More on Hollis

First, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Second, we shot poorly from the outside and from the free throw line against Ball St. Am I concerned? No. We won the game in a very hostile environment and probably were a bit distracted due to all of the crap that was going on off the court. Chalk it up as a W and move on.

Now, on to Mr. Thompson. This is a huge (although not unexpected) pickup for the Hoyas. According to the LA Times: "No player rose faster among the national elite during the summer than Thompson, whose ability to shoot and rebound caught everyone's attention. He's still growing and still getting better." He will almost certainly make the class of 2009 JTIII's fourth class in a row with at least one McDonald's All-American.

I also want to point out something that I mentioned in my piece on Georgetown and Duke last month. Mr. Thompson fits the profile of the type of student-athlete that JTIII has made a point of recruiting. That is, he is both a student and an athlete. Hollis attends one of the best Jesuit high schools in the country and maintains a 4.2 grade point average. Thus, it appears that both he and Greg Monroe could have gained admission to Georgetown without basketball skills. This is remarkable considering how incredibly skilled and athletically gifted these guys are. Also, like Monore, Hollis made clear that academics are a major priority in his recruitment. The top contenders for his services: Stanford, Duke, and UCLA. In fact, reportedly, his decision came down to Georgetown and Stanford. So to recap, great athlete, great student, and Duke loses an other one. Hoya freakin' Saxa!