Hoya Paranoia...

Last night the Georgetown Hoyas opened the 2010-11 season on the road, in a rather hostile environment vs the Old Dominion Monarchs with a 62-59 win. You've gotta give Coach Thompson credit for not being afraid to start the season against a very worthy adversary in such a feisty environment.

From the opening tip in Norfolk, it became clear that inside play of forwards Julian Vaughn (senior) & Hollis Thompson (sophomore) will be key once Big East play begins, otherwise there could be issues with the lack depth/experienced size in the low-post with the departure of Greg Monroe for the NBA. Both Vaughn & Thompson struggled from the field, so it'll be important to get the kiddies plenty of minutes before Big East play starts in December.

The Hoyas do however maintain a strong back-court with the return of senior guards Austin Freeman & Chris Wright. I think the play of junior guard Jason Clark will be critical to their success as well. The three played well, though Wright had a few 1st-game jitters as evidenced by a some shaky decision-making during Hoya fast breaks. But the Bowie, MD native came up huge down the stretch & looked very much like a senior, shooting 7-13 from the field, including 4-6 from 3-point land, finishing with 19 points to lead all scorers.

G'town got off to a fairly slow start and continued the poor shooting, for much of the 1st-half before a late run made it apparent that it would only a matter of time before they'd fully awake. Early foul trouble kept the Hoyas from opening the game up down the stretch, but solid guard-play secured the win. Sophomore guard Vee Sanford definitely needs more minutes as he looked like one of the most athletic players on last year's team, didn't see his at all last night.

Freshman forward Nate Lubick got plenty of minutes & looked good down-low in relief of Vaughn & Thompson. I'd also like to see more of center Henry Simms (junior) on the court with Vaughn a little more, that way size wouldn't be such an issue with the 3-guard lineup. Nonetheless, the Princeton offense seems to once again be affective in crossing defenses up & I look forward to the start of conference play...