They looked like they had come straight off the set of “The Ten Commandments.” Two Georgetown students, clad in bed sheets, wore long, gray wigs and beards — each holding one half of a two-sign plea: “Free Moses.”
And when Nigerian freshman forward Moses Ayegba came off the bench with 1:59 remaining in the Hoyas’ rout of Appalachian State — having been ruled ineligible for the season’s first nine games for accepting payment for his plane ticket to the U.S. from someone outside his family — the Moses impersonators couldn’t have been happier. That is, until Ayegba scored his first bucket, helped create a turnover and then converted two more foul shots.
It was quite a debut on an afternoon where Georgetown gave a glimpse into the depth it has to complement its three-headed backcourt monster of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark.
Coach John Thompson III has dubbed his less heralded front court, “The Committee.”
Ayegba’s first appearance completed The Committee’s membership. His rookie counterpart, Nate Lubick — already its most active member — was both the most outstanding and most physical on Sunday.
After getting knocked down by Appalachian state forward Petey Hausley in the first half, Lubick couldn’t help but smile after flooring Hausley on a foul moments later. Lubick’s 11 points and seven rebounds were both career highs, but Thompson was more impressed with his two assists.
When told his four freshmen shot a combined 9-for-11, Thompson didn’t exactly look like he’d seen the Red Sea part in front of him.
“We have a group of guys that are ready to contribute,” Thompson said. “It’s no big deal. They come in and they do their job, what they’re supposed to do.”
