Georgetown Doesn't Need (All Of) Run DMV

This season is not like last year.

Bouncing back from a 1-3 start in the Big East to win 3 consecutive games? Color me as impressed. Remembering those 3 wins were over Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. John's? Ehhhhh.....moving on......

Going on the road to beat  a #7 ranked Nova team? Intriguing.
Winning that game while getting 0 points and a horrendous contribution from your 2nd best player? Hmmm...


Following that huge road win by defeating #13 Louisville 2 days later? Fully revitalizing.
Winning that game while getting 2 points from your 2nd-leading scorer?  I'm back on the bandwagon!

This should have been a letdown game, a chance for the Hoyas to reveal that the Nova game was a fluke. Not so, and a solid statement against a team that has been playing well. The win puts the Hoyas a measly 0.5 game back of 2nd in the messy Big East standings. Beating Providence on Saturday to cap a perfect week should move Georgetown into about a 4-seed.

Once again, the story was that Run DMV did not need to be firing on all cylinders to beat a top-15 team. This was an ugly contest with turnovers galore, but the fact that the Hoyas can survive a night when Run DMV is just Run DM/DV/MV means that this team will be really dangerous come tourney time. Not only will teams be unable to focus on stopping one of Jason Clark, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman, but I previously thought a minor injury or even foul trouble for any part of Run DMV could derail this team's season.

Looking ahead, the Hoyas have 8 games left before the Big East tournament, 3 of which are against ranked opponents (twice against Syra****, and once against UConn). The way the Hoyas are playing though, I would actually feel confident in every one of those games, even as tough as C*** is at home.

The fact that I can look ahead with excitement is a dramatic change from just 3 weeks ago when this team was seemingly in a black hole of suck. The Hoyas brought us to the brink, but it have got me fully back on board.

(Image courtesy of usatoday.com)

Hoyas Bounce Back - Don't Sleep on 'Em

This blog has been devoid of Georgetown Hoyas posts for a bit, but that is understandable given the team's 1-4 start to Big East play, including losses to St. Johns and West Virginia (at home). Call me crazy, but after a loss lopsided loss to then #5 Pitt, this was looking a little too much like last season, when the Hoyas completely collapsed against Big East foes.

I think it is safe to say that the 1-4 conference start was a blip.

The boys have rolled off 4 consecutive wins, culminating in today's gritty win over #7 Villa-no-fun.The Wildcats may be down right now after losing big to Providence, but the Hoyas were on the road, held the lead for most of the game, and won despite an atrocious performance from Chris Wright in which he had 0 points(!), 4 assists, 4 turnovers, and generally looked unsure of himself while getting trapped by the Nova D several times.Good thing his teammate is Austin Freeman.

I can give you all sorts of fancy analysis, but today was all about the Big East preseason player of the year. Freeman he scored 30 of the Hoyas' 69 points, while shooting 10-19 from the field, a perfect 8-8 from the line, and took over the ball handling duties when Wright struggled. This was a slow-paced, low-scoring game, but the fact that Jason Clark's 10 points made him the only other Hoya in double figures should be all you need to know. Julian Vaughn played a great game, as did Nate Lubick, but Freeman carried the day.

This win puts the Hoyas right back in the Big East mix thanks to several other upsets in the conference. A big test comes Monday night, when the Hoyas host Louisville. One can only imagine what a win would do for this team's confidence, let alone Big East ranking and bracketology.  Joe Lunardi had the Hoyas as a 7-seed coming into this week, but they should be solidly back on the 4-5 line after a perfect week, and beating Louisville and Providence next week.....I'm getting ahead of myself.

I think the greater takeaway from this game game is that if Freeman is on top of his game, this team can survive a poor performance from at least 1 member of Run DMV and beat a good team. That 'depth' will be extremely dangerous come tourney time.

(Image courtesy of abcnews.go.com)

Georgetown Looks Like Fail

So much for a top-5 RPI ranking and 'regular' top-10 ranking for the Hoyas. Tonight's game versus Temple was not good. The Hoyas were flummoxed by the Temple defense. Yeah I said it....flummoxed...

 It was not so much just chaos and sloppiness, but the Hoyas, as Jay Bilas said, 'looked like they were moving in sand.' There were no backdoor cuts and not a lot of going to the hoop. The open man consistently was Julian Vaughn, who is the weakest offensive starter, and definitely not part of Run DMV. The Hoyas seemed to play into Temple's hands by taking looong 3s and feeding Vaughn going 1-on-1 against Lavoy Allen, the Owls' best defender. Jason Clark from deep was about the only thing going well.

Even with the Hoyas just looking bad on offense, I was surprised at how feeble Temple looked. They are not particularly talented, and really had only 1 guy on offense who could create anything on his own and wound up scoring almost half of their points. Defensively, it wasn't as though they were particularly strong, quick, or John Wall sneaky. Most of all, they were possibly the worst shooting team I have ever seen in NCAA division 1 men's basketball, just waaay off on many open 3s and jumpers.

My greatest frustration for the night is that the Hoyas played defense too aggressively. I don't know where to get points in the paint stats, but Temple had far too many. The Hoyas could have simply sluffed in and forced Temple to make long shots and drive to the basket, 2 things the Owls were incapable of doing with any success. To Temple's credit, they moved the ball well at times, and made Gtown pay for mistakes, but the Hoyas should have not been making those mistakes.

I think the big teaching from tonight though, is again that Chris Wright is the team's most important player. The zone took away his ability to drive to the basket, and rendered him pretty ineffective. Clark shooting 3s and Freeman forcing some stuff was all the Hoyas could get, nothing easy; it actually reminds me a lot of watching the Wizards without John Wall. Before this game, I simply thought at least 2 of 3 Run DMV members had to  be playing well for the Hoyas, but it clearly all depends on Wright - the entire offense feeds off him. It is a lot of pressure, but in a year in which the Hoyas have a shot at doing something special, Wright needs to put his stamp on this NCAA season. 

(Image courtesy of www.kansascity.com)

Gritty Hoyas Make a Statement - Are they Title Contenders?

College basketball's season is decided in March, but that didn't stop Georgetown and Missouri from playing an incredible game with a Big Dance feeling tonight. Fast-paced, close, intense, and well-played.

 

Despite the rankings (#8 to #16) and Vegas line (Tigers by 1.5) favoring Mizzou , this seemed like a favorable matchup for the Hoyas. A well-coached disciplined team with heady ball handlers should be able to handle the Mizzou press, and I think the phrase, 'A well-coached disciplined team with heady ball handlers' is exactly how I'd describe this year's Hoyas.

Now Missouri's ranking may be a little misleading, as they haven't beaten any half-decent team so far: 3 of their 5 wins have been against teams named the Ospreys, Leathernecks, or Explorers. That said, this is still one of the best teams in the country, and as I learned tonight, one with an amazing home court advantage. This was technically a 'neutral court' that just so happened to be situated about and hour and a half from the Mizzou campus, but the fans made it clear who's side they were on. Not only were the16,000+ fans loud, but Mizzou's aggressive defensive style put the refs in a lot of tough positions, and during a home game a lot of those 50/50 calls will go Mizzou's way.

The Hoya start was reminiscent of the glory that was last year's Duke game. The Tiger press was hopeless and Gtown was knocking everything down en route to an 18 point lead. Mizzou got their act together, seized momentum, and chiseled the lead down to 7 by the half - which is about the time I started biting my nails. Mizzou seemed to carry momentum through the 2nd half, but only took their first lead more than midway through the 2nd half. The Hoyas seemed doomed at the point to a quality road loss, but managed the improbable with Chris Wright sinking a last second 3 to send the game to OT. 5 minutes more? Yes please. Jason Clark took it from there, sinking 3 triples in the extra period to make the last 2.5 minutes of overtime pretty comfortable.

I don't know that tonight taught me as much about the Hoyas as it reinforced several beliefs. The team was rudderless without Wright against the Mizzou D, which is why he played 45 minutes. Clark and Freeman put up the bigger numbers, but Wright was and has been the team MVP thusfar. You could almost predict the Mizzou runs because they happened as soon as Wright stepped off the court. It is times like this when I wish gameflows were available for NCAA games, as Wright's +/- has to be fantastic.

I also already knew that the bench is very weak. Fortunately, Mizzou plays a tiny lineup, so Gtown's preference for 3 guards, 1 very small forward, and a center was not a problem. Against a 'normal' team, Julian Vaughan, Nate Lubick, and Henry Sims could be roasted. And even though there are a lot of guards getting minutes for the Hoyas, there is a huuuge dropoff after the big 3. They all looked hesitant out there, and I am once again curious as to the +/- of the big 3. I wish I could say Starks and Lubick will suddenly 'get it', but I just don' think that's happening this year.

This team is 1 injury to any of the big 3 away from being pretty mediocre, but this was an awesome win. Standing up to a hostile crowd and top-10 team makes this one of the best wins in all of college basketball this season to date. The Hoyas cruised to the 18 point lead, but absolutely gutted this one out from there. Mizzou got away with a lot junk on defense, but the Hoyas didn't complain and got equally physical on their defensive side at the end of the game. Not only are there no teams in the Big East that particularly scare me, but there are no teams in the entire NCAA outside of Duke that appear definitely better than the Hoyas right now. 

If Wright, Freeman, and Clark can stay healthy and don't get worn-down from heavy minutes, this could be a season to remember in DC.

(Image courtesy of the AP, via washingtonpost.com)

Hoyas Clear a Hurdle - Wait Who?

College basketball anyone?

In the shadows of this McNabb character and the doomed Redskin season, the Georgetown Hoyas have gotten off to an important start. 2-0 is nothing to scream about, especially when one of the wins is over Tulane, but the Hoyas went on the road in game #1 and beat a frisky Old Dominion team.

ODU's nickname is the Monarchs, the same as a former WNBA team, so maybe can creep up on people thanks to that (and yes, I was unaware the Monarchs franchise no longer exists until I found that link, cross my heart). But they have been a solid squad for a few years, and were an 11-seed in last year's NCAAs. These same manly Monarchs have been a thorn in the Hoyas side, beating them in 2 of their last 3 meetings, including last year to snap an 8-game Hoyas win streak to start the season, and 2 games after Gtown beat almost-champion Butler.

The manly Monarchs may be down a little this year, but going there on the road and winning is no joke. Sure, an early loss isn't a huge deal, but the Hoyas have a tough out-of-conference schedule this year, where we travel to #14 Missouri, #20 Temple, and #19 Memphis all by December 23rd. There is no Duke on the schedule, but that is a gauntlet. Opening with a loss to ODU could have set a really bad tone and put this team in an irreversible spin.

Given that I completely skipped a preview, here is all you need to know. The Hoyas return everyone except Greg Monroe. Yes, he was the team's best player and a lottery pick, but Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark are back, and the team might be ever so slightly deeper thanks to some maturing players and the addition of freshman Nate Lubick. Local product Markel Starks and Moses Ayegba (who as a raw semi-unknown African big man sounds like he's the guy from the Air Up There) combine to form the rest of the recruiting class, but neither will see major minutes this year. Preseason awards are beyond stupid, but Freeman is the Big East Preseason Player of the year, and Wright is preseason 2nd team All-Big East. More importantly, the Hoyas are picked to finish 4th in the conference behind #5 Pitt, #6 Villanova, and #10 Syracuse.

So what do I predict for the Hoyas this year? The team is still thin, with no scoring coming from outside the Wright, Freeman, Clark trio, so an injury to any of them would be devastating. I think the #20 ranking sounds about right, which would be a #5 seed in the NCAAs. Just quickly looking at the rankings, I see a few teams ahead of the Hoyas who I don't think are as good as the AP, ESPN, and US Today say they are, but I also am not totally buying Gtown's stock yet. I think they'll be 20-8 overall going into the Big East tournament, which is almost identical to last year's 20-9 record, and get a 5th seed in the tourney. Ho hum.

The bigger picture is that Wright, Freeman, and Julian Vaughn are all seniors, so next year's team looks awful, with Clark the only surefire good player. Unless Lubick makes a sudden dramatic improvement, this program will take a major step backward, as the recruiting class is not highly ranked while St. John's, 'Cuse, Louisville, and Rutgers (?) all have top-20 classes right now.

JT3's work the past couple seasons has left a little something to be desired, so a step backward could be a major problem. He will get plenty of slack, but this program can't go into a multi-year swoon. I think the Hoyas' performance this season could have a far-reaching impact on JT3 and the team's immediate next few season; an underachieving season just can't happen.

(Image courtesy of washingtonpost.com)

Hoyas Preseason #1 in 2011?

Before the season, I made a preseason prediction that was pretty pissy after last year's turd-sandwich that landed the Hoyas in the NIT. Well you know what? I was pretty damn close with that pissy prediction. I had the Hoyas at 19-11, 5th in the Big East, and a 9th seed in the NCAA tourney. Taking out the last 4 games of the season, the Hoyas went 23-11, were 7th in the Big East, and a 3rd seed in the NCAA tourney. So what do I win for my amazing prediction ability? A depressing, angering, nauseating loss to Ohio in the 1st round of the tourney.......

The game against Ohio was somewhat symbolic of one of the team's biggest problem: that its biggest star has been unable to take over games when he needs to do so. Ohio had no one capable of guarding Greg Monroe, and his stat line ended up looking pretty good, but he should have been force fed down-low. Just a frustrating game, although I can't say I'm too unhappy looking back now, as I wasn't overly optimistic heading into the season.

Which brings me to where my excitement has now been focused......next year's preseason #1 ranked Georgetown Hoyas! For those of you who didn't hear, Greg Monroe stated that he wants to come back next year, despite being a projected lottery pick. We've all had these as famous last words for collegiate athletes, but let's say Monroe's emotions weren't masking his true intentions. The Hoyas do not have single senior on the team, so will bring everyone back barring someone entering the draft. The Hoyas were ranked #14 or 15 going into the tournament, and although we did not live up to that lofty #3 seed, must still be considered about as good as our ranking.

Now look at the teams ahead of us and think how decimated they will be by the draft and graduation; Kansas might lose their 3 best players, Kentucky its best 3, if not 4, players, Syracuse 3 starters, OSU Evan Turner, WVA Da'Sean Butler, etc. My research yielded that the only team ranked ahead of the Hoyas not losing a top-5 scorer is the Butler Bulldogs. Butler has ZERO shot at the #1 preseason ranking and lost to the Hoyas this year, so the teams to worry about are actually Duke, Syracuse, and Ohio State, because they have all done some incredible recruiting. I specifically think Duke will be the other top ranked team, thanks to bringing back Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, and snagging 2 of the top 18 recruits in the country according to the ESPNU 100.

That said, unless Smith and Singler have incredible tournaments and stay at Duke for next season, no team will have a group as good as the Monroe-Wright-Freeman trio, and the Hoyas will likely have the best starting lineup in the country as well, with a couple recruits to finally build some depth.

We all know what a #1 preseason ranking and being the #1 team earns you in the tourney:

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves.

(Image courtesy of a.espncdn.com and research courtesy of espn.com)

Obama is a Hoya Fan!

For those of you not watching, Obama and Biden are courtside right now for the Georgetown-Duke game at the Verizon Center. I can't find any photos of him from today's game yet, so had to settle for this one.

Highlight of the game so far? Well, aside from the Hoyas being up 13 at the half and shooting 77% thus far, Biden mouthing "Call timeout" over Barack in the direction of the Duke bench with the Hoyas on a run and Krzyzewski trying to let the Dookies 'play it out'.

The Sports Bog was all over Barack's potential appearance yesterday, but nothing was confirmed until the leader of the free world actually walked in the doors.

Is Maryland jealous? I'm pretty sure they'd trade Obama's rooting interest for this potential beatdown of the Dookies.

(Image courtesy of frmarkdwhite.files.wordpress.com)

Hoya!!

6-0 against a bunch of all-girls schools was expected, even after last year's disaster. But as anyone paying any attention to college basketball this past week would know, the Hoyas just beat 2 of the top 20 or so teams in the country, and are a perfect 8-0 and now ranked #11. Greg Monroe was on the front page of espn.com after dropping 24 and 15 on Butler, and is again on the front page of of the college basketball section of espn.com for being Andy Katz's player of the week.

The only supposed blemish on the resume thus far is a close win over Temple at home, but the Owls are 8-2, with losses against St. Johns and us, and a win over Nova yesterday. To me, that just looks like a quality win, giving us 3 for the year already.

The next couple games are against ODU and Harvard, so 10-0 is almost certain entering conference play. That said, I still have my concerns. We are only playing 6 guys, and although we are ranked as the 11th best team in the country, we are only the #4 ranked team in our conference!

I said in the preseason that Monroe would need to take a huge leap forward for this team to do anything, and right now he might be taking that leap. Too bad this will be the last year we get to watch him.

(Image courtesy of blog.syracuse.com)

Hoyas Early Summer...err...Season Preview

This was originally posted by Marion's Crackpipe on the 4th of June, 2009. Yet, because of time constraints, effort constraints...well, you get the picture. We were just too lazy to do another. So here is your #21 ranked Georgetown Hoyas Season Preview. Enjoy the outdated summer references, because it's about to get pretty damn cold pretty damn fast.


It’s June November and you know what that means. It’s time to talk Hoya basketball! After a season that started with promise (12-3), and finished with pain (16-15 !!), questions abound. Like how do you lose to St. John’s and Cincinnati (twice) with a talented lineup that also beat UConn, Syra****, and Memphis?

Let’s start with the good. The Hoyas return 3 of their 5 best players, including the biggest recruit to come to DC since Allen Iverson, center Greg Monroe. With Austin Freeman and Chris Wright starting, and Jason Clark coming off the bench, the backcourt is in capable hands. Inside, Monroe is a flat-out stud and the key to G’town success as long as he stays on the court. That was quick.

Now the bad……………:

1. Dajuan Summers is going pro. I think you can find his name under “2nd round pick” in the dictionary, but thanks to this pathetic draft class (“…and with the 5th pick, the Wizards select my left testicle…”) he is probably going to go late first round. Good for him I guess, but if he’d stayed another year he’d be better off and so would the Hoyas. His horrible 2nd half killed his draft stock and he needs to stay in school to learn another language or two, because the only place he’s playing long-term is Europe.
   
   
2. Transfers. Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers last year, and now Omar Wattad (you know times are tough when Omar Wattad makes the season preview). I love JT3, but having 3 players transfer in 2 years is not a good sign for a coach on a team lacking depth. True, Rivers can’t shoot and Wattad just plain stinks, but Macklin would start on this year’s team.
   
   
3. Recruiting. Take a gander through the ESPNU 100 for this year. Strangely lacking in Hoyas, isn’t it? Rivals.com ranks their top recruit Hollis Thompson #63 in their list of 150, and the other 2 recruits aren’t exactly world-beaters. Seriously, why can’t JT3 bag a couple local studs? #63 Is the best he can do!?! Besides, his name sounds like a certain former Iggles d-lineman and that makes me queasy. The 2010 class is shaping up well though, and I can only hope that they get the chance to play with Monroe before his inevitable NBA ascent.

Overall, things look bleak for ’09-‘10 unless Monroe makes the leap and becomes a top-5 player in the nation. Hoping for that kind of improvement from a guy with a questionable work-ethic, is a huge…wait for it….leap. The biggest thing in Georgetown’s favor is that Syra****, Pitt, UConn, and Louisville all lost their best players. The downside is that ‘Nova is a national title contender this year and they, in addition to UConn and Louisville, actually find ways to replenish their talent. After last year’s debacle, just avoiding the NIT would be a success.

Season Prediction: 19-11, 5th in Big East, 8 Seed in NCAA Tournament
-Marion's Crackpipe