Well, the IPB has emerged from a summer-long hiatus to provide you - our loyal readers - with this exclusive report following last night’s intimate question & answer session held on-campus in Gaston Hall with Georgetown head coach John Thompson III.
The Chimes kicked-off the evening with a rousing rendition of the Georgetown Fight Song, after which Coach Thompson took to the stage. Looking rather dapper in what appeared to be a new suit, Coach Thompson announced that he was all dressed up since he’d just come from an event with President DeGioia (let’s hope it was regarding the on-campus practice facility). Coach Thompson then launched into a brief monologue during which he spoke about many things, including what a great time it is to be a Georgetown undergrad given what is going on in the world, how interpreting the likely nomination of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as signs of progress regarding race and gender has been tempered by the reality that we probably haven’t come as far as we think given recent events in Jena, LA and hate crimes on Georgetown’s own campus, and even Georgetown’s US News & World Report ranking, which he chalked up to poor resources.
Coach Thompson then graciously took several questions from the audience. Some interesting tidbits:
(1) Coach Thompson expects this year’s team to run more on offense because of the maturity of several players and his confidence that they will make the right decisions while playing at an up-tempo pace;
(2) Calling the on-campus practice facility “paramount,” Coach Thompson acknowledged that it faces several “obstacles” until it will be completed. Looking back, Coach Thompson was probably the most serious when addressing this topic. You get the sense that he sincerely believes that this can’t be done soon enough but is resigned to the reality that a completed facility is several years down the road. We will continue to update you on this evolving story;
(3) Coach Thompson’s attempt to schedule a non-conference home game against Kansas was foiled because of scheduling logistics at Verizon;
(4) Georgetown has already sold over 2,500 student season tickets, which is incredible given the undergraduate student population;
(5) Coach Thompson’s two most memorable moments as a coach are being soaked by his players with a cooler of Gatorade after beating Penn for the Ivy League Championship during his first year coaching at Princeton and Jonathon Wallace’s memorable three point shot against UNC;
(6) the stir fry is Coach Thompson’s favorite meal at Leo’s;
(7) some of Coach Thompson’s superstitions include parking under in the same spot under the same basket when parking his car at McDonough;
(8) Coach Thompson requested that the band bring back the Hawaii Five-O theme song even though Coach Thompson conceded he can never hear the band during games at Verizon;
(9) Jonathan Wallace, Tyler Crawford, and Patrick Ewing Jr were in attendance.
Well that’s it for now. Keep your eyes open for more special content from the IPB this season. And for those interested in attending Midnight Madness, make sure to see my post for special info.
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