Georgetown starters to be tested during difficult five-game stretch

Few things seem to tax the patience of Georgetown Coach John Thompson III more these days than questions about the Hoyas' depth.

Asked yet again about the risk of leaning so heavily on his starters, four of whom are averaging more than 32 minutes per game, Thompson said earlier this week: "Conventional wisdom would say, 'Oh, they're going to break down,' so I guess you're waiting for me to say that. But I don't know that there is a risk. They're young. They can play all day."

As the college basketball season reaches its midpoint, the hardworking Hoyas are proving their coach correct.

Georgetown, ranked 11th in the country, is off to its best start (13-2, 4-1 Big East) since Thompson arrived on the Hilltop. And the team has accomplished that with little respite for point guard Chris Wright, who leads the Hoyas in minutes played (34 per game), junior guard Austin Freeman (33.9), sophomore center Greg Monroe (33.4) or sophomore guard Jason Clark (32.7).

It helps, of course, that Georgetown's offensive burden and defensive responsibilities are shared broadly among them. All four are averaging double figures, and each has taken a turn leading the scoring through the first 15 games.

But the resilience of the Hoyas' starters will be tested mightily during a grueling stretch this month in which Georgetown plays five Big East games in a 12-day span -- three of them against ranked opponents (No. 4 Villanova and No. 5 Syracuse among them).

With Clark 4 of 4 from three-point range, Georgetown vanquished the first of those five Big East foes Thursday at Verizon Center, defeating Seton Hall, 85-73.

The task gets more daunting Sunday, as the Hoyas travel to Philadelphia's Wachovia Center to take on their highest-ranked opponent to date, fourth-ranked Villanova (15-1, 4-0).

The Wildcats, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season, famously feature a three-guard offense that Georgetown's gifted back court of Wright, Freeman and Clark ought to be able to match.

Wright, whose offensive potential is well known throughout the conference, scored a career-high 34 points against Harvard on Dec. 23.

Freeman's heroics came as more of a surprise in the Hoyas' come-from-behind victory over Connecticut on Jan. 9, in which he scored 28 of his career-high 33 points in the second half.

Monroe, who has known Freeman since high school through AAU basketball, says he believes the guard's measured demeanor is the secret to his explosiveness.