This past weekend Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Henry Sims, and Jason Clark found themselves on the same team for the first time since their unceremonious exit from the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Georgetown reunion was made possible by the Basketball Alumni Legends League (The-BALL).

The fledgling professional league held its inaugural games this weekend, with the four Hoyas suiting up for Washington, D.C., against a group of former college standouts from the Philadelphia area. The-BALL, which plans to fully launch next summer, also unveiled a few rule quirks, like a four-point line from 25 feet out.

“It was cool,” Clark said after the first game in D.C. on Saturday. “It added some fun to the game, some excitement. I couldn’t hit one, but I’ll try tomorrow.”

The D.C. team won both exhibitions, with Clark leading the way with 20 and 21 points. Freeman displayed his familiar shooting touch, while Wright took over down the stretch in Sunday’s game. Sims fouled out in both contests, but he was a formidable presence in the paint (and on the solo fast break) when he did play.

For Sims and Clark, the games represented the next step in their transition from their time at Georgetown to their professional careers. Both played in the NBA Summer League last month, with Clark suiting up for the Miami Heat and Sims receiving playing time with the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls. Neither player has parlayed the experience into an NBA contract as of yet.

“It was good to get out there and learn from those older guys, gave me a chance to show what I got,” Clark said. “It was a really fun trip.”

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Georgetown’s Class of 2012 certainly has a few unemployed grads – count Henry Sims and Jason Clark among them. Unlike their classmates, however, that situation could change in a big way during next Thursday’s NBA Draft.

Since the Hoyas’ season concluded, Clark, Sims, and the early-departing junior Hollis Thompson (he doesn’t get to play on a boat now) have been working out and showcasing their talents for NBA teams, hoping to get picked up in the draft.

Sims – following Clark and Thompson before him – worked out with the Washington Wizards on familiar turf at the Verizon Center today. According to the center, it was approximately his thirteenth workout for a team, with three or four remaining.

“It’d be like coming back home,” Sims said of the possibility of playing for the Wizards. “The rims haven’t changed, I don’t think. It would definitely be nice.”

After his workout, Clark was similarly excited, but admitted to feeling out of place at the Phonebooth: “It’s kind of weird coming into this arena and not having on that Georgetown jersey.”

Both Thompson and Sims are projected to go in the second round by most experts, with both receiving periodic praise from the draft experts. ESPN’s Chad Ford said Thompson could sneak into the first round after watching one of his workouts last month, while his colleague John Hollinger called Sims a potential “second-round steal.” All three players value this time to fully showcase their abilities (like Sims’ monstrous dunk versus UConn, pictured above), especially according to the big man.

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When Jason Clark is elected into the NBA Hall of Fame, let it be known that this was the moment everything changed.

Sounds like Sarah Amos hasn’t experienced that moment when you realize you don’t actually have to study during study abroad after you thought you actually had to study during study abroad.

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As the final buzzer rang, Henry Sims stood at the top of the three-point line in disbelief. His second double-double in as many days turned out to not be enough, as his Hoyas fell in a thriller at Madison Square Garden, losing 72-70 to Cincinnati in double overtime. The senior matched wits with the Bearcats’ Yancy Gates for the entire afternoon, posting 22 points and 15 rebounds in the process. In the end, however, the game came down to one three-point attempt that clanked the back iron for Sims, ending Georgetown’s Big East Tournament run after two games.

But, the senior did not hang his head. Though clearly emotional and somber, Sims realized that he and his team played their hearts out and provided a capacity crowd at MSG with a thriller—though he sure would like to have that last shot back.

“I mean, it would have been nice to make that last one, obviously, but the first layup to put it into double overtime I think obviously felt good,” Sims said. “But I’d much rather have that shot at the end.”

That first layup Sims referred to actually saved the Hoyas in the first overtime, as he drove into the line and hit a shot to tie the game at 62 as time expired. He and freshman Otto Porter provided all but two points in extra time for the Hoyas, but it was not enough to overcome Gates and the Bearcat offense.

Both teams got off to sluggish starts in the first half, with the lead changing 10 times in the first 10 minutes. The Hoya offense only got in a rhythm shortly after freshmen Greg Whittington and Jabril Trawick entered the game. Trawick drew a foul and drained a free throw to tie the game at 15, which led to a string of six straight field goals for the Hoyas. The first three of those came from Sims, who followed a jumper with a putback and a strong move in the paint. The Bearcats worked hard to establish Gates in the paint early, but to no avail, as Sims took over on both ends with the help of junior Hollis Thompson and Porter.

In a manner all too reminiscent of their first meeting, the Bearcats staged a run in the second half to bring themselves within one point of the lead. The poor stretch included a goaltending call on Whittington and a Jason Clark turnover, culminating in a flagrant foul on Porter for an aggressive elbow to Cincinnati guard Sean Kilpatrick. This time, though, the Hoyas did not relinquish the lead, regaining control of the game behind freshman Markel Starks and Sims.

The recap continues, along with analysis, after the jump:

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The Georgetown Hoyas (22-7, 12-6 Big East) begin Big East Tournament play tomorrow at 2 PM, when they play the Pittsburgh Panthers (17-15, 5-13) at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers come in after walloping St. John’s this afternoon, 73-59. Senior guard Ashton Gibbs led the team with 20 points while Nasir Robinson chipped in 15 points to go along with 8 rebounds.

Awards and Snubs

Over the weekend, senior guard Jason Clark was named to the All-Big East First Team while classmate Henry Sims was recognized for his turnaround this season, as he was named to the Third Team. Junior guard Hollis Thompson was named Honorable Mention. The senior was proud of his accomplishment but in his own, selfless manner, deflected the attention towards the team.

“That’s a personal accomplishment, but I could only be in this position because of my teammates,” Clark said. “We’ve been winning games – at the beginning of the season, I just wanted to lead this team to victory. I worked hard, I think I deserve it, but there’s a lot more from on this point.”

His coach, John Thompson III, was very proud of Clark and Sims’ efforts as well, focusing in on Jason’s contributions to the team.

“Very happy for Jason,” Thompson said. “Jason Clark is someone, that for four years, has just worked – he’s just gone about his business, worked extremely hard for four years, has always been in the background, for four years has always been extremely selfless.”

In addition, Clark was awarded the Big East Sportsmanship Award, a testament to his peers’ perception of Clark. The guard did not hear about the award until reporters mentioned it to him yesterday, but was honored by the distinction.

“I’m just all about the game of basketball,” the Arlington native said. “I’m not with all the trash talking and all that other stuff. The game gets emotional sometimes, but I respect a lot of the other players around the league because they respect me. I’m out there usually having fun.”

Not everything went as expected for the Hoyas, though, as freshman Otto Porter was not named to the All-Big East Rookie Team. Porter leads the Hoyas in rebounding this season and has played his best in Georgetown’s biggest games. Still, Porter remains humble and simply wants to acknowledge the snub through his play this week.

“It motivates me,” said Porter of the snub. “But I just come in and play my game, basically. Just playing in the Big East is my motivation. I just want to win.”

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President DeGioia hugs Jason Clark

It was Senior Day for Georgetown on Monday, and the Hoyas’ veterans made sure to put on one last great performance for the home crowd. Jason Clark and Henry Sims ended their career at the Verizon Center on a high note, leading the Hoyas to a resounding 59-41 victory over Notre Dame. It was the first time the two seniors beat the Fighting Irish.

The game was a back-and-forth defensive struggle for the first 10 minutes, but the Hoyas found their offensive rhythm midway through the half. Sims was the catalyst as Georgetown pulled away, scoring or assisting on 10 straight points in the closing minutes of the first half. The Hoyas went into the locker room up 28-18.

“That’s what Henry has done all year, that’s what we need him to do,” head coach John Thompson III said. “For most of the year I think he has been very good at balancing when it’s my turn and when to look if someone else is open.”

Sims finished with a well-rounded 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He also put an exclamation point on his performance with 4:45 to go in the game, swatting a Jerian Grant layup attempt into the stands.

Clark’s game was a microcosm of his career—an efficient offensive performance paired with an even more impressive defensive effort. The guard scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting (while also pulling down six boards), but Thompson praised him mostly for setting the defensive tone for the Hoyas from the opening tip.

Neither Clark or Sims led the Hoyas in scoring. That honor went to freshman Greg Whittington, who knocked down three corner treys en route to a career-high 15 points. Still, the young forward gave the credit to one of his senior teammates.

“It was because of Sims. Sims had the defense closing in on him, so coach said inside-out,” Whittington said. “Coach just said ‘bang it,’ and I did.”

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Player(s) to watch

We’ll flip around the usual order of our preview to give top billing to tonight’s featured players: seniors Jason Clark and Henry Sims. It’s the final home game for two players who have been linchpins on this year’s squad.

Clark and Sims took very different paths to get to this point, however. For his first three years on the team, Clark took third-billing in the backcourt behind Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Still, even with two formidable players in front of him, Clark managed to carve out plenty of playing time. In fact, he’s appeared in every Georgetown game over the past four seasons, and he’s started in every contest since his sophomore year.

“I think about Jason as someone who’s come in and from day one has worked extremely hard,” head coach John Thompson III said. “He’s probably won just about every sprint that we’ve had in practice. You look at him as someone–for most of his career–being in the shadows, but at the same time being a strong, dominant force in those shadows.”

This season, Clark has been one the casting the shadows. The veteran scorer has  been the focus of most opposing teams’ scouting reports, yet he still leads the Hoyas with 14.5 points per game. Clark could easily average more, as Villanova head coach Jay Wright pointed out after Saturday’s game, but he’s as much a facilitator as a scorer, ensuring Georgetown’s offense flows smoothly while waiting for opportune shots (he’s hitting 48.2 percent of his attempts).

Then there’s Sims. While Clark was firmly installing himself in the starting lineup sophomore year, Sims was falling out of the rotation entirely. The 6-foot-10 center was actually more highly regarded as a recruit than Clark and projected to form a dangerous inside tandem with classmate Greg Monroe. Instead, Sims found his minutes dwindling into the single digits during Big East play in 2010. In the Hoyas’ final two games, he didn’t even get off the bench.

“Henry is someone who has epitomized growth, someone who has epitomized in many ways the overall collegiate experience,” Thompson said. “A young man ready to go out into the world as a senior is much different than who you are walking in the door. And every year, in various aspects of Henry’s life, on the court and off, we’ve seen significant growth.”

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Apparently Sara Eshleman‘s phone thinks it belongs to Snooki.  Hopefully Siri doesn’t start infesting iPhones with this language.

Jason Clark is having trouble deciding if he wants to up his Ebay bid on a pair of the infamous Pee-Wee Herman kicks.

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The Maui Invitational officially (and confusingly) kicked off in Washington D.C. on Monday night, and Georgetown made short work of UNC Greensboro, shutting down the Spartans in an 86-45 victory. The Hoyas moved to 2-0 on the season in a game whose outcome was never really in doubt. Georgetown started the game on a 12-2 run and never looked back, extending the lead to as much as 46 late in the second half.

O captain, my captain

Senior captain Jason Clark was mostly quiet in the season opener against Savannah State, scoring just nine points. Clark showed why he’s the leader of this team tonight, however, scoring 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting, dishing out three assists, and grabbing three steals–all in 20 minutes. Almost all of Clark’s work came in the first half before the Hoyas’ lead became insurmountable. His shot wasn’t falling from long range (1-for-7 from beyond the arc), but Clark didn’t let that discourage him, fighting his way inside for the majority of his points. The 6-foot-2 guard even managed to grab four offensive rebounds.

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After a nail biter of a win to start their season last Friday against Old Dominion, Georgetown’s men’s basketball team returned to the Verizon Center. Hoya fans could breathe easier tonight as the Hoyas (2-0) beat Tulane (1-1) 69-53 in their home opener.

Once again, it was a story of the guards, as seniors Austin Freeman and Chris Wright along with junior Jason Clark led the way with 47 of the team’s 69 points. They had to carry more of the load since the Hoyas’ front court was thinner than usual, with senior big man Julian Vaughn missing the game due to an illness.

“Yesterday, at practice, Julian Vaughn complained he wasn’t feeling well,” Coach John Thompson III said. “The doctors have not cleared him to play and until they do he will not be suiting up. We do not know when this will happen and at this point we do not have enough data to speculate.”

Vaughn’s absence didn’t hurt the team though, as the rest of the squad stepped up, especially Jason Clark. Clark had 17 points, a career high 11 rebounds and five steals, which was even more impressive with the passing of his grandmother Janetta Clarke earlier today. Clark knew it was the right decision to play.

“I think the biggest decision was speaking to her the last couple of weeks she wanted [me] to stay at school…she wanted me to keep playing basketball,” Clark said. “She said when this day comes, she wanted me to continue this and she wanted me to succeed, so I knew she would want me to play today.”

Playing with a heavy heart, Clark seemed to be everywhere on the floor, chasing every loose ball. Wright, who tied a career high with eight assists, knew it was important to get Clark the ball early on.

“My role is bigger than just scoring the ball. I have to get people involved and Jason was shooting the ball really well,” Wright said.

With the win, the Hoyas improve to 2-0 before they head to Charleston, S.C. this weekend for the Charleston Classic. Georgetown will face Coastal Carolina Thursday afternoon in the first game of a three game round robin.

Photo: Jackson Perry