The accolades for James Akinjo continue to grow. James collected his 4th Big East Freshman of the Week award this week, averaging 19 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists against DePaul and Marquette. Akinjo capped the week off with outdueling perhaps the top scorer in the country in Markus Howard, dropping 25 points on 8-18 shooting (62.5% from three) along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and only 2 turnovers.
Patrick Ewing spoke at length about how great teams adopted their coach’s personality. Well, James has certainly adopted Ewing’s. Akinjo has become the alpha dog of this team by refusing to back down to any challenge presented to him. First, James went right after Quincy McKnight for slapping the court to spark Georgetown back into the game on senior night against Seton Hall. Next, after Ewing’s most embarrassing loss of the season, James stared down Markus Howard, a probable All-American candidate, and went right after him on both ends of the court. That is the sign of a true leader and a fighter.
This performance caps a sterling freshman season for Akinjo, completed by an unanimous selection as the Big East Freshman of the Year.
All you need to do is look at James’s performance against Marquette this season to see how far this young man has come. After getting blocked attacking the rim at Capital One to end the game against Marquette (and calling off Ewing’s play no less), James learned from his mistake and helped save Georgetown’s season at Marquette.
With James just announced as being one of the two unanimous selections for Freshman of the Year, Mac McClung and Josh LeBlanc also have earned spots on the All Big East Freshman team in their own right. The future is most definitely shining bright on the Hilltop right now.
