I think the Hoyas's window of opportunity may be closing quickly. Georgetown has been getting a lot of accolades. In fact, Georgetown seems to be a trendy pick to make the Final Four and the championship game, but alas, not the final (except for the love from Mike Wilbon).
But all this attention is going to have some negative reprecussions. As the Hoyas' stock rises, Jeff Green's stock soars. I think it's becoming increasingly clear that our days with Jeff may be numbered. I mean, it's gotten to the point where people are actually advocating for him to leave (thanks, Sports Guy, you jerk). NBAdraft.net now projects Jeff as the 7th overall selection in this year's draft.
- 1. Greg Oden 7-0 250 C Ohio St. Fr. (Memphis)
- 2. Kevin Durant 6-10 220 SF Texas Fr. (Celtics)
- 3. Brandan Wright 6-10 210 PF UNC Fr. (Charlotte)
- 4. Al Horford 6-9 245 PF Florida Jr. (Milwaukee)
- 5. Julian Wright 6-8 225 SF Kansas So. (Phoenix)
- 6. Joakim Noah 6-11 230 PF Florida Jr. (Philadelphia)
- 7. Jeff Green 6-8 235 SF Georgetown Jr. (Seatle)
- 8. Yi Jianlian 7-0 230 PF China 1987 (Portland)
- 9. Hasheem Thabeet 7-3 265 C UConn Fr. (Minnesota)
- 10. Al Thornton 6-8 220 SF/PF Florida St. Sr. (New Orleans)
Blast from the past
By Adrian Wojnarowski
...He will be a lottery pick millionaire in the NBA, and that could happen as early as this spring, if the spirit so moved him. But he shook his head, and said, “No … No,” on Saturday night. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant can come and go in college basketball, but Hibbert didn’t need those Georgetown students at Madison Square Garden to serenade him with, “One more year, one more year.”
“I’m a four-year player,” Hibbert said Saturday night, and it was easy to forget that someone legitimately asking him about his NBA Draft intentions would’ve once sounded like pure foolery three years ago. But Hibbert has a vision, a vision laid out by Ewing, Mourning and Mutombo, and if Georgetown was good enough for them, it’s good enough for him. ...
To be honest, staying at GU is in Roy's best interests too. NBAdraft.net doesn't have him in their top 60 picks in this year's draft (which is crazy when you consider that Thabeet is projected as a top 10 pick and Gray still falls in the top 25). In their 2008 Mock Draft Roy is currently projected as the 17th overall pick.
The really interesting thing, however, is that Roy isn't predicted to be the first Hoya picked in that 2008 mock. DaJuan Summers is on the list at number 10.
- 1. Derrick Rose 6-4 200 PG Memphis HSSr.
- 2. Michael Beasley 6-9 235 PF K.St. HSSr.
- 3. OJ Mayo 6-5 210 PG USC HSSr.
- 4. Eric Gordon 6-4 220 SG Indiana HSSr.
- 5. Darrell Arthur 6-9 230 PF Kansas Fr.
- 6. Darren Collison 6-1 170 PG UCLA So.
- 7. Chase Budinger 6-7 190 SG Arizona Fr.
- 8. Artem Zabelin 7-1 210 SF/PF Russia 1988
- 9. Nicolas Batum 6-8 210 SG France 1988
- 10. DaJuan Summers 6-8 225 SF G'town Fr.
- 11. Javaris Crittenton 6-5 195 PG Ga.Tech Fr.
- 12. Wayne Ellington 6-4 195 SG UNC Fr.
- 13. Danilo Gallinari 6-8 210 SF Italy 1988
- 14. Jerryd Bayless 6-3 182 PG Arizona HSSr.
- 15. Kevin Love 6-9 260 PF UCLA HRSr.
- 16. Mike Conley 6-1 180 PG Ohio St. Fr.
- 17. Roy Hibbert 7-2 278 C Georgetown Jr.
Go Hoyas!
2 comments:
I echo Jester's sentiments. I think the chances of Jeff returning next year decrease with each day. The only things which could possibly cause him to return for his senior yr---and none of which I wish for--would be some sort of injury that causes his stock to drop or a Georgetown loss in this year's NCAA tournament, which he comes back to avenge in next year's tournament.
If the Celtics cannot land Oden or Durant, I wouldn't be upset if they wound up with Green. I mean the name couldn't be more perfect, right? I'm sort of liking the idea of him pairing up with "Big Al" Jefferson. I would expect his stock to rise even further if he has a good tournament and would not be surprised at all if he were selected ahead of someone like Noah.
On the upside, I think the odds are almost zero that Roy will go. Don't get me wrong...I love Jeff, but with an improved Roy and a larger role for Summers and the additions of our freshman, we are still going to be stacked and may miss Green less than you think.
Allow me to add one other point. Having seen both Freeman and Wright in person, I can assure you that neither will be like Big Ticket Macklin, who arrived on the Hilltop with as much hype as anyone in recent memory and frankly experienced the freshman flop (I know the old line about big men taking longer to develop but he showed us almost nothing this year and was a liability on the court, which was esp. disappointing given how he was sold). I have no doubt Ticket will be better by his jr/sr year and will hopefully show the kind of improvement Roy has exhibited each year, but I was starting to doubt the significance of being named to the McDonald's squad until I saw Freeman and Wright. I anticipate that these two will integrate seamlessly into the team.
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