Georgetown kept its off-court winning streak alive by raking in numerous All Big East Honors to conclude the 2018-19 season. Star center Jessie Govan, unsurprisingly, was named to the All-Big East First Team. Jessie’s impressive season comes as no surprise given his development under Patrick Ewing last year, but Govan flat out dominated his competition on several occasions this year. Jessie’s posted 9 double-doubles on the season while averaging 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Govan is also a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for the nation’s best center.
The Hoyas’ big three freshmen all made their mark by being named to the All-Big East Freshmen team as well. James Akinjo, Mac McClung, and Josh LeBlanc were all named to the All-Big East Freshman squad. Akinjo capped off an impressive campaign by being a unanimous selection. James led the Big East in assists with 5.4 per game while adding 13.3 points per game (good enough for 2nd among freshmen and 17th overall).
Mac McClung led all Big East freshmen in scoring by pumping in 13.4 points per game. Meanwhile Josh LeBlanc led all Big East freshmen in rebounding, grabbing 7.5 per game (putting him at 6th in the Big East). Josh also found himself 3rd overall in the Big East (1st among freshmen) in field goal percentage, shooting 62.9% per game. Josh also hauled in 2.6 offensive rebounds per game (3rd in the Big East) while adding 1.1 blocks (7th in the Big East).
While the Big East Player of the Year will most likely come down to either Markus Howard or Myles Powell, the Freshman of the Year should be James Akinjo. Even though Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski was a unanimous selection, his role on the team was limited as he was purely a three-point specialist with a high field goal percentage. James, on the other hand, ran this Hoya offense as a young freshman and fearlessly stepped up and became a leader of this team down the stretch of the season. The choice is clear. The Big East needs to get this right.
These awards indicate that Ewing’s second season as head coach of Georgetown has been a tremendous success. Ewing helped unleash Jessie Govan’s potential on the Big East and developed three highly under-ranked freshmen at an alarming rate. The Hoyas are scheduled to square off against Seton Hall Thursday night at the Garden in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals. Gear up Hoya fans, it’s time to go to war.
