Georgetown's other senior stars in win over Syracuse
Only two players on the current Georgetown roster had ever played against rival Syracuse: seniors D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Bradley Hayes.
Up until Saturday, Hayes' participation in the old-school rivalry consisted of less than one minute of action, committing one personal foul.
But it was the 7-foot center who led the charge in the Hoyas' 79-72 win over the Orange, scoring a career-high 21 points and grabbing eight boards.
"It's been constant work," Hayes told reporters after the game. "Unfortunately I didn't get to play much against Syracuse the last time and there was a lot of built up aggression toward that, so to be able to come out and play and show how hard I"ve worked up to this moment, it just felt good."
Through his first three seasons, Hayes was a rarely seen big man for the Hoyas. He was best known for an eight-point, six-board performance in a win over Eastern Washington in the NCAA Tournament last March, providing an unexpected boost off the bench after Joshua Smith and Mikael Hopkins were both saddled with first-half foul trouble.
Instead of that being a flash in the pan performance, it was the start to a breakout year as a senior. Through seven games, he's averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 boards per game.
"For the last three years, B.J. has worked extremely hard," Georgetown head coach John Thompson III said in the post-game press conference. "It's not like he just started working this summer. He just now has a coach who is now putting him in the game. But he"s worked extremely hard, but more he"s been a great teammate. Not just a good teammate, a great teammate, that has only cared about Georgetown basketball and us winning games."
JT3 knows best than most how to score against Syracuse's famous 2-3 zone. On Saturday, the Hoyas raced out to an early lead, getting the ball inside to the high post on offense and closing out on the Syracuse 3-point shooters on defense (the Orange shot 2-of-10 from three in the first half).
Hayes was able to take advantage of a smaller frontline, positioning well against the zone. When he got his touches, he was quick to make decisions, either kicking it out to the perimeter to a shooter or turning over his left shoulder for a right-handed hook shot.
A young Georgetown team, filled with promising sophomores and freshmen, benefited from Smith-Rivera's decision to return for his final year. And after Saturday's win, the Hoyas are also profiting from the emergence of their other senior.
"He will have a lot more moments like today, before the season is over," Thompson said.
