Player of the Week
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera – No. 23 Georgetown (G, Jr., 6-3, 214, Indianapolis, Ind.)
Smith-Rivera’s game-high 29 points were not enough, as the Georgetown Hoyas fell to St. John’s 81-70 at Madison Square Garden. He was 10-for-21 shooting from the field, including 7-for-14 from long distance. The junior guard also added seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. His seven 3-pointers kept the Hoyas in the game. He hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 17:23 left to play to bring Georgetown within nine. St. John’s would respond with a 7-0 spurt to increase the lead to 52-36. With just under three minutes remaining, he drilled two 3-pointers during a 6-2 run that brought the Hoyas within 10. The score was 75-65 at the 1:31 mark, but Georgetown would get no closer.
The outcome was much different in Smith-Rivera’s homecoming. The Hoyas traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to face No. 22 Butler, and walked away with a 60-54 win. Smith-Rivera, an Indianapolis native, played prep ball at nearby North Central High School. With some of his favorite fans in the crowd, he made sure to not disappoint. He came up with a team-high seven rebounds, two assists and one steal to cap off 16-point night.
Smith-Rivera made the play of the game after he poked away a rebound from 6-foot-9 Butler forward Kameron Woods following a missed free throw with 10.2 seconds left and Georgetown clinging to a 56-54 advantage. Smith-Rivera was fouled, made both free throws, then intercepted the ensuing inbound pass before sinking two more game-sealing free throws as dozens of family members and friends sat just behind the Georgetown bench.
Through both games, the 6-foot-3 junior guard averaged 22.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals. He shot 50 percent from the field and 3-point line.
Who’s Hot?
LaDontae Henton – Providence (F, Sr., 6-6, 215, Lansing, Mich.)
Henton recorded his 1,000th career-rebound in Providence’s 77-66 win over Marquette. He reached the milestone at 6:28 of the first half when he pulled down an offensive rebound. Henton is the seventh player in Providence history to grab 1,000 or more rebounds. The senior forward recorded 25 points and 15 rebounds, both game-highs, to go along with a team-high two blocks. After being held scoreless for the first 10 minutes, he ended up shooting 11-for-18 shooting from the floor. Henton followed up that performance with a 21-point effort in the Friars’ 79-66 win over Seton Hall. He was 8-for-15 from the field, 3-for-6 from long range, and added seven rebounds. His 3-pointer with 12:52 left in the game helped him reach the 2,000-point plateau. Heading into to the game he needed 17 points to do so. He’s just the second Friar all-time to register more than 2,000 points and more than 1,000 rebounds and just the fourth Providence player all-time to register more than 2,000 points.
Kameron Woods – No. 22 Butler (F, Sr., 6-9, 200, Louisville, Ky.)
Woods accumulated 14 points and six rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 67-53 win over DePaul. In 38 minutes he was 5-for-9 from the field. When the game was tied at 41-41, Woods hit a pair of free throws to ignite a 7-0 run and put Butler up for good. His six rebounds led a decisive rebounding advantage by the Bulldogs, 36-19. He now has a career total of 890 boards, moving him into sole possession of third place in Butler’s all-time rebounding list. In Butler’s loss to Georgetown, Woods became the third player to reach 900 career rebounds. He now has 906 total rebounds. He recorded a game-high 16 rebounds (seven offensive) and scored a team-high 15 points.
Who’s Not?
Tyler Harris – Providence (F, Jr., 6-9, 223, Dix Hill, N.Y.)
Despite scoring 13 points against the Golden Eagles, Harris took 13 shots to get there, making just five of them. While shooting 38 percent from the field, that included 1-for-3 shooting from the 3-point line. In Providence’s win over Seton Hall, he went 0-for-4 shooting for just two points in 13 minutes. As Harris’ role and minutes have both been reduced this season, his numbers have suffered. The junior forward and younger brother of Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris – has seen his minutes reduced by an average of 3.7 compared to his sophomore campaign when he played 32.2 per game. Last season he started in all 35 games of Providence’s run to the NCAA Big East tournament championship. He’s started just 11 of 32 games this season. Harris has averaged 10.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Those numbers are down from his 11.6 points and 5.1 boards a game as a sophomore.
Isaac Copeland – No. 23 Georgetown (F, Fr., 6-9, 220, Raleigh, N.C.)
After three straight games of scoring 12 or more points, Copeland scored four points on a 1-for-5 shooting performance in Georgetown’s loss to St. John’s. He struggled with his shot and the Red Storm’s defenders took him out the game by stopping his dribble-and-drive penetration. Much was the same in the Hoyas’ win over Seton Hall. The freshman was 1-for-6 for five points in 30 minutes of game action.
Top Five Big East Players Of All-Time
Honorable mention(s): Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), Ray Allen (UConn), Kerry Kittles (Villanova), Alonzo Mourning (Georgetown), Kemba Walker (UConn), Richard Hamilton (UConn), Dwayne Washington (Syracuse).
5. Allen Iverson – Georgetown (1984-96)
Collegiate accomplishments: Big East Rookie of the Year (1985), All Rookie Tournament First Team (1985, First-Team All-American (1986).
Iverson led the Hoyas to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to North Carolina, as a freshman. In both of his seasons, Iverson poured in more than 20 points per game, reaching 25 per game as a sophomore. He remains one of only three Big East sophomores to earn a consensus first-team All-America honor. Iverson is second in Big East history with 3.6 steals per game in conference play.
4. Derrick Coleman – Syracuse (1986-90)
Collegiate accomplishments: First-Team All-American (1990), Big East Player of the Year (1990).
Coleman finished his career with 83 double-doubles. His 1,573 rebounds ranks in the top five in the NCAA record books. He set a NCAA record with 19 rebounds in the 1987 national championship game as a freshman.
3. Walt Berry – St. John’s (1984-86)
Collegiate accomplishments: Big East Player of the Year (1986), First-Team All-American (1986), Sporting News Player of the Year (1986), Adolph Rupp Trophy winner (1986), UPI Player of the Year (1986), AP Player of the Year (1986), NABC Player of the Year (1986), Oscar Robertson Trophy winner (1986) John R. Wooden Award winner (1986).
Berry, a junior college transfer, averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds in his senior season while shooting 60 percent from the floor, which was the year he won national player of the year in 1986.
2. Chris Mullin – St. John’s (1981-85)
Collegiate accomplishments: 3x Haggerty Award winner (1983-1985), 3x Big East POY (1983-1985), Third-Team All-American (UPI 1983), Second-Team All-American (1984), First-Team All-American (1985), USBWA POY (1985), and John R. Wooden Award (1985).
Mullin was named Big East Player of the Year three times and led St. John’s to the Final Four in 1985. In his junior season, he averaged close to 23 points a game while shooting 57 percent from the field.
1. Patrick Ewing – Georgetown (1981-85)
Collegiate accomplishments: Big East Rookie of the Year, 2x Big East POY (1984-85), College National POY (1985), 3x First-Team All-American, 4x Defensive POY (1981-85), NCAA Final Four MOP (1984), and National Champion (1984).
Ewing led Georgetown to the national championship game in three of his fours years, winning it in 1984. The Kingston, Jamaica native averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game throughout his collegiate career. Ewing took home four defensive player of the year awards and is still the only player in Big East history to be named a first-team All-American three times.