Georgetown basketball searching for a new identity after troubled year

The Hoyas tip off their season Wednesday at home against Maryland Baltimore County, and Ewing now has to restart after going 49-46 over his first three years as head coach. Last season was supposed to be the next step in a gradual progression of the program, with hopes of a first NCAA tournament berth since 2015. Now it’s back to rebuilding a foundation that showed cracks over the past year.

Ewing has repeatedly referenced a Drake song to sum up the mind-set that the rest of the team has latched on to.

“Started from the bottom, now we’re here,” senior guard Jahvon Blair said, reciting the lyrics during a virtual practice.

“Stay down for the come up,” senior guard Jamorko Pickett added.

“We can shock the world,” sophomore center Qudus Wahab said.

Despite Ewing not wanting to put the load on specific players, any success in 2020-21 will have to start with Blair and Pickett. They are the returning leading scorers: Blair averaged 10.8 points, while Pickett posted averages of 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 37.6 percent from three-point range and starting every game. They are the only seniors on the roster, not counting first-year graduate transfers. Ewing wants things a certain way, and they have the most experience in his system as the last remaining members of his first recruiting class.

“We are the seniors. We have been here the longest. But this isn’t tennis,” Pickett said. “We need everyone to be on the same page at all times in order to accomplish the goal that we’re trying to accomplish.

“It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m ready for this opportunity — me and Jahvon both. Since the last game, I put in the most work I’ve ever put in in my entire life to prepare me for this role. Things happened at the end of the season and even during the season that was unexpected, and I was kind of pushed into this role. I’m just ready to take it head-on.”

Blair added: “Leadership’s everything. With me and Jamorko being here for four years now, we’re the old cats. With these new guys coming in and the new transfers, we’ve got to tell them the Georgetown way and try to get that done.”

Ewing won’t tip his hand on a starting lineup, but the 6-foot-11 Wahab is expected to man the middle, though he and 7-foot freshman Timothy Ighoefe have battled in practice. Wahab, Blair and Pickett are the only three on the roster who have started a game in a Georgetown uniform.

There are hopes that guard Jalen Harris can step in and make an immediate impact as a graduate transfer from Arkansas. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.6 assists while starting all 34 games for the Razorbacks in 2018-19 after transferring from New Mexico. Harris started just five games last season and watched his averages drop to 4.2 points and 2.4 assists. The 6-2, 166-pounder has never shot well from three-point range, making 20.4 percent from behind the arc in three collegiate seasons. Running the offense and playing defense are his strongest skills.

A strong freshman season from 6-8, 200-pound forward Jamari Sibley would be much welcomed. The long, athletic wing is Georgetown’s top recruit in the 2020 class as a four-star prospect out of Oak Hill Academy in southwest Virginia. Ewing tempered expectations and said it’s going to be a process for Sibley to get significant time on the floor.

Restrictions from the pandemic kept Georgetown from full team workouts until about a month and a half ago, and that’s not an ideal scenario for a team with so many new and young faces. Ewing wants to outwork opponents until the Hoyas figure out what works best. A major focus will be on the defensive end, considering the Hoyas have struggled in that department under Ewing.

“We have been talking about it since I’ve been here,” Ewing said. “I’m not going to say guys haven’t put forth the effort [in the past], but that’s been one of the first things we started to work on once we came back. So I’m curious to see if we’re going to continue to get better and better as we go along because we’ve been putting a lot of time with a significant part of practice to work on the defense.”

After the opener against UMBC, the Hoyas host Navy on Dec. 1 at McDonough Arena followed by another home game against West Virginia in the Big 12-Big East Battle on Dec. 6.

It will be different not playing at Capital One Arena and without fans for the foreseeable future, but Georgetown has bigger concerns. This is Ewing’s fourth season, and the program is basically restarting after massive roster turnover. The Hall of Fame center has yet to coach in the NCAA tournament and is coming off his worst season.

The hope is that the summer of 2020 was the bottom and the rise will come quickly.