Greg Monroe will be meeting Harvard at the rim.
UPDATE: See the end of this post for awesome quotes from The Washington Times’ pre-game article.
The first David vs Goliath matchup in the Jeremy Lin Movement was last January 7th, 2009 when he made his intro to the world against Boston College. David vs Goliath II happened recently on December 6th, 2009, when he did what he did against UConn.
Now, comes 14th-ranked Georgetown. In less than twelve hours at the early morning wakeup time of 9:00AM PST (live-tweet @nbalivetweet), Harvard tips off at Georgetown. They have two NBA prospects in 6′11″ big man Greg Monroe — currently a consensus lottery pick (Top 14) — and 6′4″ 220 shooting guard Austin Freeman.
I watched Georgetown earlier this week on TV in their loss to Old Dominion, which dropped Georgetown from being ranked #11 to #14. Freeman definitely is a biggish guard, but I’m not sure I believe the 220-lb listing just yet. Monroe is a solid 6′11″. Georgetown didn’t play with that much energy, possibly coming off exams.
I also caught a glimpse of Georgetown last week when they romped over Washington U. at the John Wooden Classic. They looked really, really good that day.
This one is hard to predict. Jeremy will have his hands full with Freeman. And Harvard’s frontline is going to have problems with Monroe.
On the other hand, I think Connecticut is a more talented team than Georgetown. They have a star in Jerome Dyson. Georgetown doesn’t have that star (Freeman is only averaging 9 ppg). Georgetown actually reminds me a lot of UConn. Big men who can rebound and run the floor, but no great set post presence — maybe Monroe had a bad game this past week — and no great shooters.
But then again, there’s something about Georgetown and a man named John Thompson at the helm, though. Maybe it’s the lack of a surprise factor, even though this game is the only one on Georgetown’s schedule not being televised (as I said the revolution would not be!). Surely, Georgetown has got the scouting report on Jeremy.
So for whatever reason, I’m a little concerned by this one. Even more-so than before UConn, even though I just told you that I feel UConn is more talented than Georgetown. Maybe it’s because the Jeremy Lin buzz has been on a flurry lately and my many years in basketball have trained me that there’s an ebb and flow, a ying to the yang, a balance to The Force, that is always lurking behind the corner. I can’t place it.
I really hope I’m wrong. I hope I’ve jinxed it by saying it.
I’ve got to take a deep breath and say, once again, that based on admittedly limited observations of Georgetown, Jeremy is and should be the best player on the floor once again, so what the hell am I all jittered out for?
UPDATE: Quotes from the pre-game article by The Washington Times…
Beware Harvard’s Lin-chpin – writer Barker Davis
“He’s spent the last four years proving that he can play with anyone in the country,” [Georgetown head coach John Thompson III] said. “He’s terrific, and it’s not just his scoring. He does everything well. He’s extremely unselfish. It seems like he’s always involved in every play – whether it’s an assist, a rebound, a deflection, a stop, whatever.”
“Earlier in his career, I think he was kind of a trendy topic because of his [Asian-American] background and Ivy League status,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said. “People have finally realized he’s no fad. He’s a superb player with an all-around game that translates very well to the NBA.”
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