WITH HOYA SEASON OVER, JTIII HITS RECRUITING TRAIL

March 18, 2009


As reported yesterday by Ron Bailey for the NBE Basketball Report in his Maryland State Final Four Player Notes Springbook senior forward Jamal Olasewere left quite an impression on observers in leading his team to a state championship by averaging 24.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in the two games on the Comcast Center floor. One very interested onbserver was Georgetown head coach John Thompson III who returned for the finals to get a second look at the 6-foot-5+, 200-lb Olasewere. According to the Recruiting Insider at the Washington Post, Olasewere Will Visit Georgetown either later this week or early next week.

Long Island, Fairleigh Dickson and Hartford, among others have shown recent interest and Ron Bailey noted in yesterday's article that Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac have offered previously.

Another under the radar player has the Hoyas very much in the mix and that is Lexington (KY) Catholic senior Vee Sanford. The 6-foot-3 guard averages 22.3 points a game and has visited Bradley and soon will visit Georgetown. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal article, Sanford is expecting John Thompson III and South Florida head coach Stan Heath at practice this week to see him in action. It will not be the first trip for JTIII to see Sanford practice.

Read more!

GEORGETOWN LOOKS TO START MIRACLE BET RUN

March 10, 2009


For the second time in a week, Georgetown and St. John's meet at Madison Square Garden. The Hoyas will hope for a different result this time around after dropping a 59-56 overtime decision to the Redstorm after letting a double-difit second-half lead slip away. The game was a microgosm of the Hoya season that has gone so wrong the last two months.

St. John's is back in the Big East Tournament on their home floor at Madison Square Garden, although they will be in the road uniforms as the 13th-seed taking on No. 12 Georgetown.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

Norm Roberts, St. John's Back to Make Big East Tournament (NY Daily News)
St. John's Faces Georgetown in Big East Tournament (Newsday.com)
A Staggering Season (Washington Times)
Hoyas Hope for Big East Miracle (Washington Post)

In their loss a week ago to the Redstorm, Georgetown was outrebounded 54-31. It has been the theme all season as the Hoyas have been pummelled in the paint by Big East counterparts. What has made this so shocking was how the Big East season started, with Georgetown going into Connecticut and waxing the Huskies, 74-63. They played with passion, intensity and out-rebounded UConn solidly. After an offensive clinic in a win over Syracuse, the Hoyas were a top 10 team and nobody could foresee what was next...

Georgetown limps into the Big East Tournament after losing 10 of their last 14 games and seeing their 2009 NCAA Tournament hopes resort to Georgetown pulling off an improbably run of five wins in five nights against some of the toughest competition in America.

In their last 14 games, only one of the 10 losses came against teams in the top four of the Big East (Louisville) as they did not play either Pitt or UConn in that span. One of their wins was at Villanova, but they followed that win with a loss to St. John's. That is the Hoya season in the Big East.

St. John's will certainly enter the game this afternoon with some confidence, although they are still being shown little love by the oddsmakers who have listed the Hoyas as a solid 5 1/2-point favorite according to the early college basketball odds this morning.

In the win over GU on March 3rd, Paris Horne and Ron Thomas each had 16 points. The SJU defense kept the Hoyas in check all game, which is a common theme. Georgetown has not scored more than 58 points in a game in their last four outings.

With a traditional Big East rivalry and the 'home' team making their tourney experience, this game should have a little extra life to it. The Georgetown offensive struggles will make this one to watch as it is hard to see them putting much distance between themselves and the Redstorm, especially the way SJU will rebound and play with some life, something we are not sure Georgetown has much of left.

The talent on Georgetown should be enough to pull the game out, but it is likely to be a close game, again.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 63
St. John's 59

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ GEORGETOWN

March 7, 2009


Georgetown will look to avoid being the ‘one’, the ‘only one’ this time. Three years ago, in the last regular season game of the year, Georgetown lost at South Florida and the Bulls avoided a Big East o-fer with the win.

This year, on the season finale, DePaul, who is 0-17, will make their last play of the season for a conference win and it will come at Georgetown.

The Hoyas have been one of the biggest disappointments, especially since they knocked off UConn to open conference play and climbed into the top 10 of the national rankings. It has been a steep free fall since they were 3-2 in the Big East and coming off an impressive win over Syracuse. The Hoyas are now 6-11 in the Big East and likely headed to an 11th place finish in the conference.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

What Happens to College Coaches Who Can’t Win a Conference Game (Daily Herald)
Sapp Departs as Georgetown’s Heart & Soul (Washington Times)
Wainwright Under Fire, But DePaul AD Preaches Patience (Southtown Star)

Georgetown will look to avoid the season’s biggest embarrassment and keep DePaul winless in the Big East. The Hoyas certainly have the talent to do so, even with Austin Freeman banged up.

Chris Wright should find the match-up with the DePaul backcourt to his liking and Greg Monroe and DaJuan Summers should dominate the Blue Demons frontcourt.

DePaul has been getting a big scoring lift from Will Walker and Dar Tucker continues to put up big offensive numbers, but Walker’s surge seems to have come at the expense of any interior production, an area that if lacking makes wins in the Big East hard to come by, especially on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 73
DePaul 55

Read more!

HOYAS WATCH LEAD, NCAA DREAMS EVAPORATE IN LOSS

March 4, 2009


Even with their win over Villanova last weekend, an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was a severe longshot for Georgetown. The Hoyas still might have had a chance with factors such as the #1 rated schedule in the country, road wins against UConn and 'Nova and a little momentum with expected wins over St. John's and DePaul heading into the 2009 Big East Tournament where anything could happen if the Hoyas picked off another win or two, which wouldn't have been that unheard of.

Instead, In the End, Hoyas Just Fade Away (Washington Post), blowing a 15-point second half lead as St. John's Rallies, Forces OT and Tops Georgetown (Newsday), 59-56, in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.

The Hoyas led 45-30 with 10:42 left in regulation before the Storm embarked on their comeback. Georgetown looked like they were going to run over SJU, racing away from a two-point lead at the half, 31-29, with an early run as the Redstorm seemed like they could not get out of their own way. The 21-6 run was completed with a pair of Rob Thomas free throws with 2.3 seconds left to force overtime.

The St. John's Comeback Stuns Georgetown (SNY.tv) and a Justin Burrell dunk with 10 seconds remianing in OT provided the final score as a DaJuan Summers desperation three-pointer was off the mark.

The Hoyas played without starting small forward Austin Freeman who suffered a hip-pointer in practice Monday. However, the major problem again was toughness as St. John's dominated Georgetown on the class, outrebounding the Hoyas 46-25.

Greg Monroe had a agme-high 18 for Georgetown. It was the Hoyas' 10th loss in their last 13 games and is likely to send the Hoyas, who were once ranked in the top 10 in the country, onto the NIT.

Read more!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: GEORGETWON @ ST. JOHN'S

March 3, 3009


It really is pretty far-fetched, but following a 56-54 road win at Villanova on Saturday, the Georgetown Hoyas Hold Out Hope (Washington Times) that their postseason chances have been resurrected.

With tonight's game against St. John's, on the road, and their regular season finale at home on Saturday against DePaul, they have a chance to pull out two more wins as they head for the 2009 Big East Tournament which begins in just one week.

At 6-10 in the conference, Georgetown has plenty of work and it might take a minir miracle of a run in the conference tournament for them to get any NCAA Tournament consideration.

The early college basketball odds list the Hoyas as a 6 1/2-point favorite to get the 7th conference win tonight when they meet the Redstorm. SJU is 5-11 in Big East play and also must travel to South Bend to meet Notre Dame before competing in the conference tournament.

There is no doubt the Hoyas have the more talented team. Players like Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe were McDonald's All-Americans and DaJuan Summers has been on the NBA Draft watchlists since his strong play in the Hoyas' run to the Final Four as a freshman. NYC native Jesse Sapp, the lone scholarship senior on the Hoyas, will be returning home and determined to put a frustrating season behind him to get a win in front of many friends and family.

St. Johns' season was a disaster waiting to happen from the get-go as they lost Anthony Mason, Jr. for the season by just their third game. An extended absence because of injury to Malik Boothe did not help as conference play heated up and now back-up big man Ayodele Coker has been suspended for the rest of the season because of academics.

We keep waiting for the Hoyas to develop some sort of momentume, while it is looking like it may be too little, too late, they should head back to NYC in a week with a three-game win streak. Just like the NY Lottery commercials...'Hey, you never know..."


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 67
St. John's 58

Read more!