Georgetown's Great Big Men, Today & Tomorrow

Roy Hibbert has always said that he wanted to be mentioned in the same breath as Ewing, Mourning, and Mutombo (as opposed to White and Boumtje-Boumtje, I suppose). Well, I think he is well on his way to doing that. If he can take the Hoyas back to the Final Four this year, he will have certainly installed himself on the Hoyas' Mt. Rushmore. As for a fifth spot in that Pantheon (I know I'm mixing metaphors like crazy but there are only 4 heads on the mountain!), I think we may have a beat on who could fill it...and he already shares a name with a president. Both Hibbert and Greg Monroe, just as importantly, sound like great guys and great students in these two profiles.

Skills, not just size, make Hibbert campus' big man

Roy Hibbert disputes the notion he is Big Man on Campus. "I'm not the star of this team," he says modestly — and incorrectly. Forget about stars, Roy. You're 7-2! "Oh," he says, smiling broadly. "You mean that." Hibbert is Big Man at Georgetown, a campus where some of the great big men of basketball history have played. Celebrated centers such as Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo performed here for John Thompson Jr., a Big Man among coaches.

. . . .

Hibbert probably would have been taken later in that first round had he decided to come out. He considered it but says he decided to stay because he wanted to graduate, play another year in college and be better prepared for the rigors of the NBA. "It was the best thing for myself and my family," he says. Some players score a big contract as first-round draft choices, he says, but never make it to the second contract where the bigger money is. That's part of why he stayed: He says he has more to learn. "Roy just wants to get better," Thompson III says. "He wants to improve. And he wants to help his team improve." Where, exactly, does Hibbert need to improve? "Offense and defense," Thompson III says with a straight face — then bursts out laughing. "That's how I feel," the coach says. "I think he's a very good offensive player and a very good defensive player. At the same time, in small facets of both, he can improve, and that's what we're striving for."

Hibbert remembers coming to Georgetown when he was in high school to play in pickup games against Michael Sweetney, the Hoyas' top Big Man of the time. "He pushed me around," Hibbert says. Sometimes Ewing and Mourning would be there, and they would push him around, too. But they also encouraged Hibbert to bring his size-18 sneakers to Georgetown. He came from Georgetown Prep, a Jesuit high school in Washington's suburbs. He was a project — 295 pounds but weak enough that he bench-pressed just 135. He was awkward, slow and raw: Thompson Jr. called him "The Big Stiff." "Among other things — and it was not jokingly," Thompson III says, chuckling. "But he has come a long way. He's blessed with size. He's blessed with good hands and vision. And he has worked extremely hard in every aspect of the game." Today he weighs 275 and says he bench-presses 225. He's gotten quicker, more agile and more skilled. His improvement can be measured in his scoring and rebounding averages: 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds as a freshman, 11.6 and 6.9 as a sophomore, 12.9 and 6.9 as a junior. Ohio State beat Georgetown in the national semifinal before losing to Florida in the championship game. Hibbert played well against Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden, who was the first player taken in the NBA draft. Hibbert did not get pushed around, winning the statistical war (19 points, six rebounds and one block to Oden's 13 points and nine rebounds). "Roy is not worried about comparing and contrasting himself to Greg Oden or to anyone else," Thompson III says. "Did he play well that day? Obviously. But I don't look at that as, 'Ooh, Roy had a great game.' That's how Roy played all year. It just happened to be that because of who the opposition was, more people took notice."

Few noticed this summer as Hibbert played on the U.S. team that finished fifth in the Pan Am Games. Alabama's Richard Hendrix hung a nickname on Hibbert at the trials in Philadelphia. "He called me The Governor," Hibbert says, laughing. Hibbert is majoring in government. Hendrix wanted to know if that meant Hibbert might run for governor some day. Hibbert says you never know. He takes courses in international relations. The U.S. Department of Education offered a summer internship that he says he turned down with regret because of his obligations to Team USA. He says Georgetown is an ideal place for students with an interest in government. It's also a good place for 7-2 students with an interest in basketball. Where does today's Big Man on Campus stand in the pantheon of great big men of Georgetown's storied past? "I think it's too early to say," Thompson III says. "He has wanted to be viewed as one of the premier Georgetown big men. Where he fits in the hierarchy is something we'll look at down the line."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2007-10-18-sw-georgetown_N.htm

Top-recruit Monroe has good head on shoulders

In case you've been on another planet for the past week, or don't care about such things, the 6-foot-10 senior made a pretty big decision Saturday, announcing he'll play at Georgetown. The significance is that making the decision early was a very smart, mature thing to do for a kid that, as Cox Coach Tyron Mouzon said, wants to enjoy his senior year the way a senior is supposed to. "It was a hard decision before, but once I got up there and saw everything and met with all the players and coaches, it was pretty easy after that," Monroe said. "The way I felt was, if I knew what I was going to do, I wasn't going to waste their time or waste my time, either. When all of (the coaches) came in-home (to visit), they all said the same thing. They all said if you take your visits and you get to one and you know that's where you want to go, stop. So I just took their advice." Probably, a couple of them now wish they'd have shut up. "He says he's comfortable with the decision, that he feels relief that it's over," Mouzon said. Now, announcing intent doesn't magically assure Monroe will be left alone. Until he signs on a dotted line, scheduled to occur Nov. 16 at Cox, all the coaches who were after him before Coach John Thompson III and the Hoyas made their winning pitch likely will continue to be after him, pulling and tugging and hoping he'll change his mind, and perhaps change their programs. The early signing period runs from Nov. 14 through Nov. 21. That gives coaches about another month to plead, and heaven only knows what would happen if he postponed signing and waited until the spring signing period (April 16 through May 21).
. . . .

"The whole process is kind of stressful," Monroe said. "It's long. To get it over is good. I'm just going to stay strong, hold on to my decision. I'm not going to let anybody change my decision. Just keep levelheaded. I'm sure that's the right choice, so I'm going to stick with it." Said Mouzon: "He's very different from a lot of high-profile athletes his age. He doesn't have a lot of hangers-on, doesn't have a posse. He doesn't like a lot of limelight, and the kids (at Helen Cox) have been used to seeing him since sixth grade. "In a way, they don't quite get it. Oh, they know who he is and they know he's a big-time basketball player. But there are more people all over him at AAU tournaments than at school." Hopefully, fewer of them will be all over Monroe now that he has announced a decision. Theoretically, that's the way it's supposed to work. Once an athlete takes himself off the market, prospective suitors are supposed to leave him alone.

Since that's not going to be the case, all the athlete can do is make a decision and stick with it. Maybe, even, Monroe gave himself a chance to keep being a kid a little longer. "I was missing a lot of -- not really important things -- but things that students get to do," Monroe said. "This weekend, I would have been missing my homecoming, and this is my last homecoming."

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-33/1192691216231370.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

Georgetown as the new Duke

This is the thesis advanced over at Big East Hoops.

JTIII is transforming Georgetown into the next Duke. It is the next school where you play “the right way” and the media continuously speaks about the upstanding young men. The similarity between the schools is already there — both private, upper middle class universities where basketball is the sport that students follow. And now Georgetown is the Duke of recruiting — besides Greg Monroe, JTIII has also successfully recruited Jason Clark, center Henry Sims and power forward Chris Braswell — all top 100 recruits. I used to wonder how someone could be a Duke fan — the uppityness and being the perennial favorite because of recruiting…how can it be fun rooting for Goliath? But now, I sort of understand.

http://www.bigeasthoops.com/2007/10/14/georgetown-is-the-next-duke/

This is a provocative thesis and an idea that I've had in the back of my head for a long while. Originally, I advanced this theory when JTIII had just arrived on the Hilltop and the Hoyas were in the mix for Eric Boateng. At that time, it appeared that Coach K would be moving out to Los Angeles to coach the Lakers. It seemed to me that we could be witnessing a power shift on the East Coast. Georgetown and Duke have very similar academic profiles, obviously, and play in arguably the two best basketball conferences, year in and year out. Many fans of both teams trace Duke's 1990s rise and Georgetown's swoon to the 1989 Elite Eight game where Duke bested the team of the 1980s to become the undisputed team of the 1990s. I thought maybe the pendulum would swing back. Well, Mr. Boateng chose Duke and that worked out just about as well as his fellow Delaware all-state team member Josh Thornton's selection of Georgetown. (Eric now plays for Arizona State, while Josh is a Towson Tiger.) And, of course, Coach K stayed in Durham. That bring us to January 21, 2006--a game that IPB, Stallion and I all attended--and the game which trumpeted Georgetown's return to the national scene. Since that game, Georgetown has been to a Sweet 16 and Final Four, and has won a Big East regular season championship, as well as a Big East tournament championship. It has also successfully recruited three McDonald's All-Americans and, now, the #1 recruit in the nation. While Duke certainly hasn't fallen off the face of the earth (and remains one of the best programs in the country), one would be hard pressed to claim that, since that game, Duke has outperformed Georgetown. But, more importantly, I think Duke's rise can serve as a model for Georgetown's.

What does that mean? Well, first, it means that the basketball team should be used to sell the university, not just the university's gear. Duke always used its PR department beautifully to advance the notion that its basketball stars were also students and good ones at that. It sold the idea of Duke as a top-flight academic institution, as well as a basketball powerhouse. Was a lot of this smoke and mirrors? Sure. But it worked and one can't argue with the likes of Shane Battier or Grant Hill. They were tendered as the models of Duke basketball (as opposed to some of the less savory fellows who attended Duke).

Georgetown has already made huge progress in this direction. Last year the Washington Post ran a front page article on how studious all of the Georgetown student-fans were and numerous articles and commentators pointed out that Georgetown basketball players wore suits, were well-spoken, disciplined, etc. They also interacted well with "normal" students, as did the Coach and his staff. (I recall one piece even pointing out that the players had very few tattoos.) On top of this, Georgetown has gotten good at releasing fluff pieces about players getting internships on the Hill or, for instance, on Roy's support for Senator Obama. Beyond that, I've noticed that a number of players are majoring in decidedly more difficult Georgetown fields like Government (Roy and Jon) or Business (DeJaun), as opposed to only Sociology. (GU does not have majors especially designed for athletes so no Kinesiology here, thank you very much.) Greg Monroe also fits perfectly into this mold.

This idea of having "smart" players also works its way on to the basketball court, where GU runs one of the most intricate offenses around. It doesn't hurt that this offense is named for one of the best universities in the world. It is refreshing that Georgetown players like Jeff Green and Jon Wallace are described as having high basketball IQs, as opposed to white players on the team. While we want to project an imagine of intelligence, Georgetown should not do so by playing into the old racist canard of the smart white player versus the athletic black player. This is, after all, John Thompson's program and we don't need to play that game. Indeed, JTIII's offense and persona is going a long way to eradicating it. I have a feeling that Duke intentionally played in this stereotype for some time. That's a harsh charge to level, though, so I'll hold my fire....

Of course, the most important way in which Georgetown can emulate Duke is through constant recruiting, pulling in 5-star recruit on top of 5-star recruit. There is no doubt that JTIII is a tireless recruiter and is indeed matching Duke blow for blow at this early point in his career.

Additionally, JTIII is laying a foundation for his eventual departure--whether that be in 10, 20 or 30 years. In three years he has already produced two head coaches (Broadus and Syd Johnson at Princeton). He will undoubtedly produce more. And when JTIII moves on, the most successful among them will be the heirs apparent. Coach K was once in that position but Amaker and Quinn are no longer hot prospects, and Brey looks like he could be in trouble. That said, no one can argue that K hasn't produced an impressive coaching tree.

Finally, there is the person of John Thompson III. Like Coach K, JTIII graduated from one of the country's best schools (West Point vs. Princeton). Like Coach K, he studied under one of the great basketball minds of the 20th century (Bob Knight vs. Pete Carrill). JTIII exudes class and intelligence, while not surrendering his unwavering passion for winning. He has the respect of the students and alumni--so much so that he is quickly becoming the personification of the university itself, much like Coach K at Duke.

So, what is the problem with the Georgetown as Duke thesis? Well, Georgetown still has some unaddressed areas that must be solidified before we can say we've arrived. I'm not talking about performance on the court, because we all know that national championships and final fours are necessary. But there are institutional matters that must be addressed to achieve what JTIII has said he wants to do at Georgetown--to build a program. Although his father had tremendous success, he never built a program that could sustain itself. That is, there was no coaching tree to speak of, no on campus practice or playing facilities of note, and not a tremendous amount of self-sustaining alumni support. We were left with Esherick and a pretty empty cupboard until JTIII came back and saved the Hoyas.

As I see it, here are the issues that JTIII, Jack DeGioia and the alumni will need to address in the next 2 or 3 years, if Georgetown does want to be the new Duke.

First, JTIII needs to be at Georgetown long-term. His new contract, while certainly competitive with other coaches who have made Final Fours (Brady at LSU, for example), is not on the generous side and, I suspect, will shortly be too little for a coach of his ability. Georgetown must be prepared to re-up in a big way if the Hoyas have the success we all expect this year. I don't think JTIII is looking to go anywhere any time soon, but DeGioia would be very wise to lock him up and that means a contract closer to $1.5 million than to $900,000.

Second, and this is the most difficult one, the facilities issue must be addressed. Not only should the university move ahead with the practice facility with all deliberate speed, but an on-campus area must also be in the pipeline. I know that it is not, for now, and I understand why, but it must become a priority sooner rather than later. An 8,000 person arena will give Georgetown great leverage in negotiating with the Verizon Center and permit virtually all games (whether on-campus or at Verizon) to be sell-outs. Further, there is something to be said to striking while the iron is hot. Corporate sponsorship is available for sporting venues like nothing else. A team that is doing as well as any in the country and one that plays in a major media market should be an attractive target for corporate sponsorship. Beyond that, with all the good feelings toward the program, it may be time to tap all of the alumni who have made millions after graduating from the Georgetown basketball program and the former NBA stars whose sons have played on the team. The arena cannot be a pipe dream for much longer.

Finally, Georgetown must work with its basketball peers to secure the long-term viability of the Big East. The Big East is a fantastic conference but some of the football schools (Cuse in particular) are evidently restless. Georgetown can play a role in keeping it together and (at the very worst) making sure that historical basketball powers like itself and Nova are not jettisoned in a split. I have my doubts about the league ever breaking up so long as it is inking lucrative deals with ESPN, but that situation bears monitoring. As long as Georgetown is riding high and JTIII is the head coach, I think things will shake out well on the Hilltop. I would worry if I were St. John's though....

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Georgetown as the new Duke. I'd love to hear what the rest of you think. Hopefully, somewhere in McDonough long-term plans to solidifying what JTIII has already accomplished are being generated. I don't want to live through 1998-2004 again.

CSTV on the Monroe Commitment

Midnight Madness Strikes Twice in Big East
Georgetown and Louisville score hotly sought-after Top 20 commitments
Oct. 14, 2007
By Van Coleman

The addition of Monroe to Georgetown's class will raise it to challenge for a top five spot nationally, and it's definitely among the top ten classes at this point. But what's key is the Hoyas haven't been in the hunt for arguably the nation's top prospect since John Thompson Jr. was the Hoyas coach and players like Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning committed to Georgetown. No doubt that changed over the weekend with Monroe's decision, now the big question is will his commitment have the same impact for JT III's Hoyas that Ewing and Mourning had for his father's.

That really may depend on how long he is a Hoya, as both Mourning and Ewing were four year players. It's something we don't expect Monroe to be, more likely it being one or two years at the most. But, the Hoyas do have a similar timeline leading to Monroe that they had leading to Ewing. Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert have helped built the program like Sleepy Floyd and Craig Shelton did in 1978-80. The current Hoyas certainly don't have an empty cupboard talent-wise as current freshmen 6-foot-4 Austin Freeman and 6-foot-1 Chris Wright come as Top 25 recruits. Couple that with Top 75s Henry Sims and Chris Braswell, who will enter with Monroe, and the Hoyas have all the pieces to once again be a long-term force in the Big East, as well as the NCAA's.

Monroe's commitment came sooner than some close to his situation expected. "It was a little bit of a surprise he decided this early," his summer coach Mike Theus told CSTV. "I really thought he would take three visits, maybe more before deciding. But, Greg always said that if he found the right fit he would end his recruiting. He evidently felt that was what he found in Georgetown." His high school coach Tyron Mouzon had a similar take on his decision recently when he talked to us about Monroe's recruiting. "He wants to take all five visits, but he also said that once he felt good about a place, once he felt comfortable, he would make a decision," Mouzon had said. Evidently he had just that feeling about John Thompson III and his Georgetown staff and players while attending Midnight Madness. "He sees the opportunity to fit in the mold of Jeff Green in the Georgetown offense," Theus explained. "That plus his developing respect for Coach Thompson could have been keys to his decision."

All-in All, Greg Monroe will make an immediate impact with the Hoyas once he arrives on campus next fall. He has tools to make a Kevin Durant-type contribution as a freshman, especially if he develops a consistent effort on both ends of the court. If my sources are right, the Hoyas may have a couple more commitments in the near future from among the close to 20 prospects who visited for Midnight Madness. Stay tuned for more on that.

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/101507aaa.html

New Walk-On

Georgetown junior Bryon Jansen, a two-year practice team member, has been given a spot on the squad. Jansen is a 6'6, 200+ power forward from Washington State, where he was the student body president and valedictorian at Seattle Christian High School. Congratulations Bryon! Represent the blue & gray well!

ESPN's Recap of Midnight Madness

And here is what SI had to say:

There was . . . an appearance by Dances-With-Stars wideout Jerry Rice, who got a lesson in the Soulja Boy from Hoya forward Pat Ewing Jr. The most famous Louisiana resident in attendance turned out to be a 6-foot-10 high school senior: Greg Monroe, who's the No. 1-ranked player in the Class of 2008 according to Rivals.com. He was showered with chants of "Greg Mon-Roe" from the Georgetown students who had packed the 2,500-seat gym to the gills. They seemed very interested in having Monroe replace Roy Hibbert in the Hoyas' frontcourt next season.

Monroe, who visited LSU the previous week (witnessing the Tigers' football win over Florida) and heads to Duke next week, wasn't ready to commit on the spot after the festivities. But he did say he had breakfast with coach John Thompson III that morning, and met Big John Thompson, and was "impressed." Asked to compare Georgetown to LSU, Monroe said, "LSU is real big; it has that big feeling. This is smaller and more relaxed. They're two very different schools."

It's unclear whether Monroe will made any college decision during the fall period, but the consensus is that Georgetown and Duke have the leg up in the race to sign him. For what it's worth, he seemed to be in a great mood on Friday: I watched him crack up at the sight of John Thompson III dancing -- "I didn't expect that," Monroe said -- although he did not go as far as to sport one of the "JTIII is my Homeboy" shirts that two students, James DiPietro and Phil McClymont, were hawking in a parking lot outside of McDonough. They said that JTII confronted them last year asking, in a serious tone, where his "cut" was ... before breaking into laughter.
There was far more dancing than basketball on the evening; the lone hoops display was a dunking drill and a few lackadaisical minutes of the weave. JTIII forced the team to do a group Soulja Boy, which somewhat botched until Malik Kilkenny Diaw, the little brother of former Hoyas center Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw and an apparent expert in Crank Dat moves, came out to rescue them. Malik told me he thought it would only take "one hour" to teach JTIII a perfect Soulja Boy.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/basketball/ncaa/2007/10/madness-at-georgetown.html

Video of Monroe

More on Monroe

Rest easy Hoyas fans. Power forward, national honor society member, and 6'10 basketball prodigy Greg Monroe will be donning the blue & gray.

Here is the report from the Washington Post:

Top Recruit Commits to Hoyas

On the same day the Georgetown men's basketball team started working on its present, its future got a major boost. Greg Monroe, a 6-foot-10 forward from Louisiana who is considered the nation's top high school senior, made an unofficial commitment to the Hoyas, according to his high school coach, Tyron Mouzon. Monroe, the No. 1-rated player in the Class of 2008 according to Rivals.com, plans on signing a letter-of-intent when the early signing period begins Nov. 14. He is the fourth senior to unofficially commit to the Hoyas, joining 6-8 forward Chris Braswell of Hargrave Military Academy (ranked 63rd by Rivals.com), 6-10 forward Henry Sims of Mount Saint Joseph (64th), and 6-2 guard Jason Clark of O'Connell (89th). Mouzon said he was somewhat surprised that Monroe committed so quickly, because he still had scheduled visits to Texas, Duke and Connecticut in the upcoming weeks. Monroe visited LSU last weekend. "He originally said that he wanted to take all five visits," Mouzon said. "But he also said that once he felt good about a place, once he felt comfortable, he would make a decision." Monroe has said he was looking for a program with an established coach that has helped develop players for the NBA. On Friday night, he was part of a capacity crowd of 2,500 at McDonough Arena for Georgetown's Midnight Madness, and he was greeted with chants of "Greg Mon-roe! Greg Mon-roe!" from the students in attendance.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/13/AR2007101301152.html


This is the hometown paper:

Monroe commits to Georgetown

Helen Cox center Greg Monroe, considered the top basketball prep prospect in the nation, said Saturday he'll sign with Georgetown. Monroe concluded his official visit to the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., by verbally committing to the defending Big East Conference champions. The surprise announcement by Monroe, a Parade Magazine All-American and Louisiana's Mr. Basketball as a junior, came shortly before Monroe and his mother, Norma, boarded an airplane for a flight home to New Orleans following a three-day visit to the nation's capitol. "(Georgetown) just felt comfortable to me,'' Monroe said briefly before boarding his return flight from Washington, D.C. "I was comfortable with the style of play.'' "Greg has committed to Georgetown,'' Helen Cox Coach Tyron Mouzon said in making the announcement for the Monroe family. "He's not going to make any other visits. He said he's not going to go anywhere else. He's going to sign during the early signing period.''

http://blog.nola.com/tpsports/2007/10/monroe_commits_to_georgetown.html

A Red Letter Day

The Hoyas' future is in good hands. Consensus number 1 prospect Greg Monroe has committed to Georgetown. All I can say is that JTIII must have put on quite a show at Midnight Madness. Duke, Texas, and UConn must be pissed that they never even got a chance to make their on-campus pitch.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/preprally/2007/10/monroe-makes-co.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7329484

http://www.thehoya.com/sports/101307/sports1.cfm

http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071014/SPORTS/110140052/1005

G'town Football

Interesting article, which was on the front page of the NY Times sports section, about Georgetown's committment to football. Although I'm not surprised, I didn't realize that the football crew was winless this year. The point of the article is how G'town is pumping $$ into the program to keep pace with the Ivy crowd.

Not sure how many of us are fans of G'town football, but it still nice to see G'town good press exposure.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/sports/ncaafootball/13georgetown.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

It sounds like Roy's ready

This will, in a lot of ways, be Big Roy's team this year. Just like last year's team was Jeff's, Roy will be the focus of every defense that tries to stop the Hoyas. Sure, Wallace, Ewing, Summers, and others are key. But I think, when push comes to shove, Roy will be the one who will have to put the team on his shoulders, like he did against Ohio St., to a large extent.


On why he came back…
"I love the atmosphere here. I have a lot of things to work on, but starting Saturday, I’m going to put my selfish self away and making sure Georgetown gets better."

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/gu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/playerquotes.pdf

And from the Post:

"We're just going to have to make sure that the whole team can take over, because we're not going to have Jeff this year," Hibbert said. "His jersey is up on that wall [inside McDonough], so we're all looking at him and everything like that, but we're going to have to make sure that we stick together and make sure we pull all our weight together."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/11/AR2007101102209.html

The madness is coming....

Tonight is a big night for Hoyas hoops. While nothing will be won or lost on the court, future championships could be in the balance. The Hoyas will have some of the top recruits in the nation on campus tonight. We have mentioned how the consensus #1 recruit in the country, Greg Monroe, will be in attendance. But other future Hoya stars will be as well. Gus Gilchrist, who was supposed to attend Virginia Tech this year but reneged after the tragic shooting there, will be taking in the festivities. Rumors have swirled that he could be eligible to play this year and could join the team in January. Gilchrist is a late-blooming big man (about 6'9, 240) who I saw play a bit over the summer. He would be a nice back-up for big Roy, as a 4-star, top 100 recruit. Also from the class of 2008 will be Renaldo Woolridge, a wing from Harvard Westlake, the Los Angeles alma mater of several of our Georgetown classmates. He, like Gilchrist, is a solid top 100 recruit, but it is unclear whether GU has offered to both him and Monroe, as they are similar players.

There will be a ton of 2009 and 2010 recruits there too, but I'm just going to mention a few more (all 2009):

• DaShonte Riley. As I noted here before, Riley is very high on the Hoyas and he is an absolute stud out of Chicago. There are a lot of people who think a commitment could be forthcoming.
• Hollis Thompson: A top 25 player out of Los Angeles. He's a 6'6 small forward.
• Terrell Vinson: A top 25 player our of Baltimore. He's a 6'5 small forward.
• Isaiah Armwood: A top 10 player out of Baltimore (Montrose Christian of Harvey Thomas, Tony Bethel, and Drew Hall fame -- as well as Sweaty Gary's Greivous Vazquez and Jeff Green's teammate Kevin Durant, among others). He's a 6'7 power forward.
• Karron Johnson: A top 10 player out of Durham, North Carolina. He's a 6/7 small forward.

Of course those three commits for 2008 will also be there: Chris Braswell, Henry Sims, and Jason Clark.

JTIII never ceases to amaze me with what a tireless recruiter he is. If you don't like that job, I guess you shouldn't be in the business. But GU doesn't have that many open spaces and yet he never stops recruiting. I do think (having watched both play) that the recruitment of both Omar and Nikita will be the source of some discussion down the road. I don't know if Omar is on scholarship, but this summer he didn't look like a player would could be in the gym with any of these guys. Nikita, on the other hand, was clearly an overlooked gem. His outside shot is as good as I've ever seen from a freshman (and that includes Wallace three years ago). With the right coaching, he could be a key role player in JTIII's sytem. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. I wouldn't mind seeing Greg Monroe in the blue & gray (and any of these other recruits either!)......

Austin Freeman, clap, clap, clap clap clap

Luke Winn has him as his #13 freshman in college basketball this year. What is particularly great is that Freeman will not be expected to contribute in the way many of his contemporaries on this list will. In fact, much of what he gives us will be gravy.

The Hoyas' one glaring void during their run to the '07 Final Four was an elite two-guard. Too bad Freeman, a renowned mid-range scorer and quality perimeter shooter, couldn't have joined the team a year earlier. He should fit nicely into Georgetown's guard rotation behind Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp, who are both savvy floor generals in the modified Princeton offense, but lack offensive skill-sets as polished as Freeman's.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0710/cbk.freshman/content.3.html

PE Jr. ... Filling His Own Shoes

I love how well Pat Ewing Jr. has handled playing at such a high level at his Dad's (and Mom's) alma mater. It can't be easy but he sure hasn't shown any strain. Now, he also has to live up to the standard his buddy Jeff Green set--another tall order.


Unfazed by the pressure

"Look, nobody's going to replace Jeff Green. He was one of the best players to ever come through this program, period. It's similar to what I've always said about my father. I'm not my dad, and I'm not Jeff. I don't want to try and become Jeff just like I don't want to try and become my father. That's unrealistic. I just want to be the best player I can be, and if it gets me to where my father was and where Jeff is now, that's great. But as long as I do the things I can do and I'm asked to do as well as I can do them, I feel like I'll be successful in my own right." Ewing's steady improvement as an impact reserve last season certainly bodes well for a Georgetown team that actually faces fewer question marks entering this campaign than it did last preseason. Nobody expects Ewing to match Green's productivity (14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists) as the league's best player. But few teams have the luxury of replacing an All-American with a seasoned senior who has almost an identical body (6-foot-8, 238 pounds), arguably superior athleticism and a somewhat similar skill set to last year's potent point forward.

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/SPORTS/110110098/1005/SPORTS

Bilas: Hoyas v. Memphis = Best Early Season Game

10 games I'd pay to see

1. Georgetown at Memphis, Dec. 22The Hoyas have the discipline to give Memphis fits. Jonathan Wallace is the most underappreciated great guard in the country, and DaJuan Summers is ready to take off. Memphis has more horses and the home crowd. Joey Dorsey couldn't deal with Greg Oden, who had a rough time with Roy Hibbert. Dorsey has to battle Hibbert, and the transitive property of equality.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/insider/columns/story?columnist=bilas_jay&id=3058441&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dbilas_jay%26id%3d3058441

Booooooooo!

Review Board Rejects Athletic Facility Design
By Adam CasellaHoya Staff Writer
Friday, October 12, 2007

It’s back to the drawing board.

The Old Georgetown Board rejected last week the university’s design plans for a proposed new athletics facility, holding that the structure of the building would not complement the university’s historic architecture. The decision was announced only days after the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission unanimously approved the university’s proposal to construct the 90,000-square-foot, five-story athletics practice facility during its Oct. 2 meeting.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story.

Midnight Madness Details

As previously reported, Midnight Madness will be taking place tomorrow. Prior to the kick-off of the official festivities at 11:00 p.m., there will be a number of events taking place outside of McDonough, including a replay of the Georgetown-UNC game on a giant screen.

At last evening's Q&A with Coach Thompson, it was announced that those intending to enter McDonough for the official festivities will need a special wristband. These wristbands will be distributed outside of McDonough starting at approximately 6:30 p.m.

The general vibe at the Q&A was that McDonough will definitely reach peak capacity, so make sure to stop by McDonough during the late afternoon tomorrow for the wristband distribution to avoid getting shut out of this event.

Hoya Saxa!

Exclusive Report on Intimate Q&A with Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III

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.

Accolades From All Over

Midnight Madness hasn't even kicked off yet and the Hoyas are already receiving accolades from all over.

First, Jay Bilas, who I regard as a smart man despite his unfortunate decision to attend that university in Durham, has published his list of potential Wooden Award candidates. Three Hoyas made the cut. While it isn't much of a shock to see Mr. Roy Hibbert as number 2 on the list (behind UNC's Tyler Hansbrough), I was pleasantly surprised to see Jonathan Wallace listed at number 20 and DaJuan Summers at number 43. You have to be happy for Wallace. He put a lot of faith in JTIII when he followed him from Princeton to The Hilltop with no real promises. He has worked hard to show that he belongs as part of a first-rate program and it's nice that the rest of the country is finally starting to realize that.

You can click here to see the entire list on Bilas's blog, but you need to be an ESPN Insider.

Luke Winn, one of my other favorite commentators, also recently published his list of the top front courts in the country for SI.com. Despite the loss of Jeff Green, Winn still has the Hoyas as the number one back court in the land.

How can the Hoyas still have the No. 1 frontcourt after losing Jeff
Green to the NBA? Because Summers, Green's replacement at the four, flashed
future-star potential during the '07 NCAA tournament and should have a strong
sophomore campaign. There's also the matter of a certain 7-2 monstrosity in the
paint. With Greg Oden gone, are there any centers left -- anywhere -- to match
up with Hibbert?

ESPNU To Televise Georgetown's Midnight Madness Celebration

It's time to fire up the old DVR. For those who can't make it to Midnight Madness this Friday, you can take solace in the fact that ESNPU will be broadcasting from McDonough Gymnasium from 11:00 p.m. to midnight this Friday. Lou Canellis and Bill Raftery will be covering the festivities on the Hilltop, which will include the raising of Georgetown's 2007 Final Four banner to the rafters. Let's see LSU or Duke show that to Mr. Monroe!


Georgetown is one of four schools that will be included in ESPNU's coverage of this year's Midnight Madness festivities. The other three are Memphis, Southern Illinois, and Davidson. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. at Davidson and ends at 1:30 a.m. at Southern Illinois.

Rivals: GU Leads for Mr. Monroe

The Monroe Doctrine could soon be enforced in the Phonebooth. Hopefully, the Hilltop makes quite an imperssion on Mr. Monroe during his visit.

Has Monroe Found A Fit?

Everything I'm hearing below the surface points to Georgetown as the leader. I'm not saying that's where Monroe will go, but I do believe Georgetown is the leader going into the visits. An extremely bright student, Monroe will place a heavy emphasis on academics. Georgetown certainly meets that criterion, although Georgetown isn't the only strong academic school on Monroe's list. In addition, Hoyas coach John Thompson III has made a positive impression on the Monroe camp. Lastly, Georgetown's Princeton-style offense fits Monroe's skill set perfectly. Monroe is comfortable working in the high post and is a terrific passer who can anchor this style of offense. It also doesn't hurt that Georgetown has a great track record for developing skilled post players.

Duke is right up there with Georgetown. Monroe has grown up admiring Duke's program, and Duke certainly has the academic reputation Monroe desires. I believe LSU has a lot of work to do on Monroe's upcoming visit. I have a feeling the Tigers still are in the hunt because of the pressure of them being the in-state school. I'd handicap Texas and Connecticut as dark horses in this race. Texas has the success of Kevin Durant to sell, and there is a Louisiana connection in Austin with DJ Augustin. UConn has spent a good deal of time recruiting Monroe, and UConn's ability to send players - specifically post players - to the NBA speaks for itself. All five schools have a legitimate shot at Monroe, but in the end I suspect it will come down to Georgetown and Duke.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=722758

Alan Iverson, Good Samaritan

There is nice story in the Colorado press about how Iverson helped two women who were in a car crash in Virginia. He not only helped them at the scene but also checked in on them at the hospital. And he never reported this to the press. Way to go, Answer.

Samaritan Iverson aids crash victims

Imagine the surprise of two women as Iverson crouched down in the median to find out if they were injured when their car flipped over along Interstate 64 near Hampton, Va. "I remember looking in there and asking them, 'Are you sure you're all right? Is anything broken or anything like that?' " Iverson said Monday. "One of them looked up and said, 'Oh, my God, are you Allen Iverson?' I was like, 'Yeah, but don't worry about that. We're trying to get you all out and make sure you're all right.' "
. . . .

In addition to being upside down, the car was smoking. Iverson told his friend who was driving to slow down so they could see if anyone was in the car. "It didn't look good," Iverson said. "I looked and seen them upside down. I said, 'Pull over. We got to see if those people are all right.' It was the right thing to do." The police and paramedics soon arrived and Iverson and his traveling party continued down the road. Later that night, they stopped at the hospital to check on the women. Iverson said he has not heard from the women since, but another woman who knew about the accident wrote a letter to the Philadelphia Daily News to commend Iverson for being a good Samaritan. "We, the public, seem to hear only the negative stories, but never the small acts of kindness he performs," wrote April Snoparsky, of Boston. "This story reaffirms my belief that just because he's 'street' doesn't mean he isn't one of the good guys."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_5712295,00.html

Ever wonder what Jester looks like?

This is a pretty good approximation, all the way down to the foam hand.

More on Monroe

Greg Monroe did an interview with the Times-Picayune in which he discussed each of his five options:

• About LSU, he said, "First of all, it's a state school. It's close. People who have come to LSU at my position have gone on and had success in the NBA."
• About Georgetown, Monroe said, "They have a very good coaching staff. (Thompson III) is a very smart coach. Their style of play and style of offense would probably be a very good fit for me. Nobody is confined to the post. You can touch the ball inside and at the top of the key and on the wing. That's appealing to me."
• About Duke, Monroe said, "Another great coach, an established coach (in Mike Krzyzewski). Duke has a history of producing good players and you have to look at their success. Their style of play is a little bit more up and down. It's very open and is appealing to me."
• About Texas, Monroe said, "It's a little bit closer (thank Georgetown, Duke or Connecticut) for one thing. They play an open style. Nobody has a certain position. They want you to get out moving and make plays. So their style of play is appealing, too."
• About Connecticut, Monre said, "Coach (Jim) Calhoun has a track record for getting people to the (NBA) league. He knows what it takes to get to the league. His offense is kind of like a pro-style offense. I really think he's a good coach. When he came to my home, I was comfortable with him."

http://blog.nola.com/tpsports/2007/09/monroe_narrows_choices_to_five.html

It is, of course, very difficult to read too much into these comments, but I like that Georgetown was the only program for which Mr. Monroe had a specific, contrasting observation. GU has a different style of play from all of the others. And I think that's a good thing. I'm a little worried about Texas, as it is closer to his hometown and has shown that it can highlight a superstar (see Durant, Kevin). That said, Monroe is supposedly more of a team-oriented player and thus should thrive in JTIII's offense. In any event, I take this as good news.

By the way, I just realized that we have forgotten to post that Chris Wright broke his foot last week. This must have been lost in all of the excitement over JTIII's new contract. I don't expect this to be a major deal. We are very deep at the guard position and he will most likely be back by the Memphis game, at the latest. Also, having see him play, I suspect that Chris will not have too much difficulty picking up the offense. He is quite adept at hitting backdoor cutters.

Madness Coming Soon To The Hilltop

Among a number of high-profile recruits who will be attending GU's midnight madness on October 12th will be none other than the consensus #1 recruit in the country, Greg Monroe. For a long time now, it has been reported that the Hoyas are a leader, if not in the lead, for Mr. Monroe's services. GU is really a perfect fit for him. He is a Jeff Green-type player, a versatile big man who can do it all, and unselfish to a fault according to some. JTIII can mold him into a top-5 pick, like he did Green. Further, Monroe is an excellent student and has stated that he wants to attend an academically competitive school. The other leaders all along have been Duke and LSU. Duke's profile is similar to GU's, but it doesn't have the Jeff Green model in place. LSU is his hometown school. Monroe has lined up visits for LSU for the weekend of October 5th and GU for midnight madness the following week. He has not scheduled visits with his other three finalists, Duke, UConn, and Texas. I can see the appeal of Duke and Texas, but I was really shocked that UConn made the list. Hopefully, he'll commit after he visits the Hilltop. Here is a local Louisiana newspaper's take:

Greg Monroe, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward from Helen Cox High School of Harvey, trimmed his recruiting list to five schools — LSU, Georgetown, Duke, Texas and Connecticut. Kansas, Baylor and Southern California were eliminated from the final pool of eight Monroe selected earlier this month. The No. 1-ranked player in the Class of 2008 by Rivalshoops.com and Scout.com, Monroe will make an official visit to LSU next weekend and follow that with an official trip to Georgetown Oct. 12-14. The other three official visits have not been set up, although Helen Cox coach Tyrone Mouzon said he expects Monroe to fill out his schedule soon. However, Mouzon also said it’s possible that Monroe could end the process if he arrives at a decision before he takes all the visits allotted by NCAA rules. Throughout his high-profile recruitment, Monroe has said he is leaning toward not signing a national letter of intent until the spring signing period. Mouzon said Monroe told him Friday he could sign during the early national signing period (Nov. 14-21).

"It could be early or it could be late," Mouzon said. "Whenever it feels right, Greg will make a decision and he’ll do so because he’s found all the answers he needs and feels comfortable. "Greg is just going through this at his own pace. He realizes what kind of position he’s in, and he knows he holds the cards. He’s not trying to hold anybody hostage; he just wants to think things out as thoroughly as he can." Monroe has been LSU’s top target from the Class of 2008 for more than three years. The 2007 Class 4A Outstanding Player and Mr. Louisiana Basketball, Monroe is considered a future NBA Draft lottery pick and is likely to play one or two years before heading to the pro level. As a junior last season, he averaged 19.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists per game and was voted all-state for a second straight year.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/10108586.html

Barker Says About $900K

Barker Davis reports in today's Washington Times that while financial terms of JTIII's extension have not yet been released, sources indicated that he will receive about $900,000 per year. That represents a doubling of his previous salary.

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/SPORTS/109280117/1005

FINALLY!

Men's Basketball Head Coach John Thompson III Signs Contract Extension

Sept. 27, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University announced today that Head Men's Basketball Coach John Thompson III has signed a 6 year extension, through 2013.

"Georgetown University appreciates Coach Thompson's leadership of the men's basketball program." University President Dr Jack DeGioia said. "Off the court, he is an esteemed all-around contributor to the University community and the City of Washington. He has done an outstanding job and this contract extension means he can continue to build upon the program's tradition of success for many years to come."

Athletic Director Bernard Muir said "We're all thrilled to know that the men's basketball program will continue to develop in Coach Thompson's most capable hands."

Coach Thompson said, "I'm extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to do something that I love to do at a place where I love to do it. I truly appreciate the confidence President DeGioia has shown in me and the support we've received from the fans and the university community. This institution provides a great environment for the development of young people as students, as athletes and as complete individuals. I'm glad to be a small part of that and will continue to work as hard as I possibly can while representing Georgetown."

John Thompson III, the 17th Head men's basketball coach in Georgetown University history, was named to the position on April 20th, 2004. Over three seasons he has led the Hoyas to a 72-30 record and trips to the 2005 NIT Quaterfinals, the 2006 NCAA Sweet 16 and, last season, the BIG EAST Conference regular season title, the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and the NCAA Final Four. He was the 2007 National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year and was named the Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

Prior to Georgetown, Thompson was the Head Coach of the Princeton Tigers from 2000- 2004, where he won three Ivy League championships. From 1995 to 2000 Thompson served as an assistant coach at Princeton, his alma mater.

http://guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/092707aaa.html

Hoyas Lead For Deshonte Riley

i95ballerz.com is reporting that the Hoyas are in the lead for the services of 2009 Michigan big man Deshonte Riley. http://www.i95ballerz.com/story%20-%20deshonte%20riley.html

Riley, who is 6'10, 220 lbs, told them in a recent interview that the Hoyas lead Michigan State, Michigan, Kansas, Memphis and Ohio State. He stated: "I grew up a big Hoya fan and I plan to visit them for their Midnight Madness in October." Midnight Madness visits are always a VERY good sign and often presage commitments.

Riley is ranked #13 in his class by Rivals. Both Rivals and Scout list him as a 5 star recruit. He would certainly be a nice way to kick off the class of 2009, which everyone keeps saying is loaded with talent. For more information about Mr. Riley, please visit http://www.dashonteriley.org/.

Practice Facility On The Way

As has been hinted to in this blog for quite awhile, the University has decided to give JTIII his practice facility. The Hoya confirmed this morning that it will go where the tennis courts currently are located. Why so close to McDonough, you ask. Well, I can only hope that the plans put forth by the Hughs Group (see below) and Brailsford and Dunlavey don't become an issue for the neighbors. Anyway, this is certainly good news.

University Proposes Athletics Facility

The university recently proposed the construction of a new athletic practice facility, which, if approved by the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission next month, may bring Georgetown’s largely criticized athletic facilities closer to being on par with those of its Big East competitors. The proposal comes after months of discussions between university administrators concerning the plans. University spokesperson Julie Bataille said the university plans to erect a 90,000-square-foot, five-story facility on the site of the university’s tennis courts, near McDonough Gymnasium. The facility would house locker rooms, a sports medicine department, weight-training facilities, coaches’ and administrative offices and a basketball court, University Architect Alan Brangman said during a recent Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, according to The Georgetown Current. The facility would primarily be used by the men’s basketball team and would help to consolidate the athletic department, Brangman said. “There’s a strong belief that we would do much better if the locker rooms and offices were all located in one building, rather than subdivided,” Brangman said in the article. The proposal is set to be voted on by the ANC on Oct. 2 and D.C.’s Zoning Commission on Oct. 22. The university anticipates that construction of the project would commence after the completion of the new science facility, which is tentatively scheduled for 2010. Georgetown hopes to be granted a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certificate, which is awarded to the owners of environmentally friendly buildings, the article said.

http://www.thehoya.com/news/092107/news2.cfm

One would assume that this has been the reason for the delay in finalizing JTIII's extension. Let's hope we hear about that soon too! There has been no word on how this will be funded, but presumably the Board of Directors has already given it a green light. I suppose they figure the University won't have any trouble raising sufficient funds over the next three years. I know that the VBBs will certainly step up!

Online Gambling Fatality

Johnny Shades - Be careful . . .


http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/17/internet.death.ap/index.html

2007-08 Schedule Released

2007-2008 SCHEDULE ( Click on an event for complete event information )

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time/Result
11/10/07	vs. William & Mary	Verizon Center	12:00 p.m. ET
11/15/07	vs. Michigan	Verizon Center	7:30 p.m. ET
11/21/07	at Ball State	Worthen Arena	7:00 p.m. ET
11/28/07	at Old Dominion	Convocation Center	TBA
12/01/07	vs. Fairfield	Verizon Center	1:00 p.m. ET
BIG EAST/SEC Invitational
12/05/07	at Alabama	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center	7:00 p.m. ET
12/09/07	vs. Jacksonville	Verizon Center	1:00 p.m. ET
12/15/07	vs. Radford	McDonough Arena	7:30 p.m. ET
12/22/07	at Memphis	Fedex Forum	12:00 p.m. ET
12/29/07	vs. American	Verizon Center	1:00 p.m. ET
12/31/07	vs. Fordham	Verizon Center	2:00 p.m. ET
01/05/08	at Rutgers	Rutgers Athletic Center	TBA
01/08/08	at DePaul	Allstate Arena	TBA
01/12/08	vs. Connecticut	Verizon Center	2:00 p.m. ET
01/14/08	at Pittsburgh	Petersen Center	7:00 p.m. ET
01/19/08	vs. Notre Dame	Verizon Center	TBA
01/21/08	vs. Syracuse	Verizon Center	7:00 p.m. ET
01/26/08	at West Virginia	Morgantown Coliseum	7:00 p.m. ET
01/30/08	at St. John's	Madison Square Garden	TBA
02/02/08	vs. Seton Hall	Verizon Center	TBA
02/05/08	vs. USF	Verizon Center	TBA
02/09/08	at Louisville	Freedom Hall	9:00 p.m. ET
02/11/08	vs. Villanova	Verizon Center	7:00 p.m. ET
02/16/08	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome	12:00 p.m. ET
02/18/08	at Providence	Dunkin Donuts Center	4:00 p.m. ET
02/23/08	vs. Cincinnati	Verizon Center	TBA
02/27/08	vs. St. John's	Verizon Center	TBA
03/01/08	at Marquette	Bradley Center	2:00 p.m. ET
03/08/08	vs. Louisville	Verizon Center	12:00 p.m. ET

Road Trip

Someday this blog needs to have an offsite in Kinderhook, NY...

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/travel/escapes/24trip.html?em&ex=1188100800&en=b7b60c985c379347&ei=5087%0A

5 To Win It All

The Sporting News has write-ups on the five college basketball teams it thinks could win a national championship next year. Along with Georgetown, it lists Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA. Here's the Georgetown entry:

Georgetown

Required NBA-type talent: C Roy Hibbert, SF DaJuan Summers, SG Austin Freeman, PG Chris Wright.
Perimeter shooting: Absolutely. For a big freshman, Summers did a nice job in this department. Jonathan Wallace is accurate and makes them under pressure. But no one else is a volume shooter.
Size and power: Starting with 7-2 Hibbert, maybe more than any other contender.
Breakdown scorer: Georgetown did not have this sort of player last year, although Jeff Green was very clever at creating opportunities because of his ballhandling skill. Freeman might be the guy.
Point guard play: Not a strength. The Hoyas rely a lot on the Princeton system, which does not demand the point guard be creative. But if Wright can squeeze into the lineup crowded with Wallace and Jessie Sapp, he might provide this kind of spark.
X-factor: Can you win a championship playing Princeton ball? Well, yeah, you can win the Ivy League. And Georgetown proved you can win the Big East. Can you win it all, though? Or does the system ultimately stifle the greatest talents?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=Ai.rbQYF1UAEqIWXudfWfwXevbYF?slug=ourpickforchampionisamon&prov=tsn&type=lgns

I have a few quibbles with this. First, and most obviously, after a Final Four appearance last year, there is no way that anyone can ask the question: "Can you win a championship playing Princeton ball?" We were two games from doing so last year. And why in the heck can an offense that permits you to win a Big East Championship and a Big East Regular Season Championship not permit the team to win a national championship. That's just silly. Also, how can you pencil Freeman and Wright in as NBA talent, and then claim that guard play is a problem? Finally, Wright is going to be a breakdown scorer before Freeman. Not that Freeman can't get to the hoop, but he won't really do so in a classic "breakdown."

Ball State Update

After getting kicked around in the local and national press for a few months now, Ronny has come out swinging with a Michael Wilbon article today in the Washington Post. I think most people recognize Wilbon as a pretty fair guy, so if he's seen the evidence and is convinced, I wouldn't be surprised if a jury would see it similarly. I imagine this will be settled out of court, but as they say, the plot thickens.

Picture Becomes Clearer At Ball State, and It's Not Pretty

There are people at Ball State who want you to believe everything that went wrong is Ronny Thompson's fault. They tell folks Thompson is arrogant and distant and a bad basketball coach. They tell you Thompson didn't extend himself to the booster club. They point to a new black coach as indication that everything's hunky-dory on campus and that Thompson's claims of a racially hostile environment are bogus, despite the coach's photos of hateful signs laying on the floor of what used to be his office. What they don't tell you is that the Ball State athletic program was already dealing with a selling-books-for-profit scandal that suggested to the NCAA a lack of institutional control and took place long before Ronny Thompson was hired. Some of these same Ball State people aren't forthcoming with the fact that the basketball team had only five players when Thompson arrived and was told by his boss to pass on cocktail parties and concentrate on recruiting. They don't tell you that they didn't even have basketballs for practice or that the players weren't going to class. They don't tell you Ronny's wife was so worried about the expression of racial hostility that she put her two children in the car and drove from the Ball State campus in Muncie, Ind., to Chicago. They don't tell you that Thompson and his attorney allege the violation of federal civil rights laws, state civil rights laws and the school's own equal employment opportunity policies. And they certainly don't tell you that Thompson, at the insistence of his suspicious pop, Big John, kept a detailed diary of every meeting and phone call, with quotes, notes, times and supporting e-mails. He has photos, tape recordings and memos that he shared on a recent afternoon while telling his story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081301102.html?hpid=sec-sports

Reggie Miller a Boston Celtic????

If this happens, Boston will move in one season from the youngest team in the league to probably the oldest. See http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2966170

Another Rivers? Another Austin?

Interesting tidbit from Jeremiah Rivers about his brother's basketball ability. I imagine JTIII will monitor his development.

Georgetown guard Jeremiah Rivers was as excited as anyone when the Boston Celtics landed Kevin Garnett earlier in the week. Rivers’ father is Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Jeremiah also said that his little brother, 15-year-old Austin, is the real deal. "He’s 6-foot-2 and can shoot lights out. He’s kind of like Austin Freeman."

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox/2007/08/03/COLLEGE_HOOP_CALENDAR_NEEDS_BREAK

Clark Shines in Las Vegas

NBADraft.net has posted its list of the top 20 performers from the 2007 RBK Summer Championships. As has been reported here, the duo of Chris Braswell and Jason Clark performed very well. But Clark's performance earned him a spot on NBADraft's top 20.

17. Jason Clark 6'3 PG Woodbridge, VA. (DC Triple Threat) Georgetown has always loved long, athletic guards that can defend. They found a gem in Jason Clark. He showed in Vegas that he does have an offensive game. Strong with the bounce, end to end speed, decent jumper but where he excels is defensively. And not just quick hands or anticipation either...but a true lock down defender with excellent footwork. Future Big East defensive player of the year.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2007lasvegas005.asp