Georgetown vs. Temple

So I've rejoined the ranks of Hoya season ticket holders, and figured I'd share my thoughts on the first game of the season with the rest of you all.

First, Georgetown continued its fine tradition of excellence in administration by not processing our season ticket order and thus not having tickets for us to pick up when we arrived at will call. This was despite the fact that my friend called the ticket office this afternoon to confirm that the tickets would be there.
Fortunately, there were plenty of good seats still available, and the good folks at the MCI Center gave us seats just behind the young alumni section.

Saw Mr. Ken Jordan as I walked into the MCI Center, looking as shiftless and disreputable as ever. Apparently Georgetown did actually give him season tickets. Must be his contacts in the athletic department.

As far as the game, I think it puts to rest any expectations of a quick turnaround for this program. Temple was simply put, much, much better than us. They were bigger, stronger and more athletic. I think the same will be largely true of every other team in the Big East, except maybe St. Johns.

There were some things to like. The effort was definitely there for the full forty minutes, even after the game was completely out of reach. The team rebounded very well, which was doubly impressive given the size disparity. Green and Hibbert looked decent, although both are very raw offensively. Since they will get a lot of playing time out of necessity, they should hopefully improve significantly over the course of the season.

And the fans weren't bitter and angry after the game, as they were after so many losses in the Esherick era. Student attendance seemed pretty high. Hopefully the kids will keep coming out in February when we are 3-10 in the Big East.

The big problem was offense. The team was more disciplined than Esherick's squads, but the offense consisted almost entirely of passes around the perimeter, with the occassional entry pass to the high post or skip pass. There was almost no movement, which surprised the hell out of me given my understanding of the Princeton offense. I don't recall a single attempt at a back door cut, or any screen for that matter. This might have been a function of the Temple zone, or the fact that the team is still learning a new offense, but if it continues it does not bode well.

And I don't think we can make up for it on defense, either. The team is relatively quick, but small and not very strong. Against Temple, at least, they didn't have the size to trap or press effectively, and a lot of times Temple was able to get relatively easy shots just because they could shoot over our players. And we're not going to able to play physical and wear a team down defensively, given our size and lack of depth.

So I think it's going to be a long season, although there are at least signs of hope for the future.