Georgetown's Search For Answers Continues Without Success

The losses continue to pile up for Georgetown, as a bad season worsens quickly for the 6-8 Hoyas, who are on a four-game losing streak with no end in sight.

23.6.

That’s the average margin of defeat that Georgetown has lost by in the first three games of its Big East schedule this year. Its latest blowout loss was at the hands of St. John’s, by a score of 88-69, and before that, the Hoyas dropped a home game to Butler, a fellow Big East basement-dweller itself, 72-58.

We knew things were going to be rough this season, and that this team would require patience. And they have had to navigate several obstacles already this season due to COVID-19, with Patrick Ewing currently sidelined due to COVID protocols and Don Carey missing three games so far because of the same protocols.

But the bottom is falling out of this program. And there is no end in sight to the issues that are plaguing this program, from consistently bad defense, to stagnant offense, and now, even team employees going off to collect an NBC Sports paycheck when their team needs them back in DC.

They have yet to play a competitive game against a Big East opponent, and they haven’t even played a real Big East contender yet this season. COVID or no COVID, you should not be losing by double digits to the likes of St. John’s or Butler. There are plenty of other teams, including ones in the Big East, that have to work through COVID absences too. None seem to be affected as much by it as Georgetown does. It’s an excuse that is being leaned on too much by some, as we collectively try to come to grips with how this once-great basketball program has sunk to such lowly depths, so soon after a surprise Big East Tournament championship last season that is looking more and more like an anomaly with each passing Big East game this season.

The numbers this year for Georgetown paint a truly ugly picture, one that is even uglier than how things looked at the end of the Craig Esherick and JT3 eras.

Let’s start with the defense, which has been awful under Patrick Ewing, one of the greatest defensive players in history, except for a two-month stretch last season that helped propel the Hoyas into the NCAA Tournament.

This year, Georgetown’s defensive rating of 104.7 is good for 200th in the country. Georgetown has never had a defensive rating that bad in the history of KenPom, which dates back to 1997. In fact, they’ve never had a defensive rating outside the top 100 in the country. Ever.

It gets uglier. Georgetown is 328th in the country in opponent three-point attempts per game, allowing 25.7 per game. Opponents are shooting 35% on threes, which is 284th in the nation. The interior defense isn’t that much better, as the Hoyas are allowing opponents to shoot 50.2% on two-point field goals, which is 241st in the country.

The three-point defense, or lack thereof, is infuriating on its own, but it is utterly confounding to see a team led by one of the greatest big men in basketball history be so inept at protecting the rim too.

It’s one thing to lose because you don’t have the manpower. That’s excusable. But it’s the same story every game for Georgetown, regardless of who plays. They fall behind due to lackadaisical three-point defense, poor individual man-to-man defense, sloppy offensive execution, and a lack of a true interior presence on both offense and defense.

Georgetown’s current KenPom rating of #154 would be the worst ranking for a Georgetown team in the KenPom era. Prior to this season, the worst end-of-season rankings for Georgetown was #124 in 2004 (Esherick’s final year) and #100 in 2019. Georgetown basketball is literally sinking to historic new lows this year, and yet there are no signs that the powers that be at Georgetown have any desire to change the status quo.

Patrick Ewing’s coaching record at Georgetown, 4.5 years in, is still below that of both Esherick and JT3. Ewing’s Big East regular season record of 26-47 (.356) is below that of both Esherick (41-53, .436) and JT3 (131-94, .580).

As this ship continues to spring more leaks and take on more water this season, one is left to wonder who is going to step up to pick this team back up off the mat. As the losses pile up and the same troubling trends continue, it’s fair to wonder if those within the building have the answers to bring the team out of this funk.

While Aminu Mohammed has had a strong overall freshman season, he has been inconsistent in Big East play, averaging 10.7 points on 30%/0%/57% shooting splits, along with averaging 2.7 turnovers per game. He’s still a very impactful player for this Georgetown team, but his production has taken a dip since conference play began. Prior to conference play, Mohammed was averaging 14.6 points on 42%/39%/70% splits, and turnovers were slightly down, at 2.5.

He’s the most talented player on this team, but he needs help, and the lack of options around him is allowing Big East teams to load up on him defensively, which is leading to the dip in production, and causing the Georgetown offense to stagnate. This was readily apparent on Saturday against the pressure defense of St. John’s, who smothered Georgetown’s ball handlers from start to finish.

Dante Harris, who returned from a brief COVID absence and who has been dealing with a couple of nagging injuries this season, was solid against St. John’s on Saturday, but has struggled as a shooter for much of the season, where he is shooting just 38% from the field and 26% from three. He hasn’t yet taken the jump that many expected and hoped for in his sophomore season, and looks to be trying to work his way out of a sophomore slump.

The return of Don Carey into the starting lineup should aid this team as it searches for a Big East win, but it’s hard to envision the Hoyas’ team captain being the galvanizing force behind any comeback this year.

Carey is a great shooter and a heady player, but he is at his best as a complementary piece on offense who finds open spots on the floor and works off of his teammates. He hasn’t yet demonstrated the ability to be a consistent offensive creator and lead guard for this team, which is OK, but just the reality of where things stand. Would Carey have been the difference between a win and a loss against St. John’s if he had played on Saturday? Probably not.

It’s unlikely that Georgetown is going to be favored in another Big East game the rest of the season, except perhaps when they play Creighton at home. The fact that it is even a fair question to ask if Georgetown will go winless in Big East play should tell you everything you need to know about the current situation this program finds itself in.

With a lack of talent on the roster, and a coaching staff that is still struggling to get its team to play with any defensive or offensive cohesion, it is likely going to get worse before it gets better for Georgetown.

Where does Georgetown go, as a program, after this season? It’s a question that will need to be addressed this offseason if things continue on the same downward trajectory for the Hoyas. For now, this team needs to get healthy and search for the momentum that it found in the second half of last season. If it can’t do that, the slow death of this program will continue, and further questions about the direction of the program will need to be asked.