We knew it would be hard adjusting to life without Jeff Green. But maybe not this hard. In the Hoyas’ first game of the season, the four returning starters from last year’s deep postseason run - Hibbert, Sapp, Wallace, and Summers - had stellar games, scoring 23, 18, 15, and 10 respectively. But the fifth scorer was nowhere to be found. Austin Freeman was the only other Hoya to make the stats sheet - hitting a baseline jumper 30 minutes into the game - meaning the four returning starters from last year’s team contributed 97% of Georgetown’s total offense. But before anyone starts to panic, let’s take a look back at last year’s season opener.

In Georgetown’s 69-59 win over the Hartford Hawks, Jeff Green led all scorers with 17. But, Tyler Crawford had eight, Marc Egerson seven, and freshman DaJuan Summers was held scoreless. So, perhaps this gives us an idea that the season opener is not necessarily the best indicator of a team’s scoring options. As the season progresses, the new players will get more accustomed to the system and to the other Hoyas, and as the team forms its identity and each player becomes comfortable with his role, the scoring will take care of itself. That being said, the Hoyas have a tough home game coming up against Michigan and would like to find another player to add some points.

Jeff Green contributed a little over 20% of Georgetown’s offense last year, which is not too large of a number, a testament to the offense Coach Thompson runs. However, the Hoyas still need to make that 20% up. Obviously Hibbert will take over some of that load, as will Wallace, Sapp, and Summers, but the Hoyas will need an extra weapon. Despite his starting roll, I don’t think Patrick Ewing Jr. is the answer. His role is to provide energy on the defensive end and to make hustle plays. While he does have the ability to score, (he has a career high of 15 against Notre Dame in last year’s Big East Tournament), I think the Hoyas are better off using Ewing Jr. as a rebounder rather than a scorer. Jeremiah Rivers is much better at defending than at putting up points, so the Hoyas won’t be looking to him for the missing offense. Vernon Macklin might help to some degree, taking some of the pressure off of Hibbert, but we’ll have to see if he becomes more aggressive after attempting only one field goal on Saturday. For me, though, the player I would like to see get a few more shots is Austin Freeman. He had some good looks in the opener that didn’t fall, but he certainly has the potential to score some points and relieve some of the pressure on Sapp and Wallace outside. Also, with his size, he creates match-up problems for the opponents, which will help his teammates get open looks or create space inside for penetration.

The season is young, so the Hoyas still have time to find the extra scorer, whoever it will be. But, when over 95% of your scoring is coming from four players, it puts a lot of pressure on those guys to perform every night. If one of those should get into foul trouble in an upcoming game, or have an off shooting night, one of the other players will be forced to step up. When that happens, maybe people will stop writing articles about missing Jeff Green.