JT3 in LA

[JS]

blueandgray said:

tgo said:

I was there.

I didn’t feel tension between Muir and Coach or them being on a different page. Coach’s goals and plan include one team. Muir’s involve 27 teams. Muir thinks about hoops first thing in the morning and more often than any other program most days but he also cares about all 27 teams. That will inevitably lead to disagreements on finer points which does not mean there is disagreement on the big picture. This is unavoidable

They were very much on the same page, they demonstrated it with their answers and said specifically at least once.

To clarify slightly. On jeff green, coach said he could have convinced him to stay but that it wasn’t his role to push him one way or the other, he helped him gather information and stepped back for him to make his own decision, which was the right decision according to JT III.

Coach and Muir complement each other very well in this setting. Both very impressive men who inspire confidence. Coach rambles a little, tells lots of stories but gets to his point in the end. Muir I can see transitioning easily into politics should he ever choose to do so (I mean this in a good way) since he always knew exactly what he wanted to stay and effortlessly wrapped his answer together with his larger talking points no matter what the question.

Thanks for the clarification TGO.

Just to add one more tid-bit I heard with regard to recruiting... one of his primary targets is Orlando Woolridge's son.

I would imagine there's some sort of preexisting relationship between Coach Thompson and the Woolridge family. Zach Woolridge is about to start his senior year at Princeton and is a member of the basketball team.

Jon

[GIGAFAN99]

sfhoya99 said:

sleepy said:

Not saying i disagree with you Jersey, but we wouldn't we be in the same world of hurt if Ewing got into foul trouble early? I think that is going to be a big problem going into next year, our three guys that play center and pf are the most foul prone on the team.

Definitely a concern, but I think Summers will be able to play a quality four.

I'm not sure it's even a concern or a problem. There are only so many fouls to go around when you play at the Hoyas' pace. Having 3 and 1/2 (Summers as the "emergency 4") guys to man the 4/5 is not an issue.

Put it this way, Pat had 1 foul every 7.7 minutes, Vernon 1 every 9.8, and Roy 1 every 9.5. And that's for the whole season, their numbers got BETTER as the season went on.

So give them each 3 fouls and they've already logged 23.1 minutes, 29.4, and 28.5 respectively. That's more than 80 minutes so we've covered the 4/5 and everyone has 2 fouls to go.

[sleepy]

But something that the numbers don't show are that Pat and Roy tend to get their fouls in bunches. So Roy could get two quick fouls in the beginning of the game then Pat could pick up a few quick ones when hes out and then theres a problem.

[GIGAFAN99]

sleepy said:

But something that the numbers don't show are that Pat and Roy tend to get their fouls in bunches. So Roy could get two quick fouls in the beginning of the game then Pat could pick up a few quick ones when hes out and then theres a problem.

Actually the numbers do show that. They also "don't get" fouls in bunches but nobody is worried about that. The only reason you notice when they do is that it's a bad and remarkable event. But if they went 16 minutes without a foul nobody would care.

Of course if our two starters both get in foul trouble early, that's a bad thing. I just don't think it's particularly more concerning with these guys than anyone else. And even if Pat and Roy pick up those quick ones Freeman, Summers, and Macklin in an All-American plan B is better than a lot of other plan b's out there.

[hbhoya]

I was there as well. Couldn't agree more with tgo. Didn't see any tension between III and Muir.

No desire from me to prosletyze here to those who post on this board about the need for better facilities as I am sure we are all in agreement on that subject.

Once athletics completes their facilities business plan and gives alumni something to shoot at, I am hopeful that many of us will (continue to) contribute to bringing that plan to fruition. In the meantime, I'll do my part by cutting as big a check as I can as well as attending some Harvard-Westlake games (OWoolridge's son's team) wearing Hoya gear.

Hoya Saxa!

[balla]

You might also want to show up at Loyola games wearing Hoya gear(Hollis Thompson).
Hoya Saxa!

[angus]

I was there too, so hopefully I can clarify some of the things posted here and some of the areas that tgo did not go.

First, unfortunately, this event was an example of why, in my view, the Hoya Nation is not as large and robust as it could be. GU apparently invited the 50 biggest donors in SoCal. I got the invite the day before the event, which tells me that many of those 50 could not make it, so GU was scrambling for the right sized audience and the invite eventually trickled down to modest donors like me. No reason this event had to be so exclusive. If you want to grow Hoya Nation, invite everyone, and perhaps give the big shots an exclusive hour with Coach and AD Muir before the event begins.

Second, Coach T was not recruiting in LA. He arrived in LA on the afternoon of the event (a cocktail mixer with appetizers, not a "dinner") from Las Vegas where he had served as a counselor at Michael Jordan's adult basketball camp (check it out on line, it is unreal -- $18k and a cast of "counselors" that rival or exceed JTIII in terms of prestige). He was leaving the next day. JTIII mentioned that he watched Jeff Green scrimmage against the US national team, including a stint guarding LeBron James. He stated that Jeff will be an excellent pro.

The question about JTIII's contract was not asked in anger. The person who asked the question phrased it like . . . why should I make a major contribution to the basketball team without assurances that JTIII will be here for a long time to lead it. Muir and JTIII danced at the follow up questions. JTIII even said that he does not know how long his current contract is for, and that only his wife keeps track of things like that. Muir stated that both he and the administration know how important JTIII is and that "they are working on it."

tgo did a good job characterizing how JTIII counseled Roy and Jeff. He said that both made the right decision. To demonstrate how humble Jeff is, JTIII said that Jeff asked if he could take summer school classes and/or live in the dorms after declaring. JTIII responded that Jeff would be too busy elsewhere to do that. Jeff asked if he could at least stay in the dorms until the draft, which JTIII allowed. JTIII called Jeff his security blanket. He said that if everyone, from the 12th man on the bench to the starters, raised their game 5% over the summer, the Hoyas can make up for Jeff's production. But, he said that even with Jeff's production accounted for, the Hoyas will miss Green's leadership and stability. Get this -- he predicted that Tyler Crawford will step into those roles.

JTIII loves Tyler. III said that the day after the NC game, the students were lined up outside McD to buy tickets to the Final Four. III had worked late and was returning to his car. Among the thousands of students in the parking lot area was Tyler. III asked Tyler what he was doing. Tyler responded that since the students had supported the Hoyas all year, the least he could do was support the students for one night. Great story.

The major $ pitch was for additional athletic facilities. Muir made a big deal of GU having 27 scholarship sports, many of whom share McD with the basketball team. The bottom line is that Muir wants a multisport complex for the sports other than men's hoop and Coach T wants a practice facility of his very own. The "tension" to me was coreographed. They were playing off each other to maximize effect. III even called Muir the absolute right person for the job (right after saying that III cared about only one of the 27 sports). Muir expects to roll out preliminary plans for these facilities in the next few weeks or months.

III said that GU, in his opinion, will not have an on-campus hoops facility in his lifetime. That's ok to III; he likes playing at Verizon; he sees GU as having an obligation to be DC's team and playing at Verizon fulfills that obligation better than playing on campus.

I don't recall the comments about the freshmen needing a humility lesson.

When I think of more I'll add it.

[lichoya68]

GOOD POINT BY COACH HE WONT SEE AN ON CAMPUS ARENA IN HIS LIFETIME AND HES ALOT YOUNGER THAN ME LIKES VERIZON AND WE NEED A PRACTICE FACILITY FOR BBALL AND ALL SPORTS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING FOLKS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING AND SCHOLARSHIP MONEY ADN MULTISPORT FACILITY.. LAST YEAR A T A FOOT BALL GAME WITH LIKE THREE SPORTS GOING ON ON CAMMPUS AND THE TEAM HAD TO USE SW QUAD BATHROOMS AS LOCKER ROOMS THERES A NEED THERE A HUGE NEED GOHOYAS

Great recaps -- can't wait for the facilities rollout and appreciate the apparent enthusiasm there from AD Muir, but I'll believe it when I see it.

I like JT3's comments about Tyler, but, at the same time, each player in our senior class (including now-pro Jeff) is as special and did similar things during the March run. Each is deserving of the recognitions due to them at the end of the coming season. But, suffice to say that Tyler may be the "unsung hero" since Wallace, Ewing, Roy, and Jeff's contributions are more visible to the public.

[HoyaTejano]

I for one am actually not surprised this event was not made public to the Hoya Politic.

Maybe it's a holdover from my time in Texas, but when the donors at big-time schools meet, they do in fog and mist and you only get conjecture and heresay as to what they are up to. Then a coach gets canned in the town square and you realize what they were doing.

Whether this is a good practice for this particular university at this particular time in its history is another story. I would have liked one public appearance with the LA-based alumni. However, at least he is getting out there to somebody in the Hoya community. I don't think the previous leadership did that.

[PDRHoya99]

angus said:

First, unfortunately, this event was an example of why, in my view, the Hoya Nation is not as large and robust as it could be. GU apparently invited the 50 biggest donors in SoCal. I got the invite the day before the event, which tells me that many of those 50 could not make it, so GU was scrambling for the right sized audience and the invite eventually trickled down to modest donors like me. No reason this event had to be so exclusive.

Wow, I guess I need to up my donations to more than angus' definition of modest levels because I felt no trickle down effect.