In a year where no big man in the Big East seems to quite fit the description of “great,” Georgetown forward Julian Vaughn is proving he’s pretty darn good.
For the second time in three games, Vaughn was perfect from the field (4-for-4) against Louisville on Monday night. In a defensive battle where every basket was huge, Vaughn was the calm at the center of the storm against the Cardinals, assuredly dropping in jump hooks over Terrence Jennings and George Goode from five feet while also fighting for five rebounds and blocking four shots.
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“He has games like that where he just wows everybody,” freshman forward Nate Lubick said after Vaughn was similarly effective down the stretch in the Hoyas’ win at Seton Hall on Jan. 18. “He stays real patient at the end of game and stays real calm, and when he does that, he can battle inside with anyone.”
Things won’t get easier for Vaughn (8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks per game), who still has to face Connecticut’s Alex Oriakhi, Syracuse’s Rick Jackson and Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates (the latter two twice). At times, he also has a tendency to look undecided when he gets the ball in the post. But Georgetown coach John Thompson III said that’s intentional; his role is to react as things unfold around him.
“As a senior, he has that feel, that understanding of when it’s his turn and when it’s not,” Thompson said. “But we throw it down every possession, and so we don’t want him to try to score every possession.”
Lately though, Vaughn is scoring every time he tries.
