Scouting Report: Georgetown Tigers

Basketball season is here. There are still 10 days until the Kentucky Wildcats play a meaningful game, but there will be an opponent on Friday night. The months of September and October can seem long as the grind of practice sets in. However, that first opportunity to play someone else always snaps you back into the excitement of the upcoming season. Kentucky will face the Georgetown Tigers in their first of two exhibition matchups prior to November 6’s season-opener against New Mexico State.

There is no reason to sell a bill of goods about how Georgetown can beat the Wildcats on Friday evening at Rupp Arena. That isn’t going to happen. However, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill exhibition opponent. The Tigers are a blue blood of the NAIA ranks just as the Wildcats are at the Division I level. In fact, Georgetown’s reign of success is something without a true Division I parallel. Last season, they went to their 33rd consecutive NAIA National Tournament and advanced to their 16th Final Four. The Tigers have won three national championships, most recently in 2019, and were ranked number one in the country prior to the 2020 tournament being canceled. This is a team, under former Kentucky student manager and graduate assistant Coach Chris Briggs, that is absolutely no stranger to success.

Georgetown returns eight of 10 primary rotation players from last season’s 30-5 Final Four team. Gone is leading scorer Jake Ohmer, but Honorable Mention NAIA All-American Cam Brooks-Harris is back alongside another potential All-American in Kyran Jones. Northern Kentucky transfer Isaiah Mason will look to make an instant impact for the Tigers as well. Let’s dive in and get to know more about Kentucky’s first exhibition opponent, the preseason #5 ranked Georgetown Tigers.

Georgetown Tigers Personnel

STARTERS

#3 Jaquay Wales: 5’11” 165 lbs, Senior Point Guard

7.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.8 apg

Point Guard. Quick and shifty with the ball in his hands. Looking to play off of ballscreens and get downhill. More of a driver than a shooter. 16 made 3s in 26 regular season games. Go UNDER ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Much more worried about him as a right-hand driver than a shooter. Just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots behind the ballscreen. Going to bounce it a lot. Likes to use the left-to-right crossover to get downhill. Should always be giving him a step or two. The goal is to stay between him and the basket. Do not over-help when he drives it. Better passer than finisher the deeper he takes it. Get the ball stopped in transition. No right-hand drives. No layups!

#2 Isaiah Mason: 6’4″ 175, Junior Guard

0.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.0 apg ***At Northern Kentucky***

Lefty. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s! Be there on the catch to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Do not help too much off of him. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Go OVER ballscreens and handoffs. We want to take away his 3-point attempts. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3s he is going to want to drive it left. Stunt and fake at him when he is driving it left. You can come help off of #3 or #11 and try to take it off of him on the left-hand drive. Likely to be an aggressive offensive player. Looking to squeeze off jump shots. Be tight to him and contest all jump shots. Always the next most dangerous in transition. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. CHASE and OVER screening action. No catch-and-shoot 3s! More shots than points for him.

#11 Tae Dozier: 6’5″ 170 lbs, Sophomore Guard

10.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

Long, athletic wing. Non-shooter. Just 8-21 from 3 last season. Much more dangerous as a right-hand driver. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short to him on the perimeter. We want to take away his ability to attack closeouts going to his right hand. Back up and stay between him and the basket. Be there to give a hard contest to all mid-range, pull-up jump shots off of the dribble, but just throw a hand up if he shoots from 3. He is going to handle it a lot and they will ballscreen for him. Go UNDER to stay between him and the basket. Very good on the offensive glass. Averaged nearly two offensive rebounds per game last season. Crashes hard from the perimeter. Box out! No right-hand drives!

#0 Cam Brooks-Harris: 6’7″ 190 lbs, Senior Forward

12.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg

Skilled 3/4 man. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s! 125 of 204 shots were 3s last season. 43.2% from 3. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER flares. Switch any time he ballscreens to take away his pick-and-pop 3’s. Do not help too much off of him. We want to take away his 3-point attempts. Once you take away his catch-and-shoot 3s he is going to look to drive it right. We would rather make him drive it. Doesn’t want the game to be physical when he bounces it. Wall up and get into his body when he gets to the rim. Always coming back right to finish. CHASE or SWITCH screening action. Absolutely no 3s for him.

#21 Kyran Jones: 6’5″ 220 lbs, Senior Forward

10.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.2 apg

Undersized 5-man. Very strong and physical. Handles the ball very well for his size. Quick feet. Excellent right-hand driver. Will face-up from the mid-post or drive it from the perimeter when isolated. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! He is going to cross over, spin, and pivot to come back to finish with his right hand. Stay down on the fakes, be physical, and make him finish with his left. Will shoot it back into you with his right hand on the left side. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. Contest if he shoots the mid-range jump shot. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Don’t let him turn the corner to his left shoulder. Excellent offensive rebounder. BOX OUT. 28 turnovers, 25 assists. Come take the ball off of him. Make him give it up. No right-hand drives! No layups!

BENCH

#24 Rashad Bishop: 6’7″ 190 lbs, Sophomore Forward

8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.3 apg

Long, athletic backup forward. Bouncy around the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical with him and get him off of the block. Doesn’t want the game to be physical. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Wall up, be physical on his left shoulder, and make him score over you. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Give ground and stay lower than him on the roll. Do not help up off of him at the rim. Make him score over you. Active on the offensive glass. Box out! 9 assists, 30 turnovers. You can pick your spots to come take it off of him in the post. No right-hand, left-shoulder baskets. No layups or dunks at the rim.

#5 Tommy Thomas: 6’4″ 195 lbs, Senior Guard

7.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.8 apg

Bigger, left-handed guard. Capable shooter, but more dangerous as a left-hand driver. No left-hand drives! Get hand up to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s. Closeout a step short to say between him and the basket. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Again, more worried about him driving it left than shooting it from the perimeter. Will shot fake and pivot around to score with his left around the basket at the end of his drives. Stay down on the fakes and make him finish over you. You can help off of him when he doesn’t have it. No left-hand drives. No layups.

#4 Jabrion Spikes: 6’2″ 195 lbs, Sophomore Guard

6.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.5 apg

Strong, physical, backup guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he is in there. Backup point guard. Not really a threat from three-point range. 9-33 from 3 last season. Much more dangerous as a right-hand driver. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES! Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short to him on the perimeter. We want to take away his ability to attack closeouts going to his right hand. Back up and stay between him and the basket. Loves to shot fake at the end of his drives. Stay down, wall up, and make him finish over you. Going to pivot around to finish back with his right hand. Be physical at the end of his drives. Crashes the offensive glass from the perimeter. Box him out. Don’t over-help when he drives it left. No right-hand drives. No layups.

#13 Aden Nyekan: 6’4″ 190 lbs, Freshman Guard

7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg ***Only Played 3 Games Last Season***

Only played three games last season, but scored 14 points in one of them. Bigger guard that will play through contact around the basket. More of a slasher and right-hand driver than a shooter. No right-hand drives! Closeout a step short to stay between him and the basket. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Good offensive rebounder. Box out! Be physical with him around the basket. Wall up and make him score over you. No right-hand drives. No layups.

#1 Seth Johnson: 6’3″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

5.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg

Backup guard. Willing shooter. Half of his shots last season were 3s, but was just 29.1%. Need to be close enough to give a good contest. We will become more aggressive if he makes a couple. Play him straight up. Contest jump shots and take away right-hand drives. No right-hand drives! He is physical around the basket. Wall up and make him score over you. Very good rebounder. Will crash the offensive glass from the perimeter. Box out! No right-hand drives. No layups.

Georgetown Tigers Offense

Returning eight of 10 rotation pieces from a Final Four team is an awfully good place to start. However, two key offensive pieces for the Georgetown Tigers did graduate including leading scorer Jake Ohmer. He was an elite shooter and had that on full display in the NAIA Tournament. Ohmer scored 33 points including 7-12 shooting from three-point range in a win over Grace College to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers ran a lot of staggered double action for their sharpshooter. 6’8″ Drew LaMont was a valuable face-up forward as well that helped to space the floor some. Those losses are certainly impactful but expect to see a lot of the same offensively from Georgetown this year as they showed last season.

#21 Kyran Jones may be undersized as a 5-man, especially against a high-major Division I team like Kentucky, but he is still Georgetown’s most unique offensively player. He is a non-shooter from beyond the arc, but his ability to face up and drive it at opposing big men makes him very dangerous. Jones has elite footwork, good straight-line quickness, and handles it well enough to create for himself. Kentucky’s forwards must stay between him and the basket and stay down on shot fakes around the rim.

Aside from several different actions to isolate #21 Jones, expect to see the Tigers set ballscreens for #3 Jaquay Wales and #11 Tae Dozier. Both are guys that the Wildcats can go UNDER the ballscreens against. They are much more effective as right-hand drivers than they are as shooters. Look for #2 Isaiah Mason, the Northern Kentucky transfer, to fill some of the shooting roles left vacant by the loss of Ohmer. A lot of half-court set plays will begin out of a Horns alignment. Let’s step inside the film room and take a look at some of what we can expect to see offensively from the Georgetown Tigers.

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There is obviously nothing flashy about this play and it certainly isn’t a set or called action from the sideline. However, a lot of what Georgetown does will be predicated on getting the ball to #21 Jones. He will look to play underneath our size with pivots and fakes around the basket. We HAVE to come dig the ball out when he has it. He is not a good passer and there are always one or two non-shooters to help off of. We can’t have four backs turned to him while he is operating in the post.

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#21 Jones is an excellent player who will have a chance to be an NAIA All-American this season. However, even with the absence of three 7-footers, we will have a major height advantage inside. This possession starts with Zoom action as the cutter curls and then the screener cuts backdoor as well to clear out for Jones. The right-hand driver bullies his way to the block and uses his strength to finish through contact. We can’t let him bounce it this comfortably for this long. Pressure him and/or bring some help.

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We do NOT want to switch ballscreens set by #21 Jones. Keeping our matchups on him and not having a guard switched onto him will be key. The plan is to go UNDER a lot of the ballscreens the Georgetown Tigers set so we shouldn’t need to switch when #21 Jones sets them. He can score very easily against guards as you see in this clip.

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Action like this was much more effective when run for Jake Ohmer last season, but the Georgetown Tigers still have some guys that they can run off of staggered double action. This begins from a Pistol action on the wing and turns into a staggered double away. If #2 Mason or #0 Brooks-Harris is coming off we want to CHASE and be willing to SWITCH in order to take away the 3.

Georgetown Tigers Defense

Coach Briggs will use a man-to-man defense. They will be very willing to switch as their 5-man is undersized, but very physical and quick. Their wings are long and athletic 2-4 so those guys can guard in the post just as effectively as anyone else for a possession. Expect to see the Georgetown Tigers switch a lot of screening action on the perimeter or even mix in some 2-3 Zone defense to try and keep the ‘Cats out of the paint. There will be a massive size differential, but they do have some guys that can match up in terms of athletic and physical tools.

Keys to the Game

• Play our game. Exhibition matchups are more about Kentucky than they are about the opponent. It is an opportunity to get film against an actual opponent and work out some kinks in a live setting. Execute OUR plan. Play with freedom.
• No 3s for #2 Mason or #0 Brooks-Harris. These are the Georgetown Tigers’ two primary shooting threats. We will limit our help off of these guys. CHASE off of screening action. Be willing to SWITCH to take away 3s.
• Dominate the glass. Even without three 7-footers, we will have a major size advantage around the basket. We must clean the defensive glass and dominate the offensive glass.
• Contain #21 Jones. This guy is a real player. His unique offensive game makes him a matchup nightmare even as an undersized, 6’5″ 5-man. Be aggressive when digging the ball out of the post or helping as he handles it. Much better scorer than passer.