Update on Recruits

DraftExpress.com has a few short write-ups on the high schoolers participating in the LeBron James Skills Academy. Two of interest to Hoyas fans are commit Henry Sims and recruit Greg Monroe, the consensus #1 recruit in the class of 2008.

The report on Sims was great. He sounds like he can play in the post or face-up. He thus sounds like the prototypical JTIII big man, who can do it all. Here's the report:

"Sims was surprisingly productive throughout the first two days of camp, finishes everything inside and making his presence felt on both ends of the floor. The long, athletic big man really did some damage on the offensive glass, exhibited great hands, and seemed to be a guards dream with his ability to convert their drop-off passes inside for assists. Henry has a motor that does not stop running at all, and with continued development on the low blocks should be able to receive a considerable amount of playing time as a freshman for the Hoyas."

Monroe's write-up I found even more intriguing. Evidently, JTIII is trying to sell him on being the next Jeff Green. Damn if this doesn't sound like Jeff, for good and for ill:

"Monroe is an amazing talent, but has been unable to utilize his skills to their maximum potential throughout the first three days of camp. He showed dazzling footwork on the low blocks, finishing with both his right and left hands equally well. Monroe was money from 18 feet and in, and converted everything in transition. Still with all of these skills, he failed to take over the game we watched and was extremely passive. Greg is unselfish to a fault and while he is surely is the most talented player here at camp, by no means has he been the most dominant."

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2170

Congratulations to Coach Thompson

For the second straight year the Black Coaches Association has honored Coach John Thompson III with the Fritz Pollard Award, the association's accolade for the male coach of the year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2890905

Now, if we can just get JTIII that new contract he deserves.

The Voice Chimes In

The fine people at The Voice have joined their fellow student-writers at The Hoya with a plea to the Georgetown administration to give Thompson a raise. The piece, entitled "Pay The Man," will appear in today's addition of The Voice and is available online.

JTIII Already Preparing For The Next Season

The AP is running a story today about JTIII. I take a lot of solace from this piece. First, it shows that Thompson isn't letting any moss gather. As soon as the game against Ohio State was over, he started planning for next season; trying to figure out what the Hoyas need to do to get back. It is very obvious that these are not the words or actions of a man who believes he is on his way out the door.

Second, the article shows that Thompson has been talking to Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert about going to the NBA. It seem that JTIII is being very fair in his approach. He is doing what he can to help the two get a real feel for where they would go in the draft if they declare. In return, the article implies that Jeff and Roy are being very deliberate with their decision. I think that is all Georgetown fans can really ask for.

Here are some of the highlights.

Thompson Reflects on Georgetown's Run
By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer
5:05 PM PDT, April 11, 2007

...Two days after Georgetown's 67-60 loss to Ohio State, Thompson was studying his recruiting calendar. Before the week was done, he had made his first recruiting trip....

During the season, Thompson is almost unflappable when discussing the Hoyas, always focusing on the next game and averse to giving any sort of general assessment of the team. He said it's easier to think about the big picture once the season is over, but that no one ever asks about it then.

This time, someone was asking.

"Sitting here now, still in many ways it's hard for me to say we had a good year," Thompson said. "You get that close and you just don't know -- so many things have to fall in place to make it to that point."

His mind drifted to his childhood, when his father's Georgetown team lost to Iowa by one point in the regional finals of the 1980 NCAA tournament.

"I remember that was one of the times in my life where back in the room I saw my Pappy cry," Thompson said. "Years later, after they won (the championship), I remember him saying you don't know if you're going to get to that point again. So much has to go right.

"So I can sit here and say we had very successful season, but it still hurts."

The Hoyas finished 30-7, losing to Ohio State in a game in which their best player, Jeff Green, took only five shots and their second-best player, Roy Hibbert, spent a good deal of time on the bench in foul trouble. Still, the season capped a remarkable resurgence under Thompson, who inherited a 13-15 team three years ago.

Next year the outcome could be different. If Green and Hibbert return, the Hoyas should easily be ranked in the top five at the start of the season. After the Final Four, Thompson told his players to take a break from the gym a couple of weeks, but the coach, in addition to the recruiting, decided to get a head start on next season's game plans.

"I've already started jotting down notes, writing down thoughts," Thompson said, "figuring out how we can get back."

Thompson said he is having "ongoing conversations" with Green and Hibbert as to whether the two juniors should declare for the NBA draft. He called it a "business decision" and said he's been gathering information on how high the players would be picked. He said their decisions could go either way.

"A lot of times, people who have any inkling that they will have a chance to be drafted -- let alone be drafted high -- boom, they're gone," Thompson said. "And these two, they like what they're doing. They both want to and will get a degree from Georgetown. At the same time, we still have to go through the process and see what's the right thing for them."...

The entire article is available at the L.A. Times' website.