During Georgetown's 71–53 rout of no. 23 West Virginia on Monday, two first-half plays stood out.
In the game's opening moments, West Virginia swingman Frank Young had the ball at the top of the key. Young leads the Big East in three-pointers made, and the Hoyas knew this. When a Mountaineer set a screen on Jeff Green, Young sprung free — but only for a split second. Roy Hibbert — the 7-foot-2-inch Georgetown center who's as tough to shoot over as the Statue of Liberty — immediately recognized the switch. Hibbert rotated over to Young and contested the long-range shot with a hand in the shooter's face. The Hoyas snatched the rebound off the errant shot, then scooted down the floor to set up their offense.
Then, a little more than six minutes in, the Hoyas dumped the ball down to Hibbert in the post. Sensing a double-team coming, he alertly threw the ball back out to Green. The 6-foot-9-inch forward, one of the nation's best and most versatile players, took a couple of dribbles as he surveyed the defense from beyond the arc. Then, in a flash, little point guard Jonathan Wallace darted away from his man on a crisp backdoor cut. Green led him with a gorgeous bounce pass, and Wallace sank the easy layup.
Do these kinds of heads-up, perfectly executed plays suggest great coaching, or talented, heady players who know how to execute on both ends? It's likely a combination of both. And that's bad news for the rest of the Big East, not to mention the rest of the country.
When people talk about the Princeton offense, they're usually referring to the style of attack run by Pete Carril and Bill Carmody for many years at that school. The Tigers knew they couldn't attract the kind of highflying stars common at basketball factories like North Carolina and Kentucky. Instead, Carril devised a precision motion offense, one that encourages constant cutting and screening, backdoor passes, and even big men taking open three-pointers. Schools such as Air Force have used talent that's a half-notch better and parlayed a variant of the Princeton offense into major success.
But the Hoyas have taken the next step. A high-profile basketball program playing in the elite Big East conference, Georgetown has implemented the Princeton offense, using an array of talented players, some of whom will surely play, maybe even star, in the NBA. And while other schools have tweaked the Princeton offense to include their own wrinkles, the Hoyas have stayed true to the original formula. That's no surprise given that their coach, John Thompson III, succeeded Carril and Carmody as the Tigers' head man before coming to D.C. to carry on his father's legacy.
Georgetown is currently 19-5, 9-2 in Big East, and a half game behind Pitt with a game at Pitt on February 24. They have also won eight in a row and 15 out of last 17.
Hibbert and Green make the Hoyas go. Only Florida's tandem of Joakim Noah and Al Horford, and North Carolina with Brendan Wright and Tyler Hansbrough, can rightfully compare their frontcourt strength to Georgetown's. Many skeptics worried that the Hoyas would struggle this season, after the departure of guard Ashante Cook and swingman Brendan Bowman. But the evolution of Green's game, and especially Hibbert's, has quickly changed that perception. The Hoyas have become experts at running John Thompson's offense, while also using their inside muscle to impose their will. On Saturday, the Hoyas smoked no. 12 Marquette by 18 points, in a game that looked like a possible trap. Marquette's dynamic three-guard attack figured to give the bigger Hoyas fits. But Georgetown wore down the Golden Eagles, feeding Hibbert and Green repeatedly. The twin towers dropped a combined 47 points, and the Hoyas won in a walk.
Hibbert's improvement from his freshman season to this year's efforts as a junior has been dramatic, making his height his only trait that still resembles a statue. Where once, Hibbert couldn't stay on the court for extended periods of time, his improved conditioning now enables him to play for longer stretches, no mean feat for a player his size. He's also developed a much wider array of moves than he possessed when he walked onto Georgetown's hilltop campus. In the games against Marquette and West Virginia, Hibbert showed he could go hard to the basket on a pick-and-roll, make an assortment of jump hooks, and even flash an occasional spin move in traffic. That's a huge step up from Hibbert's catch-and-dunk repertoire when he first arrived, one that's enabled him to score even when tightly guarded.
The improvement has been most evident in his accurate shooting. Despite extending his game away from the rim, Hibbert has increased his field-goal percentage to 70.6%, best in the nation. Among players getting comparable playing time, Hibbert is the top player in America in Offensive Rating, a stat devised by Ken Pomeroy at kenpom. Meanwhile, Green shoots a healthy 53.2%. The Hoyas rarely turn the ball over and make smart decisions regardless of who's handling the ball. Add it all up and you have a team that leads all other Division-I teams in Pomeroy's Adjusted Offensive Efficiency rating, which gauges a team's ability to make the most out of every possession.
The Hoyas still have their share of weaknesses. They have limited depth behind the starting five, which could prove especially costly if Hibbert gets fatigued or gets into foul trouble (the big fella still averages a modest 26.4 minutes a game). The other concern is Georgetown's guard play. Wallace has proved to be a solid, underrated performer who starts the offense effectively and owns enough quickness to guard most opposing lead guards. But if the Hoyas fail to slow down the tempo against quicker, more athletic squads, they could run into trouble.
That said, consider the path Georgetown has taken to get to this point, knocking on the door of a Big East championship. Two seasons ago, in the first year at Georgetown for Thompson, Hibbert, Green, and Wallace, the Hoyas improved from 13–15 to a record of 19–13 and an NIT berth. Last year, Georgetown improved to 21–9, rolling to the Sweet 16 before losing in a close contest to eventual champion Florida.
Georgetown has an excellent chance to get to the next level this season, crashing the Final Four through the backdoor. Given how the Hoyas like to attack their opponents, they wouldn't have it any other way.
Mr. Keri (jonahkeri@gmail.com) is a writer for ESPN.com's Page 2 and a contributor to YESNetwork.com.
