Greg Monroe, Georgetown

If you know anything about college ball since the 1980s, you knew Georgetown vs. Temple was going to be low-scoring and physical with potential to get uglier than Pig Miller in HD.

And even still, what happened yesterday in the 19th-ranked Hoyas’ home opener was surprisingly grotesque. With the Owls adjusting to life without Dionte Christmas and G’town short as usual on reliable shooters, both teams made it a bricklaying contest. The score was stuck on 4-2 for what seemed like 10 minutes, and it took Temple a full 16 minutes of game time to wander into double figures. At halftime G’town was up 19-13, and you would’ve seen smoother offensive execution in the deleted scenes of Invictus.

Thankfully, the second half resembled more of a basketball game, and both teams eventually cracked 40 points; Greg Monroe’s versatile shot-making down the stretch and a game-saving defensive play at the end allowed the Hoyas to steal a 46-45 win from the jaws of defeat.

The numbers were appropriately gross: Georgetown shot 35 percent from the floor, while Temple hit 32 percent. Georgetown was 3-of-18 beyond the arc; Temple was 3-of-23. Georgetown registered 18 fouls and 16 turnovers, but only made 15 field goals. Temple “sharpshooter” Ryan Brooks was 1-of-9 from three, while G’town star Monroe had a modest 11 points and nine boards.

Other observations I made while turning down the volume so the clanks wouldn’t wake the neighbors:

* You can see why Monroe will be a Lottery pick when he does go pro, and at the same time, you can see why he’s not ready yet. One moment the sophomore 6-10 lefty is beating guys off the dribble and scoring from the perimeter, or showcasing outstanding body control and court vision for a big man; the next moment he’s committing silly fouls 25 feet from the basket, bricking clutch free throws or getting out-muscled by smaller guys for rebounds. Monroe is one of those players who benefits from the NBA age limit. Once upon a time he probably would have gone pro out of high school and been set up for failure; now he’ll get some much-needed seasoning at G’town and at least have a fighting chance to be a good pro.

* I don’t understand Hoyas PG Chris Wright. Specifically, I don’t understand why he appears to have all the quickness, speed and ball-handling ability you want at this level, yet somehow he never seems to be able to blow past his defender. Maybe he doesn’t understand angles or something, I don’t know.

Wright dominates the ball too much for a guy who’s not exactly Allen Iverson when it comes to getting buckets, and because of that, I’m seeing him constantly do this thing where he does a pointless lateral spin move that doesn’t advance him anywhere. My guess? Wright is unconsciously trying to carve out his own little piece of flair in John Thompson III’s regimented offense. And that might be the problem: Wright isn’t a stylistic match for Georgetown’s system. He’s more physically talented than predecessor Jon Wallace, but the patient and calculated Wallace was a perfect fit for the Hoyas. Wright would be better at a school like Washington or Louisville.

* Announcers Len Elmore and Dan Shulman were talking about one of Temple’s big men who doesn’t like to rebound. When Shulman revealed the kid is from the Virgin Islands, Elmore said, “Oh, THAT’S why he doesn’t like to rebound.” He quickly noted he was kidding — probably realizing that he might have offended somebody — but then added, “Tim Duncan is from the Virgin Islands, and I don’t think he shied away from too many rebounds … at least not in his prime.” So he’s saying TD shies away from rebounds now? If Duncan cared at all what people said about him, I could see him reacting like Boobie Miles in the Friday Night Lights movie: “You just jealous ’cause you from Maryland!”

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