Georgetown MBB Preview: Govan Set to Lead the Hoyas
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIG EAST.com
Patrick Ewing was entertaining the media hordes at the BIG EAST’s recent media day at Madison Square Garden when he was asked about his senior center, 6-10, 270-pound Jessie Govan, the latest in a long line of superior Hoya big men.
“I’ve done a little more than he did,” Ewing said with a smile. “But I’m happy he came back and happy I have an opportunity to coach him one more year.”
There isn’t a coach in the league who wouldn’t welcome back someone who is the only returning player who averaged a double-double last season. And now Ewing, the greatest in that long line of great Georgetown big guys, gets one final crack at molding Govan into an NBA-ready entity.
“We need Jessie to continue to develop and add to what he did last year,” Ewing said.
One area Govan said he needs to improve upon is his leadership skills and there is no one better to have as a mentor than his coach.
“One of the biggest things is learning how to be a leader,” said Govan, a Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team pick who averaged 17.9 points and 10.0 rebounds last season. “Coach Ewing, in his career, was always a leader when he was at Georgetown and during his time with the Knicks. So I’m going to try and learn from him how to be a leader. The guys are looking to me this year even more to be a leader. I’m the elder statesman here now.”
In his first season as a head coach last year, Ewing led the Hoyas to a 15-15 overall record, but just 5-13 in the BIG EAST. Among those 13 defeats, though, were six games which were decided by seven points or less with four of those losses coming in overtime. Govan thinks with some defensive tightening this season, particularly at the end of games, it can be a very different season for the Hoyas this time around.
“The biggest thing is closing out games this year,” Govan said. “Last year we had a lot of games that came down to three points or five points and in some of those games we couldn’t control ourselves with turnovers and offensive rebounds and things like that. This year the biggest thing will be closing out games and closing out possessions.”
Ewing said he keeps a close relationship with his former coach, John Thompson, and he is usually the first phone call he makes when he’s in need of guidance.
“Coach Thompson is always somebody I could call for advice,” Ewing said. “He’s somebody that I’ve looked up to since the days I was a recruit and he’s always been there for me. He’s always been a father figure and a role model and that never changed.”
Ewing said last season was all about laying the foundation for his program but this season the construction is starting to build upwards.
“Now we’re starting to put the building up,” Ewing said. “But that would be as far as he would go with his outlook on the season.
“As a coach you can’t go out there and make these bold predictions,” said Ewing, whose team was picked seventh in the BIG EAST Coaches’ Preseason poll. “For us I don’t think that would be very smart. But it’s all about getting better, hopefully doing better in the BIG EAST Tournament and making the NCAAs. But we’re taking it one step at a time.”
Govan will have some very able-bodied teammates with which to work with this season. First off there is versatile junior Jagan Mosely, who Ewing sees playing a variety of positions this season.
“He’s a player that I depend on to step up and be a leader and play whatever position, point guard, the two (shooting guard), the three (small forward) , four (power forward) and maybe some five (center), depending on how small I want to go,” Ewing said.
But the Hoyas will also be bolstered by a pair of sophomores in Jamorko Pickett, who averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds last season, as well as guard Jahvon Blair, who tossed in nine points a game as both players earned BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honors.
Georgetown is also bringing in a freshman class ranked among the best in the conference. It’s led by four-star recruit James Akinjo, a 6-0 guard out of Oakland, Cal., and who averaged 20.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds for Salesian College Prep last season. Also in the group is Mac McClung, a three-star recruit from Virginia who is the all-time leading scorer in Virginia High School League history with 2,801 points and who is also the all-time leader in single-season scoring (1,153 points). He also scored the most points (47) in a state championship game when he led his Gate City High School team to its first ever state title. Add in another pair of four-star recruits in 6-8 Grayson Carter (12.9 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 1.4 blks) and 6-7 Josh LeBlanc (an ESPN Top 100 recruit) and no wonder Ewing was in such a jovial mood at the Garden.
“The league is strong but we brought in some good pieces that will help us,” Ewing said. “But it’s hard to say how we’re going to be. We’re still battling against each other (in practice). We’ve played one exhibition game and we’re going to play another. But we’ll see on November 6 (vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore) how it goes.”
Ewing says he is having the time of his life coaching his alma mater.
“I love it. I love it,” he said. “I’m enjoying it. I’m glad for the opportunity because I’ve been trying to be a head coach for a lot of years now and finally I was given an opportunity so I can mentor these guys and get them to play to the best if their abilities.”
And if they do just that, Govan sees the Hoyas as being a breakout team in the conference this season.
“I think our versatility is one of our biggest things,” Govan said. “And I think we’re going to go really deep this year. We’re all hungry and we all want to make some noise in the league this year and hopefully make the NCAA Tournament. We’re ready to make some noise and get Georgetown back on the map.”