Jamorko Pickett faced high expectations entering his sophomore year on the Hilltop. The 6-foot-8 guard/forward capped off an impressive freshman year campaign by securing a spot on the Big East All Freshman team. Pickett averaged 9.6 points per game on 36.3% shooting from the field. Pickett specialized in his three-point shooting capability, averaging 35.7% from beyond the arc. With the departure of Marcus Derrickson, Hoya fans recognized that Pickett would most likely need to expand his offensive repertoire if Georgetown was to be a successful offensive team.
However, Pickett’s sophomore campaign has certainly not gone according to plan. Pickett, while adding serious muscle in the offseason, has noticeably regressed on the offensive end of the court. He is only averaging 5.5 points per game on 34.4% shooting from the field and his three-point shooting efficiency has decreased by 3% as well. Pickett still struggles to create opportunities for both himself and his teammates off the dribble. His attempts from the field have also dropped significantly as he only averages 5.6 shots per game rather than 8.7 his freshman year. So much for taking a jump.
But what if I told you that Pickett is evolving and developing in a way that is more important than his contribution on the offensive end this season?
Patrick Ewing is slowly, but surely molding Pickett into a Swiss Army Knife defender that Georgetown desperately needs down the stretch of this season and next season. Most fans fixate their attention on the points column on the box score of each game, but Pickett is making tremendous strides on the other end of the court that mostly does not appear in the box score.
The lanky sophomore’s wingspan, which is greater than 7-feet, and footspeed gives him the versatility to guard numerous positions and players of different statures. This played directly into Ewing’s game-plan going into Syracuse. Knowing Mac McClung was too small to handle guard Tyus Battle, Ewing employed Pickett on the Orange’s star shooting guard and he limited Battle to five points in the first half (before Pickett got into foul trouble and Battle took over in the second half).
When looking back at the tape of Georgetown’s 2OT win against Providence, Pickett’s length and recognition on defense proved pivotal to keeping Georgetown within striking distance in both overtimes and regulation. Georgetown struggled to keep Providence’s big men off the glass and defend them in the post throughout the first half, but Pickett’s recognition of when to slide off of Alpha Diallo into the paint proved critical. Pickett walked away with four blocks in that win and helped make life difficult for Diallo in both overtimes.
Advanced statistics also showcase Pickett’s increased effectiveness on the defensive end of the court. His defensive player rating dropped to 100% (third lowest on the team behind Josh Leblanc and Jessie Govan) from 106.4% last season. His block percentage has risen 3.6% and his rebounding percentage has jumped 8.9%.
The Hoyas have noticeably struggled as a unit defensively for the majority of the season. Prolonged defensive breakdowns occurred in all six of their losses thus far (especially against SMU, Xavier, and Marquette). Pickett has not been perfect himself, but he is growing on that end of the court. If Ewing continues to roll out a lineup that features both James Akinjo and McClung (as he should), he needs Pickett to consistently rise to the task of taking on the opponent’s best offensive outside threat.
