Must-See Video of the Big Ticket

http://www.sportsstarsoftomorrow.com/

Never Too Early to Start Thinking About Next Year

So, here's a link to the blog of SI.com writer Luke Winn. Mr. Winn has picked the Hoyas as number 7 in his top ten teams of next year.

7. Georgetown: With UConn, Villanova and West Virginia all set to lose significant pieces, the new Beasts of the Big East will reside in D.C. Upsets of No. 1-ranked Duke (in January) and No. 2-seeded Ohio State (NCAA second round) this season may foreshadow greater things for the Hoyas, who have NBA-caliber talent in forward Jeff Green and center Roy Hibbert. The 7-2 Hibbert -- whom coach John Thompson III said he needed to teach how to run when he initially arrived on campus -- is only beginning to realize his potential.

And the winner is....

Mrs. Stallion!

Congratulations on winning the inaugural pool!!!

You edged ahead of Jester by three points with your prescient selection of Florida.

Stallion--please tell the Mrs. to look for something in your mailbox this week.

McDonald's AA Game

Don't forget to catch the Ticket tonight in the AA game -- 10 pm ESPN.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=102164&ran=142855

The MJ AA game is on national tv next month -- featuring both Ticket and Summers. And Rivers will be playing in the Cap classic in D.C. Hopefully, the IPB and I can make it out there to scout him.

Victor Page

Interesting yet sad article. It does put a positive spin on his life though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/sports/ncaabasketball/24page.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Sapp's sister

http://www.nydailynews.com/03-24-2006/news/story/402630p-340998c.html

Uh Oh...

Let's hope that Roy is too busy to surf the web.

-CLICK HERE-

Fan of the Game

Nothing against those who waive the foam finger, but I think this guy takes the taco. Is this you IPB?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0603/gallery.fans/content.1.html?cnn=yes

If Noah beats us, this game will go down as Esh's revenge.

Of course, he also brought us Green and Hibbs.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/colleges/university_of_florida/14147940.htm

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060321/SPORTS/603210325/1002

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Sports/Headlines/sptBKC01032106.htm

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2006/03/21/a7c_ufhoop_0321.html

Sweet 16

Personal biases from the IPB pool aside, what are the thoughts on GU's chances to make the Elite 8? I must admit that I don't know much about Florida, but given the way GU played today, especially Hibbert (who had a big-time performance - or Prime Time as Dickie V would say), I think we have more than a good chance.

To win by 18 on what was pretty much a 100% road game environment, I must say that I'm thinking that we should fare well on a neutral court. To me, the way GU kept the half-time lead intact was the way the game against Syracuse game should have gone.

Hopefully the solid play continues.

Hoyas v. Buckeyes

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9319083

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801309.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801251.html

Austin update

Per IPB's request:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031500013.html

Esh's fresh picks

This is priceless:

http://slog.cstv.com/coachesblog/2006/03/eshericks_fresh_pick_atlanta.html

National Champ Picks

Interesting reviewing the brackets. If UConn goes out earlier than Duke, Mary becomes the clear favorite to win. Damn it - I hate her random methodology.

Let the Madness Begin

Although not an impact on the overall bracket, I'm calling for Monmouth to pull out tomorrow's play-in game. (I've got to go w/ the local NJ team.)

(My idea to "spruce up" the tournament is to also have a play-in game between 2 bubble teams with the winner getting a 11 or 12 seed.

Pardon The Interuption

Though I would normally consider it extremely poor form to interject non-basketball commentary into the blog given that we are currently in the grips of March Madness, I just couldn't help myself with this one.

I am pleased to announce that Mrs. Jester and I purchased a house this week. Though I am sure Diamond will disapprove of the commute dictated by the location of my new land holdings, we are quite happy with the decision. Unfortunately, however, we will not take possession of the new Jester Homestead until mid-June. Accordingly, there will be no Madness viewing party at Case de Jester this year. However, I would encourage you all to mark your calendars for next year accordingly.

For photos please follow this link.

Surprise Seeding

I'm not arguing w/ our 7 seed (don't think the 'Cuse merited higher than 6 seed). I don't know how BC got 4 seed & Tennesse gets 2 seed. I am calling that Tennesse is the sacrificial 2 seed that goes down in the first round.

To me, the biggest surprise was UNC as a 3.

Good to see the Pirates back in the Dance.

What the F@$!

Ok, I know that as far as the Dance goes, tonight's game was not exactly crucial. Aside from improving seeding, it was a game between two locks. I'm not bothered by the fact that the 'Cuse and the little fuzzy guy (aka gerry macnamara) won as much as I am by the fact that we seemingly squandered a 15 point lead. Given the outcome of the Pitt / Nova game, winning tonight would have basically meant GU would take the BE crown (I KNOW we would have beaten Pitt).

I didn't follow the 2nd half as close as the first, but at what point did GU decide to pack it in? I also don't understand JTIII not calling the TO with 9 seconds left. Going for the speedy attack was a nice thought, but under the circumstances, I don't understand not using the final TO in a one possession and very winnable game. I don't know that it changes the outcome, but given the turnover on the previous possession, to me this was a bonehead call.

Exciting Stuff!

I was wrong, the game was on Sportstalk 980. I ended up listening to the last 5 minutes in my office online. A real exciting game with us almost blowing an 8-point lead in the final minute. But, again, it seemed that Brandon played really clutch down the stretch, hitting key free throws, etc. Maybe being a senior really is good for something in the post season.

While I fully expected us to lose to Marquette, I am now looking forward to a potential berth in the finals. I know that Cuse is playing great basketball, but I'd much rather play them then Nova...I just think we match up better. That being said, I'm sure that they'll have revenge for their late season loss on their mind. But bring them on! I have to try to get home to see this one ("damn you long commute!")

Whew!

Yesterday's game was a nail biter. I closed my office door and listened to the last 10 minutes or so online (unfortunately, it doesn't look like DC's Sportstalk 980 is covering today's game). I definitely did not feel like we were going to win until about the last 30 seconds.

I don't share Italian's or Diamond's optimism about today's game. Though we should really be able to beat Marquette if we want to be considered a "real" tourney team (I know we've pretty much made it, but there's a difference between making the tourney and really being a team that is there to play), I don't think we will. Marquette is better than they've been given credit for this year, and we've definitely been worse that we're given credit for as of late. Right now we are not the number #23 team in the land. But I do think we were at least that good earlier in the year. I just hope we can rediscover our game.

PS - IPB has to be killing himself that Brandon pretty much won the game single handedly for us yesterday. When it really looked like ND was going to build on their lead and start hammering us Bowman came up with some huge shots. If only he could learn to play well consistently.

Worst. Loss. Ever.

Doesn't change my feelings for the Dukies but an interesting read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2351760

BE Tourney

Anybody heading up for BE Tourney next week? I am still looking for tickets, but am about 99% sure I'll be watching on TV. Was curious if anybody was making a trip up for any of it.

NCAA Seeding Question

If GW's best player, Mensah-Bonsu (sp?), can't play in the NCAA tournament because of injury, will the selection committee take this into account when determining GW's tournament seeding?

Are there any guidelines at all for how the selection committee determines seeds?

Btw, who sits on the selection committee?

GO HOYAS!

Let's beat CUSE!

Another Bowman story for good luck:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/24/AR2006022402005.html

Let's hope we get "Good Brandon"!

A reminder of where we stood three years ago

As some of you know, I sent the letter below to Joe Lang (and copied Jack DeGioia) just over three years ago. I am posting it because it makes me chuckle and hopefully it will give you a laugh too.

I also thought it worthy of posting in recognition of how much things have changed in these three years and also as a reminder that our work is not done.

Keep your fingers crossed tomorrow and in the weeks ahead!

January 21, 2003

Mr. Joseph Lang
Georgetown University
Athletic Department
McDonough Arena
Washington, D.C. 20057

Dear Mr. Lang:

It is with great dismay that I read your comments in a recent
Washington Post article, “Just Like the Hoyas, Esherick’s Evolving.” I
attended the Georgetown-St. John’s game last weekend, and let me just
say, I have seen nothing like it in my twenty-odd years as a basketball fan and observer.

While I will leave it to others to debate the wisdom or utter stupidity
of offering Coach Craig Esherick a contract extension, what disturbed
me the most were your comments about the state of Georgetown’s basketball program.

To read that making the NCAA tournament is an “unreasonable”
expectation for Georgetown basketball is baffling and troubling.
Whether it’s on the basketball court or in the classroom, Georgetown
University should strive--in all its endeavors--for excellence.
Anything less should not be tolerated.

I need not remind you that Georgetown was once a perennial participant
in the NCAA tournament. Today, Georgetown has too often stood against
the tournament window with its nose pressed against the glass. The
rapid decline of this once-great program has been astounding.

As an alumnus of the College of Arts and Science and a soon-to-be
alumnus of Georgetown Law, my overall concern is that Georgetown retain
the excellent reputation it has worked so long to cultivate.

While I understand that the university does not possess unlimited
financial resources, there is no reason why the basketball program
should be sacrificed at the altar of fiscal restraint and concerns
about improving the university’s academic reputation.

As for fiscal constraints, let’s just say it’s not a radical
proposition that nationally prominent and nationally recognized
athletic teams generate excitement and enthusiasm among alums and
philanthropic donors who may be more inclined to give. To believe
anything else is myopic and short sighted. As Georgetown struggles to
meet the Third Century Campaign goals, the University should not turn
its back on the role sports can play in achieving greater fiscal stability.

As for the athletics v. academics debate, last time I checked Duke,
Stanford, and Northwestern were doing just fine. These schools
recently have used athletics as a vehicle to garner greater attention
and to attract top students without compromising academic integrity.
On the contrary, I submit that Holy Cross stands, in part, as a sad
example of what can happen to a school that turn its back on its athletic traditions and heritage.
Mr. Lang, whose company would you rather keep?

I think I speak for many alums when I say that your recent comments do
not reflect the spirit of Georgetown. Shame on you!


Sincerely,

Last Night

Just wanted to post a big thanks to Diamond and IPB for hosting me and Mrs. Jester at the game last night. We had a great time; it was a pleasure to be able to see the Hoyas on their home court again.

Here are a few highlights from the banter in the stands during the game for our contributors who weren't with us:

1.) IPB agreed to quit his job as a high-powered Washington lawyer and return to the Hilltop to work as a fundraiser for a on-campus arena. In return he only asks for a $75K/yr. salary, for the University cover his travel expenses in connection to his fund-raising efforts, and a room in New South. I'm talking to DeGoia today to see if we can make that happen.

2.) When asked about the costs associated with the Hoyas lease of the MCI Center, Diamond responded that this information was not publicly available and he could not, therefore, enlighten us. He admitted, however, that if one of the partners he works for had asked him the same questions he would not have responded that the information was unavailable--he would have found the answer. Should Georgetown expect less from Diamond? Poor form to be sure.

3.) I also invented a new stat during the game. It is called the Bowman Index. You simply take the number of points that a player contributes (by scores, assists, or steals that result in points) and subtract the number of points that they give up (through blown defense, dumb fouls, and turnovers). As I'm sure you can imagine Brandon's Bowman Index is negative for most games.

That is all I have. Later.

This one's for the IPB

http://guhoyas.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022206aaa.html

Game On!

I shining up the big finger and gargling lemon juice to prepare my voice. The Scarlet Knights will never know what hit them...it's the return of the Jester!

Improvement

Disappointed in the loss, but I thought the guys looked a lot better. We are still not clicking like pre-West Virgina 2nd half but we played well enough to beat most teams. Nova was just too quick for our guards. We will beat Rutgers, Cuse and South Florida if we play this well. And, at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are going to have to contend with the heckling of Jester.

CNN on Hoyas' Rebirth

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/luke_winn/02/15/dc.part2/index.html

On-campus arena

This is something that the IPB and I discussed at length after the WVU game. It sparked similar discussion on the message board.

http://hoyatalk2.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1139798966

Favorite vs. West Virginia

Sportsbetting.com has listed Georgetown as a 4.5 point favorite for today's game. This information is being posted for recreational purposes only.

Team of the Week

i don't know if anyone else saw this. nice to see GU getting its due credit. i'll admit that i was highly skeptical (to put it mildly) of jt3's arrival. but, while there is much work to do & a lot of season left, i have to recognize & give tons of credit to his coaching ability & the way the team has responded to him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2320297

Summers and Ticket are MJ AA's

http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/classic/event.html

I imagine the McD AA's will be pretty similar to this lineup.

New Rankings

FYI - # 16 in ESPN / USA Today poll (WV moved up to # 8)

Doyle thinks we're a 3 seed

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9210388

Win over Pitt

I'm assuming IPB & Diamond were at MCI for the game. I must admit that I only saw the 2nd half, so I don't know if the first half deficit of 15 or so at one point was due to poor play by us or Pitt being on fire. What I can say & did see watching the game on TV was that the 2nd half showed a GU team that was tough & smart. GU looked very calm & poised (I hate to say it, but they looked almost Duke like) as they climbed out of the 7 point half-time hole. I remarked to my cats that we were going to win the game as we brought the score to 45-40. A solid victory! Holding Pitt to 4 points over a good 12-13 minute span was impressive.

Aside from the near collapse in the last 90 seconds (we were VERY luck by the way), GU looked like a team that has a very good chance to be playing in the Saturday night Big East game.

Pitt!

Wow - another fantastic win! Do you think this pretty much guarantees a trip to the tourney?

Doyle agrees with us, Stallion.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9205083

Sports Nation Support

FYI: From ESPN's Sports Nation poll:


Of the four teams new to the rankings this week, which do you feel is most likely to remain ranked for the rest of the regular season?
58.0% Georgetown
20.3% Michigan
11.1% Colorado
10.6% Northern Iowa

New ESPN Rankings

Haven't seen the AP rankings yet, but I would suspect that we are in a similar spot to ESPN's # 22 slot. Seems fair given we have the meat of the Big East schedule coming up. Agree with Jester's Rick Flair quote (if it were professionally acceptable, I'd be making the accompanying sound effect as well. know that i'm doing it on the inside). From what little I've seen, I would think WV would be a smidge higher than Pitt; but, admittedly, I'm basing that solely off of BE standings.

Not to keep bashing the crap out of GW, but somebody at ESPN please explain to me how the # 1 and undefeated WV team is ranked a slot behind GW?!! Is being tops of the A10 superior to tops of the hands-down nastiest conference? I want to be there at the end of the season waving goodbye to the Colonials they zoom down the rankings & out of post season.

As far as our schedule, I'm almost more scared of playing St. John's again & visiting Marquette than I am of heading to Nova.

Very Telling

Surfing around on ESPN.com this morning I came across this statistical break down on the "expanded" Big East standings (for some reason the html got screwed up...scroll down):

Expanded	AP 25		ESPN/USA		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	STRK
Connecticut	4	0	3	0	81.9	62.5	W7
Pittsburgh	3	0	3	0	74.3	60.6	W2
Villanova	3	2	3	2	77.2	62.0	W4
West Virginia	4	1	3	1	74.2	62.9	W1
Georgetown	1	3	1	3	70.2	60.9	W4
Marquette	1	3	1	3	75.2	67.8	L1

I think that this chart highlights the real distinguishing factor between GU and Marquette and what I would call the "elite" Big East teams. What really sets those other teams apart is their record against other top teams. Now, I realize that we've had a hard go at it having to play most of our top 25 games on the road. But, in the words of Dan Martin (quoting Rick Flair), "if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best." We did that with Duke. We need to do it with more consistency down the stretch if we want to be considered a real contender.

Owens in the NBA?

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20060128-115204-8841r.htm

Cincy Beatdown

I'm going to go out on a limb with 2:40 to go in the game & a 23 point lead, GU will complete the utter domination of a rather thuggish looking Bearcat team.

I'm assuming that Diamond & IPB were at the game. Was the student crowd sizeable? I was surprised tha the crowd didn't go ballistic with the coffin nailing Green dunk w/ a little over 3 mintues to go. Overall it seemed like we put a solid 40 minutes of ball together with relatively little problems. With this win and a the victory of ND, we should be a top 20 team in both polls come next week.

Based on the last 2 performances at home, it'd be great if the student body made MCI a home court feared by other Big East teams.

By the way, during a TV timeout, they showed Jack pulverizing a Cincinatti t-shirt.

Suspect Ranking

If this has already been covered on the board, my bad. I just realized that GW is ranked # 15 or # 14 depending the poll. I know that they only have 1 loss (to #17 NC State), but looking at their schedule, it seems as if the ranking peeps are exaggerating the weight of the victories. In my mind the # 15 team in the country is a team that would warrant a 3 or 4 seed in the Dance & have a legit chance to go to the elite eight. Does anyone actually think GW is that good?

Their early season wins remind me of the Rheese Gibson era early season games played on campus. The win over Marshall is a big more impressive now given their victory over WVU, but beating Stony Brook, not quite as impressive. Being top of the A10 is cool & they should get an at large bid regardless of the result of the conference tourney, but come on - what kind of crazy pills are these people taking?

Am I overlooking some factor?

Can't wait until the Big Ticket is on the Hilltop

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/5277192

Big East Tenacity

How 'bout the WV loss to Marshall at home! Johnnies played UConn tough early on, but Huskies ended up pulling it out. Is it my imagination or has the level of Big East play, in particular by non-ranked original Big East teams, escalated to a new level? It's like all of a sudden the league is realizing how good it actually is and nobody wants to be the one on the couch watching the games in the Garden on TV. It's going to be a dogfight to and in the BE tourney. Based on how things are shaping up, altough UConn is clearly the top dog, the conference automatic bid is pretty much up for grabs.

And, although it has no bearing on the above, Go Cocks!! - knocking off # 4 Florida (sorry, I had the urge to use the phrase Go Cocks as I found a USC hat in my closet tonight)

Email from JTIII to all GU students

Dear Hoyas,

Saturday's game against Duke was special. The environment, the atmosphere - and theoutcome - brought back memories of Georgetown Basketball circa the early 80's.

Our fans, especially the student body, were incredible. As I've told you before, we feed off your energy and enthusiasm. You make a difference and for that the entire team thanks you.

We have six home games left starting this Saturday against Cincinnati. As we head into the heart of our BIG EAST schedule we need you more than ever. Duke was just the start; please continue to come out to the MCI Center and duplicate the environment of last Saturday. Wear your blue and gray, and bring the noise!

Thank you.

John Thompson III
Head Men's Basketball Coach

We are.....Georgetown!

On Hibbs:

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9186355

Win is a Win

I know a win is a win & at this juncture a conference win is big, but the final score seemed much closer than it should have been. Any particular reason the ND game was a squeaker?

Rankings

The new polls just came out. I didn't expect us to crack the top 25. But I have to say that I'm a little disappointed that we did not even get a single vote!

That basically says to me that the powers-that-be think our win was a fluke.

Definitely a slap in the face.

My Two Cents Regarding GU v. Duke

First, the obvious. It was a great game. I was almost sick to my stomach by the end of it. The entire second half my heart was just racing and my legs were tired from all of the pacing that I did. I'm glad that Jen had a baby shower that day, because I think I would have scared the crap out of her with all of my screaming and cheering.

Now, the good about the game. While I haven't seen as many JT3-era games as Diamond or IPB, this was definitely the first game that I saw where the Princeton-style offense looked good--and I mean real good. Now, the question is: are we just getting better at running it, or was Duke that bad at defending it. It seriously looked like they weren't even expecting the back-door cuts...even after the 20th time we did it. I think that one falls on Coach K.

Also, Green and Wallace looked awesome. I know that Bowman scored 23, and had the most rebounds and the most blocks, but the former two were the stars of the game. Bowman was just doing a bit of what he was supposed to do (and, FYI, it was only a 180, nopt a 360 Diamond). But more often the not his scores came off of good feeds from some one else.

Wallace may not have scored alot, but he looked like the perfect point guard. He handled the ball well, especically against the Duke full-court press. He managed the tempo of the game beautifully. And I personally think that his wrap-around, acrobatic, reverse layup was the play of the game. Whenever the team needed a presence on the court to settle them down, I felt like he provided it.

And Jeff Green finally looked like the player we saw last year. He did it all. Great passing. Shooting from the outside. Shutting Williams down inside. He just looked great. It was funny how the anouncers on CBS just fell in love with him. It was obvious that they thought he was the team's star. They just kept on saying how it was obvious why he was co-Big East Rookie of the Year last year; that he looked bigger than his listed 6-9; that he looked dangerous from anywhere on the court; and, when things looked shaky down the stretch, that "the Hoyas will be in good shape as long as they get the ball into Green's hands." It was wonderful to see the big fella' back.

All that aside, there were a few things that concerned me about the game. First, it is now obvious to me that Roy is not ready for the big time. In fact, he may never be. I know that he's worked hard in the off season, and that he looked pretty good in the easy games in the pre-Big East season, but I just don't think he has that killer instinct. With Green playing as well as he was, and with Williams in foul trouble relatively early, Roy should have been in a position to make some noise...there wasn't a lot of pressure on him. But whenever he game into the game he just looked flat and sluggish. I'm just not sure that he has the stuff to cut it against the bruising big men in the Big East. I know that all of those who post on the HoyaTalk boards are enamoured with him...but I'm not.

I'm also a little concerned with our ability to finish. Another minute in that game and we probably would not have won (heck, we might not have won if Paulus had just got the ball to Redick down the stretch). We played a near perfect game and still had some problems. It'll be interesting to see what happens (especially on the road) against some of the good teams in our own conference.

All that aside, it was a great game, and it kills me that I couldn't be there to enjoy it with the rest of you. Just a few weeks to early.

While I'm not convinced that we'll match that play in our games against Pitt, WVa, Nova, Syracuse, or even Marquette (who I, personally, think is better than an overrated 'Cuse), I can't wait to see us try. The key is going to be intensity. It's easy to get up for the #1 team in the country in a nationally televised game before a packed house...what happens when those things aren't present? That's especially going to be the case for the away games at Nova and Marquette, which I think will be huge for our post-season fate.

It's going to be an exciting February. Go Hoyas! And Diamond/IPB...save me some tickets for those later games...I'll be in DC by the 12th!

Duke game links

Interesting stuff: among other things, Deke's son will be on the team in a few years -- Ewing, Thompson, and Mutombo.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012100759.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012101423.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com//wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012101147.html

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20060122-125539-7079r.htm

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20060122-125540-3104r.htm

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20060122-125541-7561r.htm

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/summaries/index.cgi?556

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2300950

Duke game

Doyle is picking Duke to win it. Check out this (frankly not unfair) slam on Bowman. Wow.
http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9176357

IPD and I will be there cheering for the blue & grey. It looks like Italian will also be making the trip. This could be a defining moment for JTIII and the program....

South Florida Scare

Wasn't able to listen to or track the game online. Was it as close as the score indicated?

Did anyone see last night's game?

I missed it but it sounded from the press reports as though Pittsnogle decimated us. This is not surprising since I observed him almost single-handedly beat us in a critical contest last season. He was tough to stop then and I guess even more so now. It would have been nice to prevail but the likelihood of us winning on West Virginia's home court was slim. Hopefully we can split the season series when they visit MCI.

Room for Diamond's Bachelor Party

FYI - A cool venue for Diamond's sending off (i like the modifications in the bathroom).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2006/01/10/gallery.reilly/index.1.html?cnn=yes

Savor It Boys...

...because it probably won't last long.

Here are the Big East's standings after last night's games.

Georgetown (2-0, 10-2)
West Virginia (2-0, 10-3)
Pittsburgh (1-0, 12-0)
Syracuse (1-0, 13-2)
Rutgers (1-0, 11-3)
Cincinnati (2-1, 13-3)
Connecticut (1-1, 13-1)
Villanova (1-1, 10-1)
Louisville (1-1, 13-2)
Marquette (1-1, 11-4)
Seton Hall (1-1, 9-4)
DePaul (1-1, 8-5)
Notre Dame (0-2, 9-4)
Providence (0-2, 7-6)
St. John's (0-2, 7-6)
South Florida (0-2, 6-9)

DJ takes down SJ.

Owens was amazing and our offense looked sharp. The defense had some lapses and Roy and Jeff were quiet but this was a good win, and it was nice to get some revenge for last year's debacle. I hope Jeff and Stallion saw it in person. Bring on the Mountaineers!

Providence recap

The IPB will probably want to weigh in with his own thoughts later. I think we performed adequately and beat a bad team the way we should have. The first half was probably as bad as we've played all season. We had 15 turnovers -- probably 10-12 of which were totally unforced. It looked like someone slipped the team codeine before the game. The second half we looked strong and tore apart Providence. Every time they made a charge, we answered. We definitely seem to be a second half team, the Vandy debacle aside. I hope that we can limit the long stretches of ineffectiveness though. As for the players, Roy looked horrible in the first half and sharp in the second half. He pulled down monster boards and had some nice blocks. Brandon also had a double-double in what was probably his strongest performance of the year. I only counted two "Bad Brandons" and saw many "Good Brandons." Ashanti made a bunch of huge plays and sparked the second half run but he was also largely responsible for the first half deficit. JW also had a pretty good second half, hitting some key shots. Green was MIA for most of the game. He never makes mistakes and tends to contribute in small ways but he's still not asserting himself like he did last year. Roy is now the focus of the offense and that seems to have really taken him off of his game. That said, he hit two big free throws down the stretch to secure the lead and pulled down a couple of monster boards. We didn't see much from the freshmen. Egerson didn't have a great game; Sapp played okay. As a side note, the refs were horrible again. One, in particular, was just embarrassing, but the bad calls went both ways.

St. John's is a must win, like this one was. We can't afford losses against the bottom of the league. Hopefully, Italian and Jeff will give us a post-game.

Where we're at.

Okay, so 8-2 is probably about what we expected going into conference play. I had hoped for 9-1 with the only loss being to Illinois; the loss to Vandy stings but we haven't really hurt ourselves. The wins at UTEP and Oregon are solid but not spectacular. Our current RPI is 86 -- this will naturally get stronger through league play (plus Duke), unless we lose a lot of games. The next five games are crucial. The home games against Providence and South Florida are must wins against clearly weaker opponents. Likewise, St. John's on the road should be a "w," although they've given us fits in recent years, including last year's backbreaker. The two other, at UConn and West Virginia, will be tough. 3-2 coming out of this stretcher and going into Duke would be fine. But we really can't afford to do any worse. I'm hoping for 4-1 b/c I think that West Virginia is not as strong as advertised. IPB and I will be there on Thursday. Bring on the Friars!

In personal news, I met the IPB's latest victim last night. She seems lovely, but unfortunately she is neither a Hoyas nor Celtics fan; I didn't ask about Bill Bradley or Chris Matthews.
Also, over the break I got engaged to a Texan. No date has been announced but we can start discussing the bachelor party -- hopefully, an event with the exotic flare of Jester's and the nudity/drunkenness of Italian's.
BTW: Any job news Jester? I enjoyed the X-mas letter. Which judges did you argue before?
Final topic of discussion: how do we get IPB and Jeff to read and post on the blog. Any suggestions? I've been thinking that we must have some pretty embarrassing photos that could be posted to coerce participation.

GU v. Savannah State (at the half)

We are up 19 at the half.

That is far too close.

We better turn in on in the second half.

Muir cans Benson!

Joe Lange he is not:

http://guhoyas.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/122005aaa.html

I wonder if he has a Golden Domer in mind for the job.

Things I'm Happy For This Holiday Season.

Well, I guess I really should have titled this post "thing I'm happy for this holiday season," because I'm only going to discuss one of them.

This Wednesday, December 21, 2005, our beloved Hoyas take on the Tigers of Savannah State. This makes me very happy. Why? Because in a preseason of much needed tough games (none that really went our way), this has got to be the easiest game ever. Now, Georgetown would be foolhardy to look past the Tigers to the looming Big East conference season--but that's just because you should never look past any team. The fact of that matter is that Savannah State is horrible.

The Tigers are currently 1-9. Now, lest you be unimpressed by that number let's examine some of those losses. Because I believe in comparing apples to apples, and oranges to oranges, I think the best way to judge how bad they are is to look at how they fared against a common opponent. We only had one common opponent.

Earlier this year the mighty Tigers took on Oregon. Now, Orgeon is a solid program. But they are going to be in the bottom half of the Pac-10 this year; that's just the way the cookie crumbles. They aren't a joke, but they're not a great team either. That being said, the fact that the Ducks aren't a "great team" didn't stop them from beating Savannah State by 60. Yes, you heard/read me correctly--60. Six, zero. We beat those same Ducks by 14. That's a 74 point difference in our performances.

It kind of makes you feel bad for Wiberforce, which is the only school that has lost to Savannah State this year. If you play for Wiberforce you have to ask yourself "how did we lose to Savannah State...we can't be that bad. We're Wiberforce for crying out loud." (You should also ask yourself "how in the hell did I end up at a school named 'Wiberforce'? It sounds like the German version of what Obi-wan taught Luke.")

All I have to say is that I'm pretty sure that we're not Wiberforce, I'm happy that we're playing Savannah State this holiday season, and if I can find a sports book where the spread on the Hoyas is less than 30 I'm plopping down a major chunk of change.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Intriguing recruiting news....

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9096415

New Bracketology

Granted it's early in the season (even Joe Lunardi notes this fact), but in the latest edition of Bracketology the Hoyas have falled from their preseason NCAA seeding to a projected NIT team. I think the next few games going into the conference schedule will be very important down the stretch.

Big gift to SFS

$20 million; not bad but we NEED a lot more of that. (Interesting that it referred to the gift as the second largest in GU history. I assume that largest was Bob McDonough's $30 million but what happened to Virginia Toulmin's $60+ million endowment?; I suppose she hasn't officially given it yet.)

http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=11856

Update
Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121200591.html

Week 5 Rankings

Though I knew we would not be ranked in the top 25, I was sad to see that Georgetown did not--unlike in the previous weeks' rankings--get any votes for inclusion in the top 25.

Andy Katz on Hoyas v. Illini

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2248557

JTIII

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=shelman_jeff&id=2244067

Oregon v. Vandy

FYI - Oregon is now 3-1 after losing their game last night to Vandy. Just based on the scoring breakdown, their loss seemed much like Georgetown's loss. The Ducks outscored Vandy by 5 in the first half, and then Vandy turned it around to outscore Oregon by 6 in the second half, winning the game by one.

Should be a good match-up on Saturday.

Vandy post-mordem

First half -- we saw just how good this team can be.
Second half -- we saw just how bad this team can be.
I have never witnessed such incongruence in two halves of college basketball. Very disappointing; very disheartening. I went with a friend of mine (who is not a Hoyas fan) and we agreed that it wasn't until the game was basically over that we thought the Hoyas would lose. We were clearly the better team and completely dominated the first half. In the second half, we looked like the team that lost to Temple by 18 in our first game of the season. I would love to hear some explanation for what happened. We couldn't hit a shot; we couldn't grab a rebound. (And give Vandy some credit--I don't think they missed a shot in the last 10 mintues of the game.) This makes the games against Oregon and Illinois so much more important.

From the Hoya

The Type of Thing That Makes Diamond's Blood Boil

The Washington Post on-line posted a story on its front page this morning that read: "Goals Same for Terps, Hoyas."

Yet, if you actually go to the actual article it only talks about Maryland...there is not a single mention of Georgetown.

A slap in the face to be sure!

As much as I delude myself, I know it's not as sexy as being 7th ranked in college hoops. But, the current national ranking of 7th for the men's x/c team is a pretty amazing thing. To me it signifies the resurgence of the men's team to back to a level not seen since our freshman year - we were 6th or 7th in the country going in to the national qualifier & ended up not going to nationals. (ncaa has since adopted an at large bid procedure similar in nature to the final four). Prior to our arrival at GU, we were a historical power (to an extent greater than hoops).

Although bball brings in scores more cash & national name recognition (i've personally never met anyone who said they first heard of GU b/c of track), it was always a sore point that the number of national championships & all-americans far outnumbered that of any team at GU.

But, I guess such is the frustation of realizing that being scrawny & fast isn't as cool as being able to put on a show on the bball court. It's just great to see the Hoyas running well again.

http://guhoyas.collegesports.com/sports/m-track/recaps/111205aab.html

Vince Neil make's GU's media guide

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/gu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/MBB_Intro_0506MG.pdf

It is unclear whether this is before or after his celebrity make-over.

Poor Seton Hall

Seton Hall 40 - Duke 93

I think this result just proves that Seton Hall is going to be the program that suffers most from the new, deeper Big East.

"Cell Phone Bandit" is a Hoyas fan

Bowman

According to the press guide Bowman is Antoine Walker's cousin. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from that IPB.

Fantasy Final Four

Pretty cool / interesting final four scenarios pitting the "dream team" for each school up against one another. GU's staring 5 would be Iverson, Sleepy Floyd, Ewing, Mutombo, & Zo.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hoops/tournament/index

Great article on front page of WashTimes

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20051115-124752-1128r.htm

Article on Doc and Jeramiah

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/orl-rivers1305nov13,0,2136513.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines-hs

new b-school building coming soon

http://www.msb.edu/alumni/new_building/

Letter of intent watch

It appears Summers has signed his. Still waiting on Rivers (can we call him "Baby Doc"?) and Big Ticket.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.signing09nov09,1,5898607.story?coll=bal-college-mbasketball%20&ctrack=1&cset=true

Austin's a Hoya!

Huge pick-up. One of the best shooting guards in the country. Check the video below; very impressive. He's ranked #37 nationally by Rivals and #24 by Scout in the class of 2007. Austin had offers from Maryland, Cuse, Notre Dame, and NCState.

Articles:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20051110-121538-9320r.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110902192.html

(You'll note that the post article focuses on Maryland's consolation prize; the local coverage is still very very biased in favor of the Terps. That will change.)

Implications:
1. Firmly establishes GU as the #1 recruiting power in the D.C. area. This is the second major talent we've snapped up from under Gary's nose (the first being Summers). Local kids want to play at GU.
2. Leaves us with only one open slot guaranteed for 2007. That said, there will be attrition (likely Green going pro) and a second will undoubtedly open up. That means JTIII will probably try to get a commit soon from Biggie Mclain and then focuses on the top few local players left. He is largley building the program on local ties and local playes like Pops did in the 1970s. With all of the talent in the D.C. area that's a pretty bankable strategy.

Austin Freeman announces on Wednesday

Dematha sensation Austin Freeman is announcing his college decision on Wednesday. He visited NC St. last weekend and Notre Dame this weekend. Word is that GU and Maryland are the local favorites, but GU has supposedly been leading for a while. Rivals ranks him #37 in class of 2007. This video will make me weep if we don't get him:
http://www.hssmtv.com/Players/Austin%20Freeman.htm


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102702563.html

U Convicts!

Somebody on another board compiled this list of run-ins with the law at UConn since 1990. It is amazing how rarely you hear UConn called out for this stuff. Wow!

Since 1990 the confirmed incidents involving University of Conneticut men's basketball players goes something like this.
1990Murray Williams – DWI. He was later dismissed from the team for academic reasons.
1993Brian Fair - Shoplifting. Placed on accelerated rehabilitation, community service.
1994Rudy Johnson - Breach of peace.
1998Antric Klaiber – DUI. Suspended for two games. Doug Wrenn – Shoplifting. Community service.
1999Khalid El-Amin – Possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana. Record cleared after small amount of community service.Doug Wrenn – Public disturbance citation.
2000Tony Robertson and Doug Wrenn – Tickets for goods investigation. Two suspensions; Wrenn for eight games; Robertson for one.Doug Wrenn - Breach of peace. Placed on accelerated rehabilitation and dismissed from the team.
2001Marcus Cox - Marijuana possession. Placed on accelerated rehabilitation and allowed to enter drug education program.
2003Ben Gordon - Charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct. Placed on accelerated rehabilitation and community service.
2004Assistant coach Clyde Vaughan - Patronizing a prostitute and interfering with an officer. Resigned from the coaching staff.
2005Antonio Kellogg - Charged with possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana. Suspended from team March 14 because of an undisclosed violation of team policy (code violation). Antonio Kellogg - Charged with criminal intent to assault a police officer, criminal trespass and interfering with an officer. Granted accelerated rehabilitation for both charges and previous marijuana charge, education program, community service and was expelled from UConn.A. J. Price - Charged with four counts of third-degree larceny and one count of making a false statement to police. One year suspension form team activities, suspended from classes until spring semester.Marcus Williams - Charged with four counts of third-degree larceny. Granted accelerated rehabilitation and placed on 18 months probation, community service. Suspended from team activities for remainder of fall semester. Granted return to practice on Dec. 17th and full competition Jan. 3rd. He was previously suspended from competition at the end of his freshman season for academic reasons.

CBS BE preview

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9017076

More slimey behavior from UCon and Calhoun

First, they reinstate their star point-guard who pled guilty to stealing other students' laptops and now this. Really classless. There should be a Big East investigation.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/story/360992p-307602c.html

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9014921

As Yogi would say, deja vu all over again

What's wrong with this passage?

"Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara and Connecticut sophomore forward Rudy Gay were selected preseason co-players of the year.
. . . .

The 6-foot-9 Gay was the league's co-rookie of the year last season with Georgetown's Jeff Green.

Joining Gay and McNamara on the 10-member preseason all-Big East team were: Josh Boone, Connecticut; Taquan Dean, Louisville; Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh; Daryll Hill, St. John's; Randy Foye, Villanova; Allan Ray, Villanova; Curtis Sumpter, Villanova; and Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/ncaa/specials/preview/2005/10/26/bc.bkc.bigeast.coaches.ap/index.html

Picking GU as 6th seems about right, though. That should be more than good enough to make the NCAAs.

One more preview

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/specials/preview/2005/teams/georgetown.html

Prediction:

The Hoyas will run through the wall they hit last year.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/4997220

Another pre-season preview

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/preview/2005/27.htm

New Unis

These looks like they'll be closer to the true colors of GU: Union blue and Rebel Gray. I hope the home are the reverse of this. Nike is also marketing an "alternate" away jersey that consists of the dreaded black and teal. Hopefully, they never break those out. What I'd really love is a return to the classic 1984/85 look without the crazy patterns down the side and on the shoulders.

Wormley Condos?

The Voice reports that the Wormley School is slated to be renovated for use as condos. The surrounding land will have row houses built upon it.

Surely this will raise the ire of Diamond.

How much did Georgetown get for that property again?

Full Article

ESPN's Pre-Season Top 25

ESPN.com has posted its preseason top 25.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2190839

The Hoyas did not make the cut...but they did get votes.

The really scary thing is how many Big East teams are in that list of 25.

GO HOYAS!

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20051014-124200-9039r.htm

Jeff Green cut his braids....

Let's hope this isn't like a Samson thing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?photoId=894893&sportId=41

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?photoId=894886&sportId=41

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?photoId=894891&sportId=41