Know Your Opponent: Georgetown Hoyas

With the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament kicking off Wednesday, let’s take a look at the first-round opponent for the Florida Gators, the Georgetown Hoyas.

Georgetown Hoyas
Washington, D.C.
Big East Conference
Head Coach: John Thompson, 11th season
2013-14 record: 18-15 (8-10 Big East, 7th)

Georgetown was in an unusual position last year, finishing seventh in the Big East after taking second place the year before. The Hoyas were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament for the first time since 2009, and missed the NCAA tournament.

This year the team looks to compete with Villanova for the top spot in the Big East, a conference made weaker with the departures of Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse last year. Georgetown returns three starters and has seen the emergence of other players early this season in wins over St. Francis Brooklyn, Texas A&M CC and Robert Morris.

Key Players

Joshua Smith
Center
Senior
6’10, 350 pounds

Georgetown is renowned for producing quality big men, and early this season, Smith has shown the potential the next to come from the program. After a subpar 10 points and two rebounds against St. Francis Brooklyn, Smith had 20 points and 12 rebounds against Texas A&M CC. He would follow up that performance with 22 points and 11 rebounds against Robert Morris.

Coming off a 2013-14 campaign where the big man was out of shape and missed the final half of the season due to academics, many wondered what the center would look like this year. His steady improvement has caught the eye of many, including Florida Gators Head Coach Billy Donovan who credited Smith’s hands and ability to understand the right angles to put him in position to score.

“He will probably be the biggest, most physical frontcourt player we’ll play all year long,” Donovan said. “I don’t think there’s anybody in college basketball like him, so he’s certainly a handful and that will be a challenge for us.”

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera
Point Guard
Junior
6’3, 214 pounds

Last year’s leading scorer returns to for his junior season, as Smith-Rivera will look to build upon his 17.6 points per game in 2013-14. This season, the combo guard hasn’t lit up the scoreboard (Nine points per game through three contests), but has matched his rebound averages (Five per game last year and this year), as well as surpassed his assist average (4.3 per game over last season’s 2.7). At 214 pounds, the junior provides size problems for thinner defenders.

Smith-Rivera will be the second Cousy Award Watch List player the Gators will face this season, having played Miami’s Angel Rodriguez last week. Like Rodriguez, Smith-Rivera has the ability to score inside and out and will get things going this season, despite the rusty start.

L.J. Peak
Forward
Freshman
6’5, 215 pounds

While the Hoyas look for other scoring options to emerge amongst a younger team, Georgetown may have a solid option in L.J. Peak. The Gaffney, S.C. native’s college career has been strong, as he’s averaged 15 points a game. In Peak’s first game with Georgetown, the forward scored 23 points, going 9-9 from the field and 1-1 from three-point range.

Peak will keep the Gators on their toes and will require Florida to move quickly on defensive rotations. He’s a player that likes to attack the basket and, like Smith-Rivera the size to make his way into the paint against some of the smaller frames of Florida. The Gators will have an easier time defending him from the outside, however, as he’s not known to shoot many three-pointers.

How They Fare Against Florida

For all the concern over Florida’s lack of a post presence, it seems opposing guards and wing players provided the most trouble. Miami’s Rodriguez caught fire late in the Hurricanes’ win, and UL-Monroe swingman Tylor Ongwae had 19 points in the Warhawks’ overtime loss. While Smith’s size and agility will provide a challenge in the paint, if the Gators’ big men can hit outside shots, they’ll be able to stretch the defense, keeping the post player honest and possibly giving Florida to opportunity to test the center’s conditioning.

However, guard play will once again provide an issue for Florida. Smith-Rivera and Peak should be able to take advantage of the smaller backcourt, keeping defenders off balance and out-muscling them when they get to the lane. Georgetown will also take advantage of a Florida defense that is still learning to play as a team. With a modified Princeton offense, the Hoyas’ wingmen will rotate throughout the night, making the Gators work and taking advantage of backdoor cuts, similar to how Barry University did in their exhibition against the Gators. If Eli Carter and Dorian Finney-Smith were at full strength, the Orange & Blue may be able to put up a better fight against Georgetown. However, the Hoyas are a faster, stronger and healthier team than Florida is at this point.

Ryan Randall
From Melbourne, Florida, Ryan has lived in Florida since he was three, becoming a sports fan around that age. His passion for journalism rivals his love of sports. Shortly out of high school he covered prep and community sports for his hometown paper in Brevard Country, before moving to Gainesville, where he covered the Gators in the pros as well as prep sports for a few publications. A Telecommunications major at UF, Ryan now interns at Gator Country and ecstatic to showcase his talents for the publication. When not working on stories, Ryan enjoys playing basketball, music, as well as art. Follow Ryan at @_RyanRandall_