No. 10 – Georgetown

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Only three of the 21 players who received either first- or second-team All-Big East honors are back this season. One is Aaron Gray of Pittsburgh. The other two both play for the Georgetown Hoyas — juniors Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert.

Hibbert, a 7'2", 283-pound redwood, is the Big East’s top center outside of Gray. Green, meanwhile, is the player most likely to challenge Gray for league Player of the Year honors.

Together, Green and Hibbert are the two biggest reasons why the Hoyas will challenge Gray’s Panthers for the Big East title.

“Our frontcourt is our strength,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III says. “Jeff and Roy are going to be part of everything we do.”

The Hoyas do lose two four-year starters — Brandon Bowman and Ashanti Cook — plus sixth-man Darrel Owens off last year’s team that went 23–10 overall and 10–6 in the Big East.

“Our success this year will depend on how guys step in and replace those guys,” Thompson says. Perhaps, but no team in the league returns a pair of formidable frontcourt forces like Georgetown’s Green and Hibbert.

FRONTCOURT – Green’s scoring average went down from 13.1 as a freshman to 11.9 last season, and his rebounding stayed the same at 6.5 per game. But don’t be fooled. Green is an emerging talent, and his status quo numbers are more a result of playing in Thompson’s patient, team-oriented system.

“Jeff Green is the blanket to me being Linus,” Thompson says. “I feel safe when he’s out there. He’s had success on the perimeter, and he’s had success near the hole. He has the ability to do everything on the court, and we’re going to need him to.”

Hibbert, meanwhile, is more of a work in progress. Despite his 7'2" frame, Hibbert wasn’t among the Big East’s top 15 rebounders or shot-blockers in conference games.
“Walking in the door Roy was just a big piece of clay,” Thompson says. “He needed to be shown and he needed to be taught. He’s extremely bright and a hard worker. People will see a continued jump.”

Hibbert flexed his muscles in the Hoyas’ NCAA Tournament run last March. He scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards in a 54–49 win over Northern Iowa, and two days later, he led Georgetown to a surprisingly easy win over second-seeded Ohio State with 20 points and 14 boards.

Incoming freshman Vernon Macklin will push Patrick Ewing Jr., a transfer from Indiana, for the other starting position in the frontcourt. Ewing averaged 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore at IU two years ago.

Sophomore Marc Egerson and freshman DaJuan Summers are small forward options.

BACKCOURT – For the past two years, Jonathan Wallace played second-fiddle to Cook in the Georgetown backcourt and third-fiddle in his own recruiting class to Hibbert and Green. But Wallace has started every game in his college career, and last season he finished fourth in the Big East with a 2.26-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Wallace’s presence makes the departure of Cook easier to overcome.

“Jon’s role is going to change,” says Thompson. “He’s had the luxury of playing alongside Ashanti. This year he’ll have a lot of the perimeter burden until we see who steps up.”

Candidates at guard include sophomores Jessie Sapp and Josh Thornton and incoming freshman Jeremiah Rivers. Figure on Sapp, who averaged 16.0 minutes per game last season, to get first crack at the job.

FINAL ANALYSIS – Green probably won’t rack up Player of the Year numbers, but he could be the most important player in the league outside of Villanova’s oft-injured Curtis Sumpter.

Green, Hibbert, Ewing, Summers and Macklin will make up one of the most talented and deepest frontcourts in the country. So much of Georgetown’s ultimate success will depend on the play of Wallace and a bunch of inexperienced guards.

“The key will be getting continuity with our perimeter play,” Thompson says. “Who from that group is going to step up? We’re going to have some young guys who’ll learn on the fly.”

Georgetown hasn’t finished in the Big East’s top three since the 1996-97 team won the old Big East 7 division with an 11–7 record. That’s about to change. Hoya Paranoia is back.