NEW YORK – Jessie Govan has literally been the big man for Georgetown this season.
At 6-10, the junior center from nearby Queens Village, is the tallest player on the team.
He topped the team with a 17.5 points per game average, scored in double figures 24 times and had 14 double-doubles.
In the regular season finale last weekend against Villanova, Govan poured in a career-high 30 points.
He looked all set to turn in another monster game in the opener of the BIG EAST men’s basketball tournament presented by Jeep against St. John’s on a snowy and messy Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
But, after huge 20 point first half that help put the Hoyas on top by six, Govan was shut down by a stingy St. John’s defense and some cold shooting the rest of the way as the Red Storm rallied for a 88-77 win.
“I didn’t do enough for us today to get the win, “ said Govan, who nevertheless finished with a game high 28 points and had 11 rebounds for his 15
th double-double of the season. “I tried my hardest.”
Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, who knows a little about being the big man on the court for his team, was equally frank in his assessment of Govan’s play.
“He played well, not well enough,” Ewing said of Govan who went 9-for-21 from the floor.
While the Hoyas (15-15) still harbor hopes of grabbing a NIT bid to keep this season going, Ewing and Govan were already optimistically looking ahead to next season.
“He is a player who had a lot of potential,” said Ewing. “He still has a lot of work that he had to do on both ends of the court. He has to continue to run the floor on both ends. He still had to rebound. He has to become a better-shot block.
“And I’m going to need him to be my leader. He has to start leading. And as a leader you can lead in a lot of different ways. He’s going to have to choose which way that he wants to lead. He just has to put in the work to grasp it.
“The sky is the limit for him,” declared Ewing.
Govan did not shrink from Ewing’s challenge.
“Work hard in the off season and take the BIG EAST by storm,” said Govan.