Farewell, Seniors (?): Looking Back on the Careers of Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair
While the two seniors enter into their final stretch as members of Georgetown men's basketball, they leave behind a strong culture and fond memories.
Editor’s Note: It’s always a bit awkward getting ready to say goodbye to someone who may not even be moving on yet, as Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair could still take their additional year of eligibility for next season, due to the pandemic.
But with Senior Night being tonight, when the Hoyas take on Xavier at McDonough Arena, it has me looking back on both players’ careers, whether they decide to move on after this season or not…
Much like the path back to relevancy that Georgetown men’s basketball is on, the journey that seniors Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair have taken in their Georgetown careers has hardly been linear, and contained its fair share of struggle - and even failure.
But part of what has made this Georgetown season more enjoyable than many expected is also what will leave many with fond memories of both Pickett and Blair.
The never-say-die attitude that this year’s Georgetown team, as well as last year’s team, plays with on the court is personified by its two senior leaders, in Pickett and Blair.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that a team that is up for any challenge in any game is led by two players who, at every turn, have never once ducked a challenge or avoided responsibility.
Where others have left early and yearned for greener pastures, it was Pickett and Blair, both members of Patrick Ewing’s first recruiting class at Georgetown, who stuck with Georgetown, through thick and thin.
When both players saw dips in playing time as sophomores, they didn’t whine or look for a way out. They put their heads down and worked to be ready for the year after, when both were key figures for a depleted 2019-20 Georgetown squad.
Their fearless mentality in attacking any challenge head on and not backing down from anything or anyone is another valuable building block in the foundation that started to show signs of emerging last year, thanks to the contributions of last year’s graduating members, Jagan Mosely and Terrell Allen.
One may not be able to point to a large number in the win column when discussing the achievements of these two seniors when all is said and done, but they will talk about the heart and resolve Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair showed from the moment they set foot on campus, and how they contributed to a new culture of Georgetown basketball that will last long after they leave.
But for Pickett and Blair to get to this point, with both having scored 1,000+ points in their careers, something only 47 other Georgetown men’s basketball players have accomplished in the history of the program, there was plenty they had to overcome first to get here.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing with either player. Pickett has struggled with his consistency and effort from Day One, while Blair has battled issues with efficiency. But through every struggle they each have encountered, their steadfast commitment to Georgetown basketball is what has stood out.
“At times, yeah, [I was frustrated], but I feel like that’s a part of the journey,” said Blair during a recent media availability session. “Everything isn’t perfect. There’s going to be ups and downs. So that’s a part of everything.”
Blair’s progression from high school point guard to where he is now, as the Hoyas’ leading scorer in his senior season, is one of the more impressive stories from a player development perspective.
Coming in to Georgetown from Ontario, Canada, Blair was a three-star point guard who was slotted in as an off-ball shooting guard from Day One at Georgetown, a role that took a good amount of time for him to get accustomed to.
Despite the uneven positional fit, Blair kept his head down and made improvements to his game each and every year to help the team as best he could.
Adversity hit as a sophomore, when he went from averaging 9.0 points a game as a freshman to 4.1 points per game as a sophomore, averaging just 12.5 minutes of play, a sharp decrease from the 21.5 minutes he averaged in his first season.
But when disaster struck last year during his junior season, with Georgetown losing James Akinjo to the transfer portal and, soon thereafter, Mac McClung to injury, it was Blair who was called upon to step into a starting role and help steady a team that was reeling from the mass exodus of 2019.
Blair would go on to play a full 40-minute game in 7 of the final 11 games of his junior season, with Georgetown limited to just seven scholarship players total. He averaged 16.7 points per game in that stretch, along with 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
This year as a senior, Blair has completed his transformation from a one-trick pony as a freshman, someone who was really only asked to spot up and shoot, to a well-rounded scoring guard who can both score and distribute the ball at a high level for a Georgetown team that is starved of other offensive creators.
Blair’s passing and vision was not a strength of his at all coming into college, but thanks to countless hours in the gym, Blair has become a go-to player for this Georgetown team, making plays both for himself and for his teammates.
His 4.3 assists per game this year is a career-high by a wide margin.
“I’m just extremely proud of not only the basketball player that he’s become but just as a man,” said a reflective Pickett recently, on his senior partner. “Just like myself, he had an uphill battle being here, and I’m just happy that he’s fighting it and he’s coming out on top right now.”
An uphill battle is a good way to describe what Pickett has been through during his time at Georgetown.
Some of what Pickett dealt with was of his own doing. He has been open the last two years with struggling to be in the right mindset at times when he is on the court playing, and that has led to issues with consistency for him throughout his Georgetown career.
But Pickett has also had to deal with unfair expectations through no fault of his own.
Being a lanky and athletic forward from Washington, D.C., Pickett drew Kevin Durant comparisons from the moment he set foot on campus, thanks to his 6’10” frame and his shot-making ability, and that led to some fans, myself included, wanting him to be something he never was, a pure scorer who could go get a bucket whenever he wanted.
Pickett can put the ball in the hoop, no doubt, but he never became a go-to scorer for this team. But that’s OK, because it was the growth he made in several other areas - such as defense, rebounding, and three-point shooting - that made watching him these last four years a rewarding, if at times slightly frustrating, experience.
It may seem surprising, but Pickett has made improvements in nearly every major statistical category every year since he’s been at Georgetown.
The unfortunate reality for both players is that they won’t have much in the way of wins, especially of the postseason variety, to show for during their four years. This will be the third four-year class in a row at Georgetown that will go without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
But both players have done a lot to help put Georgetown in position to keep its upward trajectory sustained into the 2021-22 season and beyond. They deserve a ton of credit for how have developed personally, but also how they have set this program up for future success.
When Georgetown does make it back to March Madness (and that day is not too far away, folks) it will have players like Mosely and Allen last year, and now Pickett and Blair this year to thank.
Hoya Saxa, and thank you, Jamorko and Jahvon.