MR. MONROE LEAVES BUTLER IN THE COLD

Greg Monroe scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Georgetown last night in the opening game of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden as the No. 15 Hoyas Dominate Butler, 72-65, In First Real Test of the Season (Washington Post). Austin Freeman added 18 as John Thompson III's club improves to 7-0 on the season.

Monroe Shined on New York Stage (Washington Times) as an Assertive Monroe Steals the Show (ESPN) giving Hoya fans and coaching staff what they had hoped for this season from the potential star. Both his point and rebound totals last night where career highs for the 6-foot-10 center from New Orleans.

The Georgetown defense was also stout, limiting Butler to 31% shooting in the game and outrebounding the Bulldogs 43-30. Monroe and Julian Vaughn limited Butler star Matt Howard, the 2008-2009 Horizon League player of the year, to just 9 points on 1-9 shooting from the field in 25 minutes before he fouled out.

Butler Squanders Opportunity Against Ranked Opponent (Indianapolis Star) as they were out-toughed by the Hoyas of the Big East. Georgetown led by as many as 17 points in the second half and withstood a late Butler rally by making enough free throws. Twenty Hoya turnovers contributed to the Bulldogs making it just interesting enough at the end.

The Hoyas (7-0) will look to match their best start under coach Thompson III with a victory against No. 17 Washington in the John Wooden Classic this Saturday in Anaheim (CA).

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GEORGETOWN DUMPS AMERICAN; BUTLER UP NEXT

The tasks get tougher this week for Georgetown as the Hoyas tune-up with a 73-46 victory over American on Saturday at the Verizon Center. Henry Sims and Chris Wright led the balanced Hoya attack with 12 points each as six Hoyas scored at least 9 points and 10 players played 10 minutes or more as In Win, Georgetown Preps for Tough Stretch (Washington Times) ahead.

Georgetown takes on Butler Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic and then travels cross country to take on Washington this Saturday.

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GEORGETOWN 5-0, TESTS WAITING AHEAD

Georgetown imrpoved to 5-0 last night as the Hoyas Get a Balanced Effort (Washington Times) in an 83-62 win over Mount St. Mary's at the Verizon Center. Looking more like a balanced team with the efficient offense clicking, Georgetown had four players in double digits led by sophomore Greg Monroe's 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Wright contributed 18 points and while Monroe and Wright Pace the Short-Handed Hoyas (Washington Post) it is the continued contributions of Jason Clark, who scored 12 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals, and a big game from Julian Vaughn will hopefully be a sign of things to come. The junior power forward scored 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 3 assists and 3 blocks in the victory.

The Hoyas have some interesting tests ahead following American this weekend with Butler (12/8) and Washington (12/12) on neutral courts next week.

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MONROE TO RETURN, TRANSFERS CONTINUE AT GEORGETOWN

April 17, 2009


Georgetown had already lost one to the NBA when junior DaJuan Summers declared and did not even look back for a second by announcing he will be hiring an agent right off the bat. The Hoyas also saw sophomore G/F Omar Wattad decide to transfer and had been waiting on highly touted freshman Greg Monroe's decision to enter the draft or return for his sophomore season.

Despite being projected as a top 10, or maybe even a top 5 pick, John Thompson III got very good news this week as Monroe Will Be Back (Washington Post) next season to continue his development under JT III.

Wattad joins a list of Vernon Macklin, Jeremiah Rivers, Octavius Spann, Marc Egerson and Josh Thornton as players who were recruited to Georgetown by JT III and transferred out of the program the last few years.

Also, a potential incoming transfer has surfaced, Allan Chaney, a frosh from Florida, indicated that he would consider PC, URI and Georgetown, among other schools, for a new home after one season with the Gators.

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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.

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GEORGETOWN'S FALL CONTINUES IN BIG EAST

February 24, 2009


There was a lot riding on last night' 'Big Monday' showdown in the Nation's Capital between Georgetown and Louisville. With the Cards able to but away the Georgetown in a 76-58 decision, Louisville Carves Out It's Slice of the Big East Lead (Kentucky.com) and Yet Another Home Loss for the Hoyas (Washington Times) could spell doom for their NCAA Tournament chances.

In front of 12, 653 fans in the Verizon Center, Louisville hands the Hoyas their ninth loss in 11 games as the Cards Get in the Zone and Stifles Georgetown (Louisville Courier-Journal). The win had to be a small amount of revenge for UL as the Hoyas can't Play Spoiler this Time (Louisville Courier-Journal) in the Cards quest for the Big East regular season title. Last season, Georgetown upended Louisville 55-52 in the regular season finale to take the regular season title from the Cards, a game tap Rick Pitino did not show his team until Sunday night, reminding them how they felt losing that game to the Hoyas.

The motivation worked as Louisville came out strong out of the gates as Georgetown looked anything but a team with their season on the line. The Hoyas were flat and Louisville connected on their first nine field goal attempts to build an early 26-13 lead and go into halftime leading 41-31, only after a 7-0 run by the Hoyas in the last three-minutes of the half showed the first signs of life of any opposition to a Louisville win.

After a Jesse Sapp basket cut the lead to 41-33 early in the second half, Georgetown never really threatened any more as the Cards were able to hold them at an arm's length or more through the rest of the game.

Junior Earl Clark had 22 points and 8 rebounds in the win while senior Terrence Williams, as usual, did a little bit of everything as he scored 10 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and doled out 7 assists.

It is the 2009 Big East Tournament that is looking like Georgetown's last gasp hope at a NCAA Tournament bid, maybe even an NIT bid, which poses the question, What Happened to the Hoyas (Washington Post) this season?

Inexperience and a lack of depth was expected to cause some issues over the course of an 18-game Big East schedule, but their lack of progress as a team has been quite stunning. Confidence and chemistry issues seem to be at the forefront, but a listless early game effort is unexplainable as the Hoyas Can't Match Cardinals (Washington Post) in experience and strength, but the fact they couldn't match their effort early on while playing on their own home floor is something that likely has John Thompson III very concerned.

Chris Wright had a team-high 12 points and he put forth an admirable effort. The once efficient Hoya attack registered just seven team assists in the game last night and turned the ball over 15 times and shot just 39% from the field. JT III has been going deeper and deeper on his bench to find some combination that will work, but it continues to be to no avail.

After a game at Villanova on Saturday, Georgetown finishes up the regular season next week at St. John's before coming home meet DePaul.

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LACK OF LEADERSHIP UNRAVELS HOYAS

February 11, 2009


While the Irish slide has shocked many, Georgetown is another team falling apart, but they have seemed to fall apart from within as 'dysfunctional' could be a term used in describing the Hoyas in the last month.

The young team has not seen it's veterans pick up the leadership duties and Finding a Leading Reason (Washington Times) for their slide seems to be pointed in direction of senior Jesse Sapp and junior DaJuan Summers.

The season began to unravel in the second half of their loss to Duke as the Hoyas collapsed emotionally. Summers missed crucial free throws and Sapp was on the bench following a halftime spat with sophomore point guard Chris Wright. In a loss to Seton Hall the following weekend, Sapp and Summers launched consecutive late game three's seemingly defying the instructions of John Thompson III to pound the ball inside to freshman Greg Monroe.

Sapp sat the entire second half of their latest loss, an OT decision at home to Cincinnati because of what Thompson dubbed a "coach's decision" after the senior guard apparently lost his cool concerning Thompson's wholesale, disciplinary first-half substitutions.

Bottom line...leadership and experience mean so much. Look at the top of the conference with Connecticut having senior guards AJ Price and Craig Austrie along with Jeff Adrien and juniors Jerome Dyson, Hasheem Thabeet and Stanley Robinson, Pittsburgh is led by Levance Fields, Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs, all seniors in the starting line-up, Marquette has the trio of senior gaurds in Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews and Louisville has Terrence Williams, Andre McGee, Earl Clark, Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa as upperclassmen to lead. Georgetown seems to be missing that important trait and the impact is pretty staggering.

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GEORGETOWN CONTINUES TO SLIDE IN COLLEGE HOOPS

February 7, 2009


The way Georgetown started off conference play, with a win at UConn, nobody foreshadowed the fall that has occurred the past few weeks. Saturday might have been rock bottom as Cincinnati finished off a sweep with a 64-62 overtime win at Georgetown.

The Ice Cold Hoyas Continue to Skip (Washington Post), now losing six of their last seven and find themselves at 4-7 in the Big East.

UC Beats Georgetown in OT (Cincinnati Enquirer), despite not making a field goal in the extra session. The Bearcats scored all five of their OT points from the line. Georgetown missed all eight of thier field goal attempts in OT, including Austin Freeman's attempted three-pointer to win at the buzzer.

Deonta Vaughn had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to lead UC while Mike Williams, Larry Davis and Yancy Gates each scored 11. Cincinnati is 6-5 in the Big East and have won six of their last eight games.

The offensive woes continued for the Hoyas, who shot 41% from the field and their five starters were a combined 11-36 from the field. Freshman Greg Monroe had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals to lead Georgetown.

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HOYAS SNAP LOSING STREAK AT RUTGERS' EXPENSE

February 4, 2009


The Georgetown/Rutgers games was definitely not a pretty one. However, the result was one that the Hoyas needed desperately as Georgetown Puts an End to Five-Game Skid (Washington Times) with a 57-47 victory over the Scarlet Knights in the Verizon Center on Tuesday night.

While their offense is still in need of some work, the Hoyas' defense did the job as Rutgers is Held to a Season-low 47 points in Loss (Star-Ledger) to Georgetown.

Senior guard Jesse Sapp showed signs of snapping out of his extended shooting slump, scoring a team-high 11 points on four of five shooting from the field and hitting both of his three-pointers. Greg Monroe added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists as the Hoyas move to 4-6 in the Big East.

Rutgers seemed more intent on imitating Plaxico Burress and wounding themselves as Miscues Lead Georgetown Over the Knights (Asbury Park Press) as RU turns the ball over 21 times against the Hoyas.

Mike Rosario scored a game-high 20 points for RU, who trailed at one point, 49-29, before chipping away at the final margin of defeat.

Georgetown will host Cincinnati on Saturday as the two meet for the second time in 10 days with the Hoyas looking to revenge an earlier loss.

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HOYAS SLIDE DEEPENDS, SUMMERS HURT IN LOSS TO UC

January 29, 2009


As Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin said after the game, "Sometimes when it rains, it pours." Georgetown and coach John Thompson III can certainly identify with that statement. Last night, the Hoyas Add an Injury to their Latest Insult (Washington Times), a 65-57 loss at Cincinnati.

The Bearcats Prove They Belong (Cincinnati Enquirer), evening their conference record at 4-4, by finishing the game on an 11-2 run over the final 4:38 for the comeback victory.

Junior Deonta Vaughn scored 20 points with Mike Williams adding 12 and Dion Dixon 10 to lead UC in the win.

Late in the first half, DaJuan Summers, the Hoyas' leading scorer, went down with a sprained ankle. Summers would not return and the thin and inexperienced Hoya line-up was stretched even more. With Jesse Sapp's shooting woes continuing (0-3 from the field), Georgetown had little answers offensively when they needed them and lost for the fourth straight game and are now 3-5 in the Big East.

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PUNCHLESS HOYAS KNOCKED OUT BY SHU

January 26, 2009

Even with Jeremy Hazell shooting 5-21 and 0-10 from three-point range. In fact, Seton Hall shoots 0-13 as a team from three, Mike Davis fouls out in two minutes of game action and combines with fellow big men John Garcia and Brandon Walters to commit 13 fouls in 37 minutes. The Hoyas also out-rebounded SHU 40-30, yet…Seton Hall is able to stun Georgetown, 65-60, in Big East action on Sunday afternoon at the Prudential Center. So, on the day that the Pirate community honored their 1989 national championship runner-up squad, there proved to be Still Some Magic Left as SHU Beats No. 12 (Star-Ledger).

Hazell did connect on 13 of 17 from the foul line and the Big East’s second leading scorer finished with 23 points as the usually defense-deficient Pirates stifle the Hoya offense, limiting them to 32.7% (17-52) from the field and 3-22 from the three-point arc as it appeared there was a Jersey Barrier (Washington Post) on the basket.

After being roughed up by WVU on their home floor on Thursday, once again, the Failure to Follow Plan (Washington Times) costs the Hoyas dearly as they fell to 3-4 in Big East play.

Besides Hazell's 23 points, Robert Mitchell added an effecient 20 points and 7 rebounds for the Pirates. Freshman Greg Monroe was the lone bright spot for the Hoyas, scoring 17 points, but he only attempted 7 shots (making 6 from the field. Outside of Monroe, the rest of the Hoyas were a combined 11-45 from the field...oh my.

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HOYAS ROUGHED UP AT HOME, AGAIN

January 23, 2009

West Virginia is not going to go quietly from the Big East picture.

Georgetown found that out loud and clear last night on their home floor.

In a game that looked eerily similar to their early home loss to Pitt, Georgetown was out-toughed and out-hustled all night long as their usually efficient offense struggled agains an athleic and physical defense.

Da'Sean Butler poured in a game-high 27 points as WVU Knocks Off the Hoyas, 75-58 (Times West Virginian) in front of 12,875 fans and a national TV audience watching on ESPN.

The final rebounding margin showed a 39-31 edge for the undersized Mountaineers, but the dominance on the boards certainly seemed to be much more one-sided. After a slow start, trailing 9-2 early as they began the game 1-9 from the field, it was all WVU from that point on as Frustration, Errant Shots Doom Hoyas (Washington Times) against intense effort from Bob Huggins' squad.

With the Hoyas still hanging around and observers waiting for a Georgetown run to make things interesting, an Alex Ruoff Dunk Keys Mountaineer Upset (Daily Mail) run to close the game. With 5:32 left, Ruoff drove the lane as the Hoya defense parted like the Red Sea and he flushed home a one-hand jam that started a game-ending 17-7 run for the Mountaineers.

WVU, which also got 13 points from Darryl Bryant and 10 each from Ruoff and Wellington Smith, moved to 3-2 in the Big East. WVU next hosts rival Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Hoyas, Humbled at Home (Washington Post), for the second time already in conference play, fell to 3-3 in league action.

Chris Wright led G'town with 13 points, but the sophomore point guard did not register an assist in his 31 minutes on the floor.

Notes:

-Georgetown turned the ball over 19 times, shot 39% and registered just 8 team assists, a stark contrast to the previous team quarterbacked by Jonathan Wallace

-Hoyas got 10 points from their bench, but they also committed 9 turnovers, 5 by Jason Clark

-Georgetown now hits the road for three games in seven days, beginning with Georgetown on Sunday, followed by Cincinnati on Wednesday and concluding with Marquette on Saturday the 31st.

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GEORGETOWN LOOKS TO STOP SLIDE

January 8, 2009


By Zach Smart


John Thompson III addressed the problem with the confidence and calm demeanor that typifies the mild-mannered Georgetown coach.

“We haven’t been the best rebounding team in the world,” said Thompson III.

“That will change.”

JTIII then did a 180, turning around and locating point guard Chris Wright.

“Right?” He asked, eliciting pours of laughter from the jam-packed press room.

For the Hoyas, however, JTIII’s words have yet to prove prophetic.

After passing an early litmus test by rolling past a lackadaisical UConn team at Hartford right before New Year’s, the Hoyas were embarrassed by Pittsburgh.

That 16-point loss saw them get outhustled, significantly, and out-rebounded to the tune of a 48-23 Pittsburgh bulge.



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Simply put, the Hoyas had no answer for super sophomore DeJuan Blair, who pulled down a whopping 17 boards to supplement his team-high 20 points. The titanic 6-foot-7 homegrown product helped Pittsburgh roll to a convincing 70-54 win at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

The Panthers, which have molded their own version of earth, wind and fire in Blair, Sam Young and veteran New York point guard Levance Fields, have since received an upgrade to the crazy confines of the top.

Since North Carolina was defeated by Boston College, Pittsburgh is the no.1-ranked team in America.

While the problem with the new area code Panthers was their ability to pound the glass relentlessly, the most recent loss at Notre Dame exposed Georgetown on the perimeter and in the post with the tantalizing tandem of Kyle McLarney and Luke Harangody.

McLarney scorched the nets with five threes, one that he launched from the parking lot, and Harangody patrolled the paint with a season-high 31 points and 11 boards.

If Thompson third can hope for anything, it’s for the Hoyas to halt this two-game losing skid.

The opportunity is right there in front of them Saturday, as a Providence team on the heels of a four-game winning streak.

While the Hoyas contained Hasheem Thabeet, keeping the 7-foot-3 blocksmith at bay all game, they got roasted by DeJuan Blair.

So, how will they fare against boardsmith Geoff McDermott, he off the Ron Artest, football-basketball mentality and penchant for crashing the boards at will?

On the surface, the 6-foot-6 McDermott should be a stroll in the park after having to deal with the modern-day Beast of the Big East in Blair.

While McDermott is averaging 8.4 boards per, teammate Randall Hanke can be had (to paraphrase Ronde Barber).

Hanke, a spindly 6-foot-11 senior center, is averaging 4.8 bounds but snared just one during the Friars’ recent 87-79 topping of Cincinatti. The Bearcats have their own Mr. Soft in 7-foot, 245-pound sophomore Anthony McClain (2.8 RPG). Hanke has show some flashes of game. He played as if someone finally sparked a fire under his behind against St. John’s scoring 17 points in 18 minutes. Hanke scored during crucial transitions that game, help capitalize runs and played hungrier than a junk yard dog. He actually looked like he wanted the rock that game.


-All of a sudden, Providence is one of the four unbeatens in the Big East. This is actually quite meaningless since they’ve only played three games and are yet to taste the prime meat of their Big East slate. Georgetown will be a huge barometer game for the Friars, who have been fiending an NCAA tournament berth for the past three years. After starting off slow with an upset loss to Northeastern in the home opener, Providence looks to be back in the conversation this year.

-How nuts is the Big East this year? Check it out: Georgetown beat previously no.2-ranked UConn but lost to Notre Dame who lost to St. John’s who got cooked by Providence. Does that make the Friars a sleeper team, or does it essentially indicate what a topsy-turvy conference the Big East is?

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BELLY OF THE BE-AST: MEET MR. MONROE

by Ray Mernagh

Georgetown served notice tonight that they fully intend to make a run at a third straight Big East regular season championship by straight dominating Connecticut on the road. The Hoyas won by eleven points, but were up 17 on the disinterested Huskies with a little over four minutes left after DaJuan Summers caught a Chris Wright miss at apex-level and punished the rim with a put-back-banger. If anyone was expecting a UConn run, Summers' dunk ended the anticipation. The second Summers concluded the dunk with a groan/scream, this game was over. John Thompson III has four really good players in his starting lineup -- Summers, Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jessie Sapp -- that are all capable of winning games for the Hoyas this season.

The big question is whether the Hoyas can develop a bench capable of contributing more than six points in spot minutes? Julian Vaughn, Jason Clark and Omar Wattad are the only bench guys in the rotation right now and it's imperative they find a role that lets them play in a comfort zone whenever called upon. Vaughn and Clark show some signs, while Wattad is a steadying influence on the floor. Reason number one the bench needs to mature is obvious -- the Hoyas will get into foul trouble and need extended, productive minutes off the pine in Big East play. The second reason the Hoyas will need a bench is because their fifth starter is Greg Monroe, and Greg Monroe folks, is a special player.


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The kind of player that can help the college basketball odds of a team with four really good players, plus a bench, go a long way in March. Monroe has a plethora of skills for a 6'10 big man, and all of them were on display in this match-up against the Big East's most intimidating defender, UConn's 7'3 Hasheem Thabeet. Allow me to provide some examples.

18:08 mark in the first half: Monroe catches a pass at the top of the key, starts to take Thabeet off the dribble when he notices Jerome Dyson coming to help off Austin Freeman. Freeman back-doors Dyson and Monroe hits him -- after one dribble -- with a pass over the top for a layup. That kind of recognition/decision-making done so quickly, is extremely rare for a big.

17:10 mark: Monroe catches at the elbow and his man crowds him. With his back to the basket Monroe stays calm, reverse pivots, takes a dribble and sees Freeman back-cutting his man again. Monroe hits him with a gorgeous left-handed bounce pass on the baseline that Freeman finishes on the other side of the rim. Again, recognition and decision making, but add to it the passing ability. Monroe made a pass that you either know how to execute or you don't. It's not something you really learn. In basketball, you're either a good passer or your not. Monroe is a very good, bordering on great, passing big man.

16:35 mark: Monroe tries to front Thabeet and Thabeet seals him and receives the lob over the top. Almost any big man, especially a young one, would instinctively foul Thabeet. Monroe doesn't and Thabeet misses the dunk. Monroe than runs the floor and makes a difficult catch, on an ill-advised pass ahead, with his right hand. He comes down, gathers himself and turns to dribble the ball out away from two defenders instead of charging, taking a bad shot, or getting stripped. On his second dribble he spots Summers spotting up at the arc and hits him for an in-rhythm three-pointer. Monroe's athletic ability shines through on this play as he runs, catches, stops, dribbles and facilitates in a matter of two or three seconds.

16:05 mark -- Very next possession: Monroe hedges out on the ball handler, gets away with a bump, the bump takes Monroe seemingly out of the play as he back away from AJ Price as Price heads towards the basket with his dribble intact. But Monroe sees Price's dribble is out away from his body and snatches the ball away from him from behind, just picks the kid clean at half-court. Pretty good for a 6'11 kid right (yeah, he's grown an inch since I started the column). He then out-runs Price to the other basket -- while dribbling -- and finishes despite the embarrassed guard grabbing him before he goes up for the bucket. Just to show he's human Monroe misses the free throw.

15:20 mark: Monroe gets the ball at the arc and faces up. He jab steps and then thinks about letting the three go but decides against it and does a dribble hand off to Summers while kind of screening his man. Summers hits the three.

14:45 mark: Monroe gets the ball in the same spot, faces up, and when Thabeet doesn't close out with any kind of initiative, drops a three-pointer right in his face.

I gave you six examples of why Greg Monroe is a special player. There were eight or nine but I got tired of rewinding the tape and I'm on a deadline. He did step in front of Thabeet twice to intercept post entries, and he also hit another three at the start of the second half. JTIII substituted him in on offense for most of the second half as he had some fouls and the kid never missed a beat, just always stayed in the flow.

He's special I tell you.

Now if they can just do something about that bench...

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Pre-Game Hype, High Expectations For Husky-Hoya Big East Opener

By Zach Smart

It’s been quite the wait, but the pulsating, gut-wrenching Big East action is finally here. Easily one of the biggest matchups of the season kicks off today, with No. 2 UConn hosting Georgetown at the XL Center in Hartford.

The highly-anticipated matchup between fabulous freshman Greg Monroe and UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 behemoth and blocksmith, is likely to live up to its billing. But with the resurgence of once-exiled guard Jerome Dyson (who’s emerged into UConn’s go-to-guy and the key cog in the Huskies’ go-go, souped up offense), along with the play of Georgetown’s DuJuan Summers (14.3 ppg) and Chris Wright (13.2 ppg), the game is about as predictable as a Mike Tyson interview.

Anything can happen. It should be wild, down-to-the-wire basketball in its purist, most appreciable form that features the crowd as the sixth man and an X-factor that beat writers scribble in their notepads about all game.

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Hype surrounding the eyeball-to-eyeball battle between the two super-sized bigs has been hanging around Hartford all afternoon. The matchup brings some added juice and is one of many of the intriguing subplots for tonight as two teams with strong NCAA basketball odds to go deep in March Madness collide.

Thabeet, who was extremely raw and a work-in-progress his freshman year, has developed a toughness and unfaltering confidence that hasn’t relented since last year. The NBA prospect is beginning to flower, albeit UConn ate up the cupcakes of their nonconference slate in shark-size bites prior to the barometer game at Gonzaga.

Thabeet called out Notre Dame forward/center Luke Harangody for his lack of toughness during an interview with ESPN.com and was charged with a technical foul for taunting during the Huskies’ victory over Gonzaga. Trying to shoot over his towering head and longer than the nile river arms, you’re likely to get stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey.
With Monroe, however, Thabeet has apparently met his match.

Monroe registered his imprint immediately. Heading into the contest, the 6-foot-11 Monroe was averaging 12.5 points, 5.6 boards, and 2.1 blocks while staking his claim as a premier freshman in the Big East (see Samuels, Samuerdo or Theodore, Jordan or whoever else my lackadaisical self is missing for more details on that).

The aforementioned Wright, who’s blossomed into an area code shooter this year, has held his own. He has a great supplement in local product Austin Freeman (Bowie, Md.). Jessie Sapp, a Harlem native with plenty of big-game experience, provides augmented back court vigor.

The UConn guards have been just as tough, with A.J. Price netting the big three and finishing with 24 points and 10 dimes against Gonzaga. Kemba Walker has become a presence in the running game and passing lanes, while Craig Austrie has been rock-solid.
Remember, Austrie ran the show when professionals Marcus Williams, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone and Rudy Gay were all in uniform. He’s got that type of experience and has showed resolve and resilience throughout his career. Calhoun, a longtime Boston Red Sawx fan, refers to Austrie as the Huskies’ version of closer Jonathon Papelbon.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: GEORGETOWN @ CONNECTICUT

December 29, 2008



The Big East regular season gets an early start this year, before the New Year, and begins with a bang with Georgetown visiting the XL Center in Hartford to battle Connecticut in a match-up of conference goliaths.

college basketball odds currently list Connecticut as 6 and a half point favorites in tonight's game.

Here are some of the pre-game stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

No. 12 Georgetown @ No. 2 UConn (Hartford Courant)
Big Challenge at the Start (Washington Times)
Huskies Host Hoyas to Start Big East Play (Norwich Bulletin)
Ready for Bog East Play (Courant)?
UConn Men's Gameday (Connecticut Post)
Ho-Hum, Here Come the Hoyas (New Haven Register)
Huskies Happy to Have Walker Back in the Mix (Norwich Bulletin)
They're Back in the High Life Again (TheDay.com)
Hoyas Set for a Big Challenge (Washington Post)

With Big East play getting underway, UConn Huskies Basketball Tickets are in demand and nothing is better than a match-up between the defending Big East regular season champion Georgetown Hoyas and the pre-season Big East favorite for this season Connecticut.

Connecticut comes into the contest undefeated with an 11-0 record. Non-conference victory highlights included wins over Miami and Wisconsin as the Huskies captured the Paradise Jam in November and a thrilling OT win over Gonzaga just nin days ago in Seattle.

Jerome Dyson leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.5 points a game, but the player separating UConn from others is 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet who averages 14.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.7 blocks a game, teamming with Jeff Adrien (14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds) to form a menacing frontline.

AJ Price has been a little bit slow coming back from off-season ACL surgery (10 PPG, 37% shooting from the floor), but he showed he was still a clutch performer with 24 points and 10 assists in the win over the Zags, which included a game-tying three-pointer in the final moments of regulation.

The new-look Georgetown Hoyas made it through their pre-conference slate with a 9-1 record, highlighted by a 75-48 win over Maryland in the Old Spice Classic consolation and an overtime win over Memphis. Their lone blemish was a semifinal loss to Tennessee in the Old Spice Classic in Florida back in November.

Gone from the Hoyas back-to-back regular season championship clubs are Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, Pat Ewing Jr, Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers. The Hoyas only return four players with real Big East experience (and that includes Chris Wright who was limited as a frosh due to a broken foot), so this is a new experience for many on their roster.

Junior DaJuan Summers leads the balances Hoya attack with 14 points a game which sophomores Austin Freeman (13.7) and Wright (13.2) and highly touted freshman Greg Monroe (12.4) also average double figures in scoring. Monroe also leads the club in rebounding at 5.6/game.

The Hoyas will have five players on the floor that can handle the ball and pass away from the basket, hoping to draw Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet away from the basket and make them defend in space. That is an interesting match-up to watch and if they are successful it will cause some problems for UConn. However, if Thabeet is able to play a one-man zone inside, he could erase virtually all of the Hoyas game in the paint by himself.

UConn has the edge in depth and size and the new-look Hoyas will be put to the test from start to finish tonight. The opening of Big East play will bring some added pressures to the Huskies with a big target on their back as the conference favorite, but they will have too much firepower up and down the line-up and when teams need to go to tthe bench tonight, they have a decided edge and should come out with a win.


Georgetown tickets are always in demand, no matter where they are playing and tonight's game is no exception when the Hoyas and Huskies lock horns in what promises to be a highly watched event by college basketball fans around the league and nationally.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 71
Georgetown 63

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