Through Georgetown’s first six games so far this season, virtually everyone is trying to figure out who this team is and where it may or may not be going. A sloppy victory against UMBC saw the Hoyas start the season 1-0, but an uninspiring showing against a determined Navy squad left them at 1-1 after faltering at home. Then, the Hoyas somehow jumped out to a 34-32 lead over #11 West Virginia before (obviously) blowing it and losing by nine in a surprisingly competent performance overall. We then saw an absolute obliteration of Juan Dixon’s Coppin State Eagles prior to the Hoyas (obviously, again) blowing a thirteen-point lead over #9 Villanova to fall 76-63. After the rollercoaster play that has defined Georgetown’s season so far, nobody, and I mean nobody, has any idea what the Hoyas’ true identity is. Not even Coach Ewing.
Despite all the uncertainty that not only comes with Georgetown but also with 2020 in general, one thing is for certain: Coach Ewing should absolutely play the freshmen. Not just some of them. ALL of them.
Jamari Sibley entered the season as undoubtedly the Hoyas’ most heralded recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, but fans have been disappointed with his lack of playing time. After being excited by his Pickett-like length and athleticism, everyone’s been scratching their heads as to why he simply does not play. Although we’ve seen some flashes of Sibley recently, he’s played just 6.1% of the team’s total minutes, and it will be hard for him to disappoint in a larger role due to the awful play by grad transfer Chudier Bile so far (more on this later). I personally believe Ewing should even consider throwing the freshman forward into a sixth-man role to determine what he has in Sibley.
As for the other more unheralded players in Ewing’s 2020 haul, it’s been tough to fault the performances of Dante Harris and T.J. Berger, both of whom have looked like nothing short of absolute studs on the court. Following a career-high 22 points against St. John’s and a Big East Freshman of the Week nod, it has become evident that giving Dante Harris more minutes and even the starting role is on the table. As Ewing said following the Hoyas’ 97-94 nailbiter victory on Sunday, “He didn’t play like a freshman.”
Many of the freshmen have clearly outplayed some of the veterans getting minutes on the team. Especially considering the fact that the Hoyas aren’t expected to make a run at an NCAA Tournament bid this season with the current roster, there doesn’t seem to be any downside to giving the younger players on the roster more experience to hit the ground running in 2021. Aside from Harris, Kobe Clark and Berger have played sparingly but showed energy and grit all over the court, with Clark providing ten rebounds in the season opener and Berger knocking down several threes against the Johnnies this past week.
Currently, Georgetown ranks 296th in the country in bench minutes according to KenPom, with only 21.4% of the total minutes logged on the court coming from non-starting players. Another glaring statistic I found is that the only person on the team logged as a “Major Contributor”, someone who has between 24%-28% of each possession run through them while on the court, was Chudier Bile, arguably Georgetown’s most disappointing player so far this season. Bile ranks second to last on the team in true shooting percentage with an abysmal 40.5%, trailed only by Jalen Harris, another player who shouldn’t see as much time as he did prior to the injury that held him out of the St. John’s game. Bile and Harris also lead the team in turnover rate, and Bile is also, by a far margin, the worst free-throw shooter on the roster. So far this season, Bile is a laughable 30% from the stripe, a stat I believe most of the staff here at Thompson’s Towel could surpass, except Armen of course.
Dante Harris remains the only freshman on Georgetown’s roster who has played more than 10% of the total minutes played by the team so far, sitting at 42%. After Harris is the now-injured Kobe Clark, who’s played a mere 8.2% of total minutes, further showing how a lack of playing time for the younger members of the Hoyas’ roster is a legitimate problem. This season, Georgetown has five freshmen on the roster, but we’ve really only seen what one of them is capable of on the court, and to me, that has to change.
At the end of the day, the percentage of minutes played by the freshmen and Georgetown’s record may or may not be directly related, but heck, with the way the Blue and Gray has looked so far this year, why not find out? Coach Ewing, if you’re reading this (I know you’re not), play the freshmen. You won’t regret it.
