 70 graduates of Washington
But it is one that has served the
Hoyas well, as evidenced by the
determined, efficient way they
marched through the Big East
tournament last week. And that
kind of approach — coupled with
the Hoyas’ obvious physical skills
— is a big reason why Belmont
Coach Rick Byrd said that Georgetown is “the two seed that we’d
prefer not to play.”
“They’re not going to be unfocused nor are they going to look
past us,” Byrd said. “They just
don’t beat themselves.”
Georgetown was faced with
high expectations earlier this season, when it was ranked eighth in
the preseason national poll. The
Hoyas then lost three of their first
seven games — with all three losses (to Old Dominion, Oregon and
Duke) within a 14-day span — and
plummeted out of the rankings.
Several players attributed those
losses to growing pains — “We
just hadn’t really molded as a team
yet,” junior captain Tyler Crawford said — rather than the pressure of the rankings.
But the losses “helped guys get
back to reality as far as what it
takes to win at this level,” junior
guard Jonathan Wallace said. “The
guys were able to throw all those
expectations out the window and
play ball for us. . . . We had to get
out of that phase of letting the media and outside expectations control our style of play. Guys got
back to the basics of knowing that
the next game is the most important game.”
Coach John Thompson III
spent 13 seasons as a player and
coach in the Ivy League, where the
next game really is the most important one, because the regular
season champion gets the automatic NCAA tournament bid.
Thompson and his players often
talk about the importance of being
precise in everything they do. It
starts in practice, when Thompson demands that even the most
routine skill be performed perfectly.
“When we start practice, we do
a drill called star passing, where
we’ve got five spots and we pass
the ball [to each other]. Coach
wants us to hit the ball in the
chest, and if it’s not done the right
way, he gets upset,” Hibbert said.
“It starts small. Whether it’s cutting hard on a backdoor cut or
dribbling, Coach wants things
done a certain way, and we have to
give it to him. It starts from the beginning, from the small things to
the big things.”
The players credit Thompson
BY JOHN MCDONNELL — THE WASHINGTON POST
Georgetown Coach John Thompson III is described by team captain Tyler
Crawford as being “cool, calm and collected,” especially during struggles.
— whom Crawford described as
“cool, calm and collected” — with
giving them the equilibrium to
handle difficult situations. Even
when the Hoyas were struggling
earlier in the season, Thompson
remained calm and continued to
focus on the process, on making
improvements.
“He didn’t want to overreact
and get too excited, because then
we’d get too excited,” sophomore
guard Jessie Sapp said.
“A good coach is like a good
jockey. You’ve got to know when
to hit the horse,” Hall of Fame
coach John Thompson Jr. said after the Hoyas beat Connecticut on
March 3 to win the Big East regular season title. That’s what his
son, Thompson III, is “so good at:
He’s patient. He doesn’t get emotional or upset to the point where
he brings his team down. He
could’ve gotten very emotional
and upset; I probably would have. I
think he’s got great timing with
his teams. This is the time to hit
the horse.”
Now, the Hoyas have won 15 of
their past 16 games. They’ve beaten bad teams by double-digit mar-
gins and have done the same to
teams that are now in the NCAA
tournament. They’ve won games
with Hibbert dominating the action, and games in which the 7foot-2 center attempts just four
shots.
In last week’s Big East tournament, the Hoyas let a 25-point lead
dwindle down to single digits in
their quarterfinal against Villanova. Against hot-shooting Notre
Dame, Georgetown fell behind by
14 points in the first half. At no
point did the Hoyas panic, or drastically alter their style of play.
Freshman forward DaJuan Summers said there was never any moment when he was worried — unlike earlier in the season.
“We’re tougher now,” Summers
said.
“People are going to make their
runs,” Hibbert said. “We take their
hardest punch, and we give them
ours. Coach always says, we don’t
have to hit them with the big
punch to knock them out; we just
do it methodically, just one at a
time. Then we’ll eventually break
them down. It’s just one possession at a time.”