Since that first William and Mary game, Freeman and Wright have been getting steadily more minutes, culminating in the last game, where they had 25 and 22 minutes, respectively. We are not far from the time when these two guys come in off the bench and there will be no drop-off in quality of play. In fact, in the most recent games, it has been the bench to jump-start the play for the Hoyas. Let’s look a little closer at the performance of the newest Hoyas.

One thing a team looks for from its bench is the ability to score points quickly. In five of the first seven games, Austin Freeman has come off the bench and made his first shot, four of those times being from downtown. Freeman has also showed a good understanding of the offense, getting some easy points on backdoor cuts and open layups. As the season continues, the Hoyas will begin to focus more on the motion offense, and if Freeman’s understanding continues to grow, he should have no problems fitting in.

Chris Wright’s maturation as a point guard is well underway. While in some aspects he has done well (five assists against Jacksonville), he still has some room for improvement (three turnovers). Fortunately, he has good role models on the team in Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp. This also means that he doesn’t have to run the offense every time he is in the game, giving him a chance to put points up as well. Wright has been showing off his shooting ability recently, as he was 6-9 last outing, and in his past four games he is shooting 67% from downtown.

We should remember that Freeman and Wright aren’t the only freshman on the Hoyas. Omar Wattad got a few minutes against Jacksonville, and while his playing time was limited, he made some contributions - five points and two boards. It is good that Coach can get #31 into some games, since when January rolls around I don’t expect him to be on the floor too much. Unfortunately, Nikita Mescheriakov might not be able to get similar minutes for himself, since his suspension will end just one game before the Hoyas begin their Big East portion of the schedule.

When analyzing the progress of the freshmen, we should bear in mind the advice of Coach Thompson. Just like he preaches to his team, we should try not to get too high after a success or too low after a failure. There are certainly encouraging signs, but at the same time these guys are still freshmen, and mistakes are inevitable. The key will be seeing how well they learn from their mistakes, and if they grow from them. The Hoyas have a big game against Memphis next week, and not long after that, the Big East season begins. We will have to wait to see how the freshmen handle themselves in the upcoming month. And I think by then we will have a sense how good these freshmen, and this team, can really be.

GU:
The Hoyas had a great game last night, showing why they are the #5 team in the country by playing with poise and simply executing, particularly in the second half.

The main thing that stuck out for me, though, was the team’s passing. Georgetown made several crisp passes that demanded that the players knew where each other were going to be. This not only shows that the Hoyas are getting more comfortable with the offense, but they are also getting more comfortable with each other.

ODU:
Old Dominion played well and kept the game close for most of the first half. They outhussled the Hoyas that period, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds for nine 2nd chance points. They just couldn’t keep up with the Hoyas when the Boys in Blue started playing with more aggression.

Players

GU:
The Hoyas’ backcourt depth really stepped it up yesterday as Wallace and Sapp spent a lot of time on the bench. Mike already talked about Freeman’s game, but I was more impressed with Rivers and Wright.

Jeremiah Rivers has been getting more playing time this year than he did as a freshman. Yesterday, he showed why, picking up two assists and two steals to no turnovers and showing a lot of aggressive play, driving to the basket through traffic. His play last night actually reminded me of his game at Duke last season. Hopefully, he won’t have to do deal with another injury to set him back this year.

Chris Wright also played well, and for the first time, I thought he looked very comfortable with the Georgetown offense. He was directing traffic when he had possession, and he was moving well without the ball. Besides that, he showed some great hussle on his steal, diving right in front of the ODU bench to grab the ball.

ODU:
In our game preview, it looked like Gerald Lee might be dangerous, as he was ODU’s leading scorer and rebounder. He definitely did not disappoint, putting up career numbers with 24 and 12, most of those coming in the first half. Not enough support from his upperclassmen teammates did not bode well for the Monarchs.

Coaches

One thing you can say about John Thompson III is that he has faith in his bench. This game was very tight in the first half, but that did not keep JTIII from going to his bench early and often. One might expect a coach to keep his starters in during a game like this until the game was in hand. Then he could bring in his younger players to get the experience they need for conference play. But it looks like Thompson is going do or die with the bench right from the get go.

Referees

The only thing I have to say about the refs is in regards to the play Mike brought up, where Roy got called for an offensive foul as he was doing a routine spin move. It didn’t have any impact on last night’s game, but the refs need to know coming into the game that Roy Hibbert is a talented big man, who the opposing team’s frontcourt will have trouble with. They have to understand that so they recognize when a player is flopping out of desperation and when a player is legitimately fouled.

Fans

ODU’s last three games were against teams ranked in the top 10, but last night was the first time they got to play a big team at home. They had a good showing in the stands, but that wasn’t enough to put them past the Hoyas. Some Georgetown fans made the trip to Norfolk, as well, which was nice to see after so many ODU fans in McDonough last season.

Number of the Game

20: The number of assists the Hoyas had on 26 field goals. That’s 77% - not too shabby. I already talked about the Hoyas’ improved passing, and if it continues to translate into this many assists, that can only mean good news for the Hoyas’ season.

Revenge

So the Hoyas have avenged their loss against Old Dominion. Their next game is at home against Fairfield. Georgetown defeated the Stags 73-60 last season, so perhaps Fairfield has something to prove on Saturday.

For those of you hoping for a stand-out night from one of the Hoyas newcomers, you will have to wait. Austin Freeman was the first of the freshmen to get minutes, coming in at the 12:58 mark in the first half, and had a un-outstanding first appearance, going 1 for 4, 0 for 3 from beyond the arc, in 12 minutes of action. He was the only Hoya outside of the starters to get on the scoring sheet, though, making a nice 18 foot jumper midway through the second half. Freeman had a fine outing in other aspects, getting a few key rebounds, and playing nice defense. Chris Wright, the only other freshman to play in the season opener, played just eight minutes, and missed his only shot attempt.

It is too early to judge the freshmen, of course. Obviously, neither had a spectacular night. But, to put things in perspective, in last year’s season opener, first time Hoyas DaJuan Summers and Patrick Ewing Jr. had similar nights. Summers played 10 minutes, and went 0-1, whereas Ewing Jr. played eight minutes with only one rebound.

Despite the minimal impact, there was one play that gave Hoyas fans a glimpse of what is to come. Following a steal by Jeremiah Rivers, Wright found Freeman on the left baseline. Freeman pump-faked, took a dribble inside the three point line and nailed the jumper. As these players mature and get more comfortable in the offense, I get the feeling Freeman and Wright will be teaming up for a few more baskets. And that will be well worth the wait.