Tag: Georgetown Hoyas

NBA San Francisco Dons vs. NBA Georgetown Hoyas

Our next matchup features two programs whose past success centered around one of the greatest players in college basketball history. San Francisco won back-to-back championships with the legendary Bill Russell in 1955 and 1956, but they have not been back to the championship game since, and they have not even been to the NCAA tournament since the turn of the century. Patrick Ewing led Georgetown to three NCAA championship games in four seasons, but they have not been back to the big game since he graduated, and they’ve fallen on hard times in recent years, even with Ewing taking the reins as the head coach. The battle between the NBA San Francisco Dons vs. NBA Georgetown Hoyas features these two legends going head-to-head, but will likely be determined by the other pros from each school’s respective history.

NBA San Francisco Dons vs. NBA Georgetown Hoyas

Key Matchups

Battle of the Big Men – While Russell and Ewing are the headliners, each is starting next to another big man in a Twin Towers lineup, and they may not directly match up against each other as a result. Russell will be paired with Bill Cartwright, who has ample experience guarding Ewing from the Bulls-Knicks rivalry in the 1990s. Cartwright played Ewing tough in those contests, but Ewing still dominated, averaging 23.0 PPG and 11.3 RPG in 25 regular season head-to-head matchups, and 22.3 PPG and 11.0 RPG in 29 postseason matches. The best version of Cartwright, however, came before this rivalry, when he himself was a member of the Knicks. Cartwright could score effectively from the post, averaging 16.8 PPG on 55.2% shooting from the field over 8 seasons in New York. He’ll be heavily relied-upon by the scoring-deficient Dons, though he’s facing a fleet of elite defensive big men. Alonzo Mourning, one of those big men, will join Ewing in the starting lineup and will be Russell’s primary adversary. Both are among the greatest interior defenders to ever play; Mourning will try to use his bulk to establish post position, while Russell will try to use his speed and quickness to get out in transition and push the pace. Georgetown has the luxury of subbing in Dikembe Mutombo for either Ewing or Mourning and losing nothing on the defensive end of the court. San Francisco will have to rely on the likes of Erwin Mueller and Pete Cross if Russell or Cartwright gets tired or in foul trouble, which will be death against the Hoyas’ frontcourt.

K.C. Jones vs. Allen Iverson – Iverson presents a difficult challenge for the Dons’ perimeter defensive ace. Jones will use his high basketball IQ to bother Iverson, but nobody can keep AI out of the lane. How Iverson balances his role of creator and scorer, and how he deals with Jones’s defense, will ultimately help determine the effectiveness of Georgetown’s offensive attack.  

Biggest Mismatches

Georgetown’s bench – San Francisco has one threat off the bench (Fred Scolari), while the rest of the reserves are replacement-level players (or worse). Georgetown’s bench complements their starting lineup and allows them to play more versatile, modern lineups. Reggie Williams and Jeff Green will get plenty of minutes at two guard and power forward, respectively, though Green’s minutes at the four will be limited in this series with the Dons playing two centers at a time. Jerome Williams will be a better fit next to one of Georgetown’s centers, to keep them competitive on the glass. Mutombo, Roy Hibbert, and Greg Monroe are all superior options to anything San Francisco can offer, and Mutombo specifically will help ensure that Ewing and Mourning get adequate rest. The Hoyas should wear the Dons out with their plethora of options.

Georgetown’s scoring options – San Francisco will have a lot of trouble scoring in the halfcourt. Expect Phil Smith to be their primary perimeter threat. Georgetown doesn’t have a great option to stop him in the starting lineup; Otto Porter will likely start off guarding him, and David Wingate may be their best defensive option off the bench. Outside of Smith though, San Francisco will rely on the inconsistent Quintin Dailey for shot creation, beyond their dual-center threat. Cartwright and Russell were good offensive players who were best suited to supporting roles, and they will have to generate offense against Georgetown’s fantastic defensive centers. The Hoyas have Iverson, Sleepy Floyd, Otto Porter, and Reggie Williams who can hurt San Francisco from the perimeter, and Ewing and Mourning will provide interior post scoring, in addition to second chance opportunities off the glass.  

Bill Russell – Although the roster comparison doesn’t look good for San Francisco, Bill Russell is the greatest winner in basketball history. One could easily see him taking Mourning out of his normal game, and making Iverson and Floyd think twice about driving to the hole. One man cannot win a series, but it’s always helpful to have the best player on your side.

X-Factor

1982 – That’s the most recent year that an impact player was drafted on San Francisco’s roster (Quintin Dailey). Even though Georgetown’s had mixed success since the 1990s, San Francisco’s complete irrelevance in that time has severely hampered their NBA roster.

Results

This proves to be an ugly series, with a slew of low-scoring games. Ultimately, San Francisco simply cannot find enough ways to score against Georgetown’s defense. Although it seems blasphemous to say this, Bill Russell can’t make it out of the first round.

Georgetown wins, four games to one.

Next Round

The Hoyas face the NBA Duke Blue Devils.

NBA Georgetown Hoyas

NBA Georgetown Hoyas

Our next profile features a program who, for a brief period of time, may have been the most influential team in the country. “Hoya Paranoia” ran rampant in the 1980s under Coach John Thompson, who intimidated foes with his towering presence and by overseeing a physical, defensive-oriented brand of basketball. Thompson landed a string of elite recruits, including the crown jewel of the program, Patrick Ewing, who led them to three NCAA championship games in four seasons. And though the big names kept enrolling, the Hoyas haven’t been back to the championship game since Ewing graduated in 1985, and have only made one more Final Four appearance, in 2007 under John Thompson III. Even though the program is struggling to remain relevant, and they’ve had less overall success than their reputation would indicate, many of their players have reached great heights on the pro level. The NBA Georgetown Hoyas feature four Naismith Hall-of-Famers, and complementary players who thrived under both Thompson regimes.

Allen Iverson is one of the most polarizing superstars in NBA history. On one hand, he was a league MVP, four-time scoring champion, and lead player on an NBA finalist. On the other hand, his high-usage, low-efficiency style made him one of the toughest stars to build around, he had mediocre advanced and impact statistics, and he wasn’t always the most reliable teammate and leader. One underrated part of Iverson’s game that will serve this team well was his stamina, as he led the league in minutes per game seven times in his career, and averaged 41.1 minutes per game in his career, which ranks fourth all-time. This is positive for a team that’s short on guards, but the question remains – can Iverson play well with other stars, or will he dominate the ball to the detriment of the rest of the offense? His backcourt mate, Sleepy Floyd, had a good pro career, earning one all-star birth and lighting up one of the greatest teams ever with a legendary playoff scoring binge. There is a bit of redundancy in Iverson and Floyd’s games, as both were skilled with the ball in their hands, could penetrate to break down defenses, and were inconsistent shooters from long range. Ideally, these two would lead a fast-paced attack, and have ample spacing around them to clear the driving lanes. The only other true guard on this roster, David Wingate, was a complete non-threat on offense whose solid (though unspectacular) defense helped him stay in the league for 15 seasons. Though Wingate gives them valuable size at the two guard position, his inability to space the floor or contribute anything positively on the offensive end will force Georgetown to rely heavily on their starting guards.

Otto Porter, the starting small forward, is (by far) the best three-point shooter on the roster, eclipsing 40% from long-range for his career. While his giant contract overstates his ability, he has developed into a good player when healthy, which is highlighted by his impact stats (despite a disastrous rookie season, he has a career 116 offensive rating, and 107 defensive rating). In addition to being a lethal spot-up shooter, he can catch-and-shoot on the move, play smart off of the ball, and post-up smaller defenders when necessary, and he will be included in all of this team’s best lineups. Off the bench, Reggie Williams never lived up to his lofty draft status, but was productive in Denver, which was his fourth stop in the NBA. In fact, Williams enjoyed a five-year stretch where he averaged 15.1 PPG with solid percentages, and it’s not hard to envision him increasing his 31.7% mark from three-point range during this stretch to a league average or better mark in the modern game. He will back up Porter but also serve as a reserve two-guard, who gives them even more length than Wingate with a lot more firepower and ability to stretch the floor. Jeff Green, who can toggle between both forward positions but is more of a natural power forward in today’s game, will also see plenty of minutes off the bench. Green’s talent has always been tantalizing, but his production has always been spotty. His athleticism, ability to stretch the floor when he’s on, and ability to guard multiple positions can bring this team to another level, though realistically, he can’t be counted on for consistent production. Lineups with Williams, Porter, and Green at the 2, 3, and 4 positions will give this team a modern feel and switchability on defense, and will be used in stretches during any series they participate in. The other bench forward, Jerome Williams, was a valuable role-player who had tremendous impact stats over the course of his career. In fact, he led the league in offensive rating in 1998-99, when he also had a superstar-level .201 WS/48, and he led the league in offensive rebounding percentage that season and the following year. One could easily envision Williams playing as a small-ball five in the modern game, but he’ll slide in at power forward due to this team’s depth at center, and will help the NBA Hoyas dominate the boards when he’s on the court.

The center position is the strength of this team, and their depth at the five may be unmatched in this tournament. Ewing was one of the great jump-shooting centers during his time, and may have been even more of a threat in the modern-day game, where his range would be stretched out to the three-point line. His shooting and post-game made him a stud offensively, but he also anchored a defensive juggernaut in New York, and led the league in defensive win shares three times over the course of his career. While he may not have been as dominant as some of his Hall-of-Fame peers, he was an all-time great, who is the best all-around player on this roster. Alonzo Mourning will join Ewing in the starting lineup as this team’s nominal power forward. Injuries and illnesses were persistent factors in his career, but in his prime (defined here as 1992-93 to 1999-00) he averaged 21.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, shot 52.6% from the field, and blocked 3.1 shots per game. He’s fourth all-time in block percentage, and earned two Defensive Player of the Year awards for his tenacity on that end of the court. Like Ewing, he also had an effective mid-range jumper, though he was best suited for a secondary role on offense. They’re backed up by a third Hall-of-Fame big man, Dikembe Mutombo, who earned a record-tying four Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career. Of the three, Mutombo was the least skilled offensively, but he was a huge positive on the court (111 career offensive rating vs. 99 career defensive rating), was a tremendous rebounder, and finished with the second most blocked shots in history (since they started recording the statistic). Two other big men, Greg Monroe and Roy Hibbert, round out the bench. Each thrived on one end of the floor (offense for Monroe, defense for Hibbert), but neither was able to adapt to the modern-day league due to their inability to move well on defense, and their lack of ability to space the floor on offense. They do provide nice depth when needed, but each will play sparingly behind the Hall-of-Famers.

This team has talent across the board but may be more of a collection of individual talent than a team that can come together and play cohesively. They will try to play twin towers lineups with two of their Hall-of-Fame big men on the court at the same time. Can that work against modern lineups? They have options with their forwards off the bench, but that will likely lead to inconsistency. Also, Iverson and Floyd must co-exist and avoid dominating the ball at the expense of their teammates. As the 20th seeded team in the tournament, they have a first-round matchup against the 13th seeded NBA San Francisco Dons.