Georgetown Comfortable With Variety of Styles

In the interest of experience and, well, giving the other guys a chance to score, Georgetown coach John Thompson has decided to break up the twin towers of Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo and insert senior Sam Jefferson into the starting lineup. For the Hoyas, this has all the significance of changing socks after practice.

“I have never felt it was a special honor to start,” Thompson said. “We are a team of finishers, not a team of starters. We give a lot more credence to who is in there at the end, not who is in there at the beginning.”

In other words, what’s the difference if the Hoyas pound you at the beginning or the end, so long as they pound you. And that is what they have been doing since Jefferson, a 6-9 senior, and forward Anthony Allen, a 6-6 senior, were inserted into the lineup to give Georgetown what Thompson calls “more cohesiveness at the start of the game. It helps to set the tone.”

Georgetown has won four consecutive games to push its record to 19-2 and a remarkably similar pattern has emerged. After falling behind, 14-0, at the start of their loss to Connecticut and 17-10 at the start of their loss to Syracuse, the Hoyas got off to a 10-2 start in their rout of Seton Hall, a 9-2 start in a victory against St. John’s and a 19-9 start in a 97-81 thrashing of Pitt. The only exception was the 16-point victory against Florida in which Georgetown fell behind 11-3.

“Because of those tough games with Connecticut and Syracuse, I think it is very important for us to start off on a positive note,” Thompson said. “That’s one of the reasons I shifted the upperclassmen into that (starting) position, and I think Sam and Anthony have done a very adequate job.”

The switch has not handcuffed Thompson from pairing Mutombo, the 7-2 center from Kinshasa, Zaire, with the 6-10 Mourning. The two towers started the first 17 games before Thompson juggled his lineup.

“Early in the year it was very effective; they adjusted to each other and played very well together,” said guard Dwayne Bryant, team leader in assists. “But as the year went on and things got more difficult, we got two quicker players in there that enabled us to get the running game in gear.”

If there is a chink in the Hoyas’ armor, it is that the Mourning-Mutombo combination can slow the break. But that can also be the beauty of the Georgetown scheme: The Hoyas can beat you by swatting away shots, or they can run by you with their four-on-the-floor offense, which has been accelerated by freshman point guard David Edwards.

“Who knows who you might play in the tournament?” Bryant said. “You may play a team like Loyola Marymount. They don’t have two guys to stop them if we go half-court. We don’t ever want to stop running, but it’s good to know if you have to play half-court, we can.”

Georgetown has been in the NCAA tournament the past 11 seasons, but not in the Final Four since 1985, when they played in the championship game for the third time in four years. Can they make it back?

“When they are playing like that,” Pitt coach Paul Evans said after his 16-point defeat, “they are pretty much unstoppable.”

The key is Mourning. The sophomore is on the verge of stardom. He is second on the team with an 18.3 scoring average and second to Mutombo in rebounding and blocked shots.

“Sometimes in our discovery of other players, we lose sight of Alonzo,” Thompson said. “Alonzo’s a pretty good player. I think he’s getting more mature. Alonzo has been one consistent thread that is very important for us.”

Edwards, 5-10 freshman from New York, averaged 41 points and six assists as a prep senior. His flamboyant style is a drastic departure from the Hoyas’ disciplined attack, but Thompson does not appear to mind -- too much. In one brief display of grandstanding, Edwards dribbled back and forth between his legs at center court, retrieved a one-handed pass that had been deflected and went back between his legs before nailing a three-pointer from the top of the circle. While Mourning and reserve forward Michael Tate celebrated on the bench, Thompson stood quietly, hands on hips, glaring at Edwards.

“He has been playing very, very well,” Bryant said. “He’s very, very quick and he’s good with the ball, which has enabled me and Mark (Tillmon) to look for chances to score.”

Tillmon, a 6-2 senior who has missed only three games in his college career, is Georgetown’s leading scorer, averaging 20.7. In Thompson’s ever-changing lineup, he and Bryant are the closest to mainstays. Both are averaging about 33 minutes in Big East games.

“I like this team because of the camaraderie,” Bryant said. “Anytime you have a team where everyone is together you got a chance.”

Highlights:

Record: 19-2. Coach: John Thompson (418-137).

Lineup: Mark Tillmon, 6-2 senior, 20.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Dwayne Bryant, 6-2 senior, 10.7, 4.5; Alonzo Mourning, 6-10 sophomore, 18.3, 9.0; Sam Jefferson, 6-9 senior, 3.0, 3.7; Anthony Allen, 6-6 senior, 2.1, 1.6.

Sidelights:

Nickname: Hoyas. Colors: Blue and gray. Campus landmark: Healy Building, at center of campus, distinguishable by its clock tower.

Famous alumni: John Mitchell, John Dean.

Did you know: The school’s former nickname was “Stonewalls.” The current nickname was derived from “Hoya Saxa,” a combination of Greek and Latin terms meaning, “What Rocks!”

Best name on roster: Dikembe Mutombo.

Claim to fame: George Washington gave his inaugural address at the school.

Bottom line: Georgetown has size, depth and experienced guards to win the national title.