Last Night and Taking Stock

Well, last night was very disappointing for all Hoya fans. You can't always expect to win games in the final four against #1 seeds, but that was a stunningly winnable game the Hoyas lost last night. I wish they could have lost to a team that turned in a great performance but Ohio State was just a smidge better than the torpid and sloppy Hoyas. Roy was great and did outplay Oden, but the team never got into an offensive rhythm. J-Wall was also money. Of course, this was Jeff's most passive performance since the loss to Nova in January. There is no point rehashing this though. He is often a cautious performer and, frankly, we wouldn't have made it out of the second round without Jeff Green so no need to harp on less than great performance. Jeff will go down as an all-time great Hoya . . . especially if he sticks around for his senior year.

The Future

So here are the big issues I see for the off season:

1. JTIII's new contract. There is no doubt that DeGioia is going to offer JTIII a new contract. The big question is will the University low-ball him and risk him leaving in the short-term. JTIII needs a $1+ million contract, increased funds for hiring new assistants, and increased funding for the program in general. The alumni and students will riot if this gets screwed up. President DeGioia needs to realize that his presidency could very well be on the line if he screws this up. If funds are a problem, he needs to sit down with some major donors and figure out how it can happen. No excuses. (It may become necessary to mobilize the students and alumni if no word is heard about a new contract soon.)
2. New assistants. A new assistant will need to be hired to replace Broadus. It is possible that either Burke or Johnson could go elsewhere as well. Johnson has been the subject of rumors for the Princeton head coaching job. This would be great for him and fine for Georgetown, as JTIII continues to build his coaching tree. What would be horrible is to lose Burke as well this year. We need some stability in the assistance coaching ranks and it is clear that Burke plays a major role in both recruiting and working with the players. As far as replacements go, one who is being rumored is Troy Weaver, a D.C. native and resident who was an assistance for Syracuse (credited with landing Melo, among others) and is currently a scout for the Jazz. He would be a great hire. The one big problem could be paying him enough to get him to come to the Hilltop.
3. Jeff & Roy -- staying or going. In interviews last night, neither was willing to say much. I think they really don't know what they'll do next, but there is a good chance that one will come back. Roy is much more likely as he can still improve his draft status dramatically. Jeff could improve his too but probably not as much. I hope they both come back and graduate. Both because I want Georgetown to win a championship and because I think it sets a good example for the players who follow them. Academics matter. The way we went out this year and the talent coming in both make it more likely that they return. I'm giving Jeff a 50% chance of coming back; Roy I'll put at 75%.
4. Recruiting. Georgetown will have a lot of scholarships to fill for 2008-2009. There are four juniors, plus the scholarship Egerson vacated. That makes five openings. Jason Clark and Chris Braswell fill two of them. The players on the radar include: Samardo Samuels (6-9/230; Rivals #7; also being recruited by UConn, UNC, and Florida); Ed Davis (6-9/215; Rivals #8; also being recruited by UVA, VaTech, Kentucky, and UNC); David Ebanks (6-7/185; Rivals #11; also being recruited by Miami, Ohio St., Georgia, Indiana and Memphis); Yancy Gates (6-8/250; Rivals #17; down to GU and Cinci); Henry Sims (6-10/215; Rivals #57; down to GU and UVA); and Kris Joseph (6-7/210; unranked; also being recruited by Maryland). Landing three of these guys should be easier in the wake of the Final Four, but Broadus's departure hurts. We'll see how it all shakes out and if others pop up on the radar screen.
5. Player development. There are many questions here to be answered. JTIII has done a great job of developing players and hopefully we'll see a big improvement over the summer from this year's freshmen. Macklin has a huge upside but needs to live in the weight room this summer. Rivers needs to take jumpshots until his arms fall off. And Summers needs to work on both his jumpshot and handle--although he is closer to being a finished product than the other two. I also think Roy can take a major step forward. He still needs to improve his endurance and strength so he can play 35 minutes per game.
6. 2007 Freshmen. I can't wait to get to the Kenner League games to scout these guys. The IPB and I are planning on going to the Capital Classic to check out Omar Wattad--who is a total mystery. We've seen Wright and Freeman. They will be great but we will scout them more.

Keep checking in with the VB Boys for updates during the offseason. Go Hoyas!