The annual Kenner Summer League is an early opportunity to see Georgetown basketball. While we shared our thoughts about some of Georgetown’s lesser-known players on Monday, today we tackle the big names (except for Jason Clark, who didn’t play on Saturday or Sunday).

Chris Wright

Wright, who is possibly the streakiest shooter on JTIII’s squad, put on a show last Saturday to the tune of 40 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. What surprised me—aside from the eye-popping stats—was how Wright used his size and strength to get to the rim when his jump shot wouldn’t fall. (And, I have to add, without pulling his goofy, oft-used “spin, then crash into the paint” move.) While Kenner League is historically a poor barometer for Big East performance, one thing was clear: Wright was easily the best player on the court.

Although he played on Sunday, Wright essentially took the day off. And I can’t blame him—he was matched up against a guard that shares my dimensions. Wright didn’t take the scrimmage too seriously, but you know what? As long as he stays healthy, I don’t mind.

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The  annual Kenner Summer League is an early opportunity to see Georgetown basketball. Today, we check in with some of the team’s lesser known players (except for Jerrelle Benimon, who didn’t play on Saturday).

Julian Vaughn

As the tallest and strongest player in his game on Saturday, Vaughn succeeded around the basket. But, don’t expect Vaughn to play defense for 40 minutes a night—he disappeared for portions of the scrimmage, despite finishing with a line of 14 points, eight rebounds, an assist, and a steal. The following day, he kept up his strong inside game by dominating the boards and finishing with some surprisingly-polished post moves.

Henry Sims

Oh, Henry. Although he was a lauded recruit, Sims is still an indecipherable mixed bag. He has the ability to hit mid-range jumpers, has the best length of any Hoya, and seems to have better hands this summer than in seasons past … but, he gives up too much ground while defending his man in the paint.

One sequence from Sunday summed up Sims’s weekend: he blocked a shot, gathered the rebound, turned the ball over on an ill-advised pass, and then he held his ground on a 3-1 break, blocking the shot against the rim. He still needs to work on his post moves, but it was good to see Sims play confidently.

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It’s certainly too early to say whether or not Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert will enter the NBA Draft, but in their first press conference since declaring, they said some surprising things. Green, apparently, is leaning towards staying at GU more than Roy, though most pundits say Green is the player who is more NBA-ready in a year when the draft has a glut of good centers.

At least they’re good examples to the kiddies, though: “School is only going to be here four years,” Green said. “The NBA will be there forever. You can’t just give up that. That’s a big thought in this process. Either way, I’m going to come back and get my degree.”

In light of Georgetown’s Sweet 16 run, an article discusses Craig Esherick’s feelings about the success of Jeff and Roy, who were actually his recruits. He says he is proud that his boys are doing well. He also mentions that he knew they were talented and coachable when he recruited them, and “they’ve obviously received good coaching.”

But Green and Hibbert were on the way. And even during recruiting, Esherick thought that Green could be a Big East player of the year.

“That’s going to sound crazy, but I’m going to answer the question honestly: Yes, I did,” Esherick said. “When I first saw him play, I thought this kid could be a star.”

But be careful not to become an Esherick-lover. The article also mentions that JT III had to re-recruit these three and convince them to play with him. Often when a coach leaves his post, his recruits defect to another school (Scottie Reynolds accepted a scholarship to Oklahoma, but then Kevin Sampson moved to Indiana and he ended up at ‘Nova) or they follow the coach to his new school (JWall went with JTIII from Princeton to G’town). So, it seems that Jeff Green was attached to Georgetown more than he was to Esherick. Oh, and not to mention that Esherick was 13-15 my freshman year and we didn’t even make the NIT.

Another interesting nugget: Esh is apparently working as the VP of Athletic Relations for CSTV, but “considered pursuing another coaching position after he was fired.” This isn’t exactly true – he did more than think about re-entering the coaching world. In Feb. 2005, less than a year after being sacked, Esh applied for the head job at New Mexico State, saying, “I think, clearly, I wanted to get back into coaching.”

“I’d be a heck of a coach for them,” Esherick said. “But that’s not my call.”

Yea, I bet you woulda been awesome.

Posted by Keenan Steiner, Editorial Board Chair

When Jeff Green iced Villanova with two clutch free throws this Saturday, the men’s basketball team’s winning streak reached nine games. With that in mind, along with the big game against Pitt this Saturday (and tomorrow’s against the ‘natti), you may frown on the idea of looking ahead to next year’s team.

But that won’t stop us from directing you to an article in today’s Washington Post about Austin Freeman and Chris Wright, the two local standouts who will replace the incomparable Kenny and Sead. The story details the parallel careers of the two, who first met in elementary school. Strangely enough, it lauds the skills of Wright and remains rather quiet in discussing Freeman, who is the higher-ranked recruit.

Almost makes me wish I weren’t graduating this year.

Posted by Austin Richardson, Blog Editor