HOYAS-Memphis RECAP (complete)

[FLHoya]

HOYAS-Memphis (12/13/08, 79-70 (OT) W)

When considering a mid-December non-conference game between two ranked opponents, it is nearly unavoidable to encounter the theme of an “examination” for a certain team.
It hung over Saturday’s clash between Georgetown and Memphis in so many ways.

There was the literal—Georgetown is in the middle of fall semester exams, and Memphis hadn’t played in ten days.
More important though (and strangely, more direct) was the figurative. This game was nothing short of a test for two young teams slowly but surely finding their way after losing vast reserves of talent to graduation and the NBA last season. Gone were the backcourt standouts Jon Wallace and Derrick Rose; missing were superstars Roy Hibbert and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Was this so much a test as an identity check?

On both fronts, the Hoyas passed on Saturday afternoon.
Georgetown under John Thompson III has traditionally been an exceptional team on the tactical level; that is, the multiple choice portion of the examination. Thompson is an extraordinarily difficult grader, searching to the point of absurdity for perfection in Georgetown’s offensive and defensive execution. He hasn’t been pleased with either this season if you believe some of his post game comments.

Strangely, on a day when the Hoyas shot well below their season average from the field, including an anemic 20% from three point range, they may have provided more answers than ever this season.

Greg Monroe provided arguably the most important play of the afternoon in overtime with his slick bounce pass from the baseline to a cutting Dajuan Summers, a play more about vision than execution. What makes fans so excited about Greg is that he so easily provides the right answer when he has the ball: does he drive? Pass? Take the shot?

Chris Wright was the most memorable in overtime, spinning and powering his way to an impressive layup that tilted the game finally towards Georgetown for good. Wright’s decision-making has always been vital to the Hoyas’ chances this season, and in the second half he showed why Hoya fans are starting to like those chances.

But it was Dajuan Summers who left the greatest impression with arguably his greatest performance in a Georgetown uniform. Simply, when it comes to Dajuan’s offensive game, at long last his answer to the question is “All of the Above”.
This was a tremendous college basketball game between two teams at the same place both in ranking and in development. At no point until Jessie Sapp’s circus shot at the final buzzer of overtime did either team have a lead larger than two possessions—for the final 12:14 of the game neither team had more than a one possession lead.

Back and forth they went for the full 45 minutes—for every big play, every change in momentum, the opposite team had an answer.

One such sequence began in the final four minutes of the first half. With the Hoyas down five after two Memphis free throws, Austin Freeman ripped an offensive rebound from a Tiger defender and laid the ball in, igniting the Verizon Center crowd. When Chris Wright fed Freeman in transition moments later for a tying three, the place was simply electric…until Tyreke Evans dropped an alley oop to Shawn Taggart as slick as it was simple. Georgetown fired right back, Freeman on the drive and dish to Dajuan Summers for a thunderous jam and a tie…and yet Memphis STILL was not done, as Robert Dozier of all people swished a three from the top of the key. Only when Freeman missed a wide open triple did the air finally come out of the VC after a breathtakingly intense two minutes of basketball.

And so it went all afternoon. Punch and counterpunch. Everyone seemingly had the answer when their team needed it. Dajuan Summers’ unreal jump stop hurdle through two Memphis defenders answered by Shawn Taggart’s three pointer. Omar Wattad’s careless turnover erased by smartly drawing an offensive foul. Austin Freeman’s shocking lazy backcourt turnover and Memphis FT’s answered by Chris Wright assertive drive for two of his own.

This was always going to overtime. How could it have been any other way?

If the Hoyas occasionally missed a few multiple choice questions, they won in the end because they nailed the essay portion.
How do you handle the kind of up-tempo, physical teams you’ll see on a regular basis in the Big East?

What a thesis statement the Hoyas provided:

Attack the basket (a 36-15 edge in FTA and countless looks at the rim)

Finish defensive possessions (12-40 Memphis shooting after half and a drastically reduced rebounding margin)

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though—this was merely a mid-term exam for the season. We’ve yet to even hit the hard parts of the course…though those are soon to come, with three consecutive games against teams ranked in the top twelve to open the Big East season.

But for one afternoon in December, when at every turn the Hoyas had another answer for the Memphis Tigers, it’s hard not to say they made the grade.

[FLHoya]

PLAYER EVALUATIONS

Dajuan Summers: 21 points, 7-12 FG, 1-5 3pt, 6-8 FT, 7RB, 1A, 1TO, 3BLK, 2STL

It really was, in four words: All of the above.

This is the offensive game you’ve been waiting for from Dajuan Summers this season. He is a dangerous player and a pro prospect precisely because of what he did today—which was everything (save shooting a better percentage from behind the arc). He was constantly a threat whenever he had the ball—his second and third most impressive plays of the day were splitting two defenders from the perimeter with a jump stop for a plus-one chance, and using two crossovers to clear space for a mid-range pull up jumper.

His most impressive play came off the ball in overtime—a great case of understanding between a junior and a freshman, as Dajuan made an authoritative cut down the lane in between three defenders, gathered the fast moving bounce, and finished at the rim while absorbing contact.

The one red flag—I caught on the videotapes four times in the first half Dajuan’s man beating him on the offensive glass either directly for a putback or to tip the ball to a teammate. Fortunately, as we’ll address below, we didn’t have to go to any lineups featuring Dajuan as the big man. I realize he did grab seven rebounds, but I’ve always maintained if you COULD have grabbed 10 with proper technique, there’s still room for improvement.

Chris Wright: 14 points, 5-13 FG, 0-3 3pt, 4-4 FT, 3RB, 3A, 2TO, 1STL

Yet this is the guy who gets an article written about him on ESPN.com. You wouldn’t have expected much from him after the first half when he was 1-4 with only three points…but he came through in the clutch. A pretty play to be sure, but exemplifies what Wright gives us that’s unique—he attacks defenses and punishes teams that turn the ball over, fail to rotate back, or (we hope) try to pressure Georgetown in the backcourt. He continues to excel at feeding the perimeter on transition, finding Wattad and Freeman in the first half on the same play—using his speed to pressure the defense to sag into the lane, then laying off to the open shooter in rhythm.

Against Evans and Witherspoon on defense—well, he hung in there with a very tough assignment.

Greg Monroe: 13 points, 2-7 FG, 9-12 FT, 6RB, 3A, 3TO, 3BLK, 2STL, 42min/2fouls

Very happy that he contributed in a big way even while having a very ordinary game from the floor. Memphis defended him well, cutting off a number of post opportunities and stripping him three times (although two were the product of poor passes that Greg never quite gathered). He has such a mature understanding of the game, as evidenced by his assist to Summers in overtime AND on a near broken play in the first half (thinking a step ahead).

In a game where one of the storylines was Georgetown’s large disparity on the FT line, Greg was there the most of any Hoya and had almost as many trips (12) as the entire Memphis roster (15).

What’s more…in 42 minutes he was never even close to foul trouble, despite putting in a decent effort on the glass and swatting away three shots. One could even argue his 2nd foul in overtime was an incorrect call. This being said…one doubts having Greg play 90% of available minutes will be sustainable day in day out in the Big East.

Austin Freeman: 18 points, 6-12 FG, 1-3 3pt, 5-8 FT, 5RB, 1A, 4TO, 1STL

It’s a good commentary on Austin’s value to the team how often Clark Kellogg praised the sophomore during the telecast. Like Summers, Austin showed a great versatility today, scoring with drives on the baseline, jump shooting, and sweet finger rolls among so many things. Thank goodness he can forget about his ghastly turnover in the backcourt (which began because he got spooked of walking into a possible double team just across the halfcourt line). Clark Kellogg knew that was uncharacteristic of Freeman as well.

Jason Clark: 4 points, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3pt, 2-2 FT, 5RB (2off), 1TO

Was any shot as clutch as Clark pull up from the elbow in overtime? Now here’s a guy who hasn’t had a single incredible stats game yet this season, but who I’m always impressed with when the buzzer sounded. He is perhaps…I’m saying perhaps here…the best weak-side rebounder Georgetown has on the roster. Certainly the best for his size. He gets the ball and plays above the rim on the defensive end.

Gosh I loved seeing his reaction on the bench at the end of the game. He and Wattad sure are having fun aren’t they?

Omar Wattad: 3 points, 1-4 3pt, 2RB, 1A, 1TO

The obvious comparison from Day 1 of this season for Omar has been Jeremiah Rivers. He’s the guy who comes in for situational defense, generally keeps good defensive position but struggles against dribble penetration. Oh, and he’s supposed to be an absolute garbage shooter.

Omar put an end to that last point with his performance against Tennessee…although I’ll forgive anybody who disputes that after he airmailed two of his jumpers against Memphis (maybe it’s something with teams from his home state that gets him hyped up).

I would propose an alternate comparison to a player from last season. Omar as we learned earlier this season has the reputation as the hardest worker in practice. He seems to be one of the emotional leaders of the team from the bench, bumping chests during introductions and whooping it up on the sidelines during games. He screams like a mo-fo going into timeouts after big plays. He isn’t the most skilled offensive player but he understands his role…until he gets jacked up and bombs and three. And he might have taken more charges than anyone on the team this season.

He doesn’t have the body type or the overall skill set, but at least in spirit…he strikes me as the Patrick Ewing Jr. in training.

Officials: Always fun when they become part of the story right? Love when officials let good teams be physical, scrap for the ball, and decide the outcome on their own. Undoubtedly a few calls went the wrong way—Memphis got away with basket interference in the first half but was paid back when Ed Hightower blew a call against Pierre Henderson-Niles in the second half that negated a tip-in.

In any case, the updated Georgetown record in the JT3 era in games officiated by:

Ed Hightower: 5-2
Jim Burr: 13-5
Bryan Kersey: 12-1 (still the best record GU has with an official)

[FLHoya]

NON-GAME OBSERVATIONS

--Three ladies clad in long flowing white robes and possibly halos in the Metro station either sang religious-themed Christmas carols or tried to save my soul as I rose from the yellow line platform. Incidentally, one of the same Chinatown station escalators injured multiple passengers this week when it rapidly shifted into reverse and threw several riders.

--Inside the Verizon Center, another group known for their identical outfits (and likely far more intergroup drama than the carolers)—the Temptations—played over the loudspeaker:

--But this was only a holdover until the VC proudly continued its season-long streak of mediocre Jay-Z songs:

--Speaking of mediocre stuff at the Verizon Center…nobody’s taken down the BB&T Classic ads from last week.

--Oddly, the majority of scalpers outside the arena were buying tickets prior to the game.

--My source told me that the lower level of the student section had filled 45 minutes prior to the game. I can confirm this because as is frequently the case I’m mistaken for a student until enough games have passed that the various ushers recognize my face. Sure enough, this afternoon George the Usher tried to bar me from entrance from 20 feet away but then exchanged pleasantries (“Oh I know you…how you doin’?) and sent me on my way.

--Those 2,000 or so students in the lower level began “warming up” shortly after I sat down, lobbing “Hoya” and “Saxa” across the mostly-empty arena 40 minutes before 2pm.

--As multiple media reports and observations have noted, several sections in the upper deck were nearly vacant yesterday as attendance settled at 15,238.

--These notes are designed to bring up a larger question:
Is the Verizon Center an intimidating venue?

Georgetown has now won 27 consecutive games at the VC, a streak that will almost certainly climb to 29 before Christmas. The overwhelming likelihood is the Hoyas will play Pittsburgh on January 3 to extend their streak to 29 games, 16 Big East conference games, and two-plus calendar years since their last home loss on January 8, 2007 against Villanova.

But is it more a factor of the arena or the team? Perhaps a combination of both?

It’s undeniable that Georgetown squads have been pretty darn good during the past 26 home games, clinching the last two Big East regular season championships in the friendly confines of the Phone Booth. Easily half of these victories would fall into the category of foregone conclusion—nobody would welcome a home loss to St. John’s. And yet, so many quality Big East foes—Pittsburgh, Louisville, Connecticut (twice), Notre Dame, Syracuse, and yes Villanova (at long last)—have fallen before the blue and gray clad fans.

What’s more, Georgetown has a remarkable record in close games during the streak. In the 2008 Big East season alone, the Hoyas pulled out a victory in four games that ended on the final possession (UConn, Syracuse, Villanova and Louisville)...just a month into the 2008-2009 campaign the Hoyas already own an overtime victory over a ranked opponent in Memphis.

No one who regularly attends games at the Verizon Center would argue that it doesn’t get loud at the end of a close game…and maybe even loud enough that it makes a tangible difference in all of these close games.

But does it get loud enough throughout the game? Fans get on their feet at the finish line of every close game, no matter the venue. What distinguish an intimidating venue for me are two factors: (1) bringing overwhelming numbers; and (2) bringing the noise from start to finish.

On count #1, the VC was strangely lacking on Saturday. With several sections in the upper deck almost empty and newspapers reporting that prime 400 level seats were still available as of Friday night, Georgetown-Memphis certainly didn’t seem a nationally televised Top 25 showdown on paper. The announced attendance yesterday was 15,238—or roughly 75% of capacity.

To be fair Georgetown has done a great job filling the VC of late—the attendance figures for the four “final possession” BE games referenced above were 20 035, 20 035, 17575 and 19 116. But a Hoyatalk poster made an interesting comment in the attendance discussion, suggesting that the Hoyas were dependent on opposing fans making up the last several thousand worth of difference in order to fill the Verizon Center. Memphis in this sense was seemingly an anomaly—a big opponent that DOESN’T have a large alumni base inside the beltway. We’re certainly used to, as my Blog colleague Tom Wong calls it, “a looooooottttttttt of Orange” in the upper deck during BE conference games.

On count #2, Georgetown is light years above where it was just a few seasons ago—no questions there. But for my money we’re still a step below certain venues when it comes to bringing the noise from start to finish. A preseason preview magazine I purchased last season included a list of superlatives for each conference, including Toughest Venue. For the Big East, the winner was the WVU Coliseum. Well shoot, I thought—who cares about West Virginia? Try winning in the Petersen Events Center, or playing before 30,000 at the Carrier Dome like GU always seems to do, or getting out of Storrs with a victory.
Then I went to a game at the WVU Coliseum. And it…is..frightening. Every basket is Armageddon. The sound reverberates around a roof shaped like an orange juicer. They SHOOT OFF A GUN for chrissakes!!! And it bears mentioning…the 100 or so Hoop Club folks all the way in the corner of the upper deck were it for GTown fans.

Georgetown has a few things going for it in Washington, DC. When more than half of your student body has season tickets, you’re doing something right—we have the single best student section I’ve seen in the Big East, no homerism involved here. We have a remarkably good defensive team and one that always seems to make the smart play down the stretch—plenty of momentum to go around. And we have…finally…a robust season ticket base of both Alums and Young Alums in the lower level that has come into its own over the past few seasons.

Is the Verizon Center going to make a list of the Top 10 Most Difficult Venues in College Basketball any time soon? Very doubtful—pro arenas lack personality. Should we be doing better than 15,000 for the marquee non-conference game fans have been clamoring for? Absolutely. Will there be three or four thousand Syracuse fans at Verizon next month? You betcha.
Is the Verizon Center an intimidating venue? It CAN BE at times…but we’re still firing a t-shirt gatling gun instead of a musket at times.

--Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg in tuxedos = awesome. From my brief run through my taped copy of the game, Clark Kellogg as CBS lead analyst = super duper awesome.

--A colleague remarked how Memphis carries themselves in pre-game routines as if they’re a professional team (you can imagine the jokes this produced)—very business-like, emotionless, unlike what you typically see from jacked up college students. It’s possible this is because they were playing on the road—although how jacked up can you get for home CUSA games—but I found it an interesting observation.

--One of the contestants today was introduced as “Hoya Fan Dick”. Okay then.

--The biggest rise from the Jumbotron today—the reveal of Doneal Mack’s hair:
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/ncaa_tourney/2008/uploaded_images/25mack-794992.jpg

--A fan poster with a picture of Fat Albert and the text “Hey Pierre…Want a Cookie?” migrated across the arena during halftime for maximum exposure…which I guess is Hoya Blue’s equivalent of getting a clock on “Flavor of Love”. Gotta love when Memphis fans are using as a tongue in cheek argument against Ed Hightower’s goaltending call that Pierre Henderson-Niles is too fat to get up to the rim for a putback.

--Great moments in promotions: the Jumbotron carried an advertisement/announcement for the Hoya Hoop Club’s pregame party. At halftime.

--Somebody’s baby (not the Jackson Browne song) won the Chevy Chase Check Card whatever whatever look at me look at me I have a poster or small child to pimp gimme one hundred dollars.

--Somebody dressed as Hoya Santa won FOTG. Hoyatalk FOTG FTL!

--The VC finally figured out how/when to properly use Zombie Nation. Good for them.

--Rock and Roll Part 2 made its…ummm…return during overtime. Yippee. Anything the University of Maryland can do…we can do half as well.

--Why would Mrs. Witherspoon decide to attend the first half of the GTown-Memphis game (Wesley) and the second half of WG-Harvard (Wynton)? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that the end of GU-Memphis would likely be far more exciting than an A-10 vs. Ivy League showdown?

RECURRING YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Boy Band Video:
All-4-One (the band, not Tyreke Evans' offensive philosophy) “I Swear”

Billboard Number 1:
On April 7, 2008 Memphis bled away the 2008 National Championship at the free throw line in the final minutes against Kansas. The number one song eight months ago:

Artist from Opponent’s City

This is either the easiest or hardest city all season depending on your perspective. How do you choose from a city that has associated with it arguably the most important organically American-born genre of music?

I’m speaking, of course, about CRUNK.

Three 6 Mafia “Stay Fly”

Love Song

Elvis Presley, “Burning Love” (1972):

The Hoff:


--One last note: I hung around Chinatown for a few hours after the game, and was eating dinner in the Ruby Tuesday’s across the street from the Verizon Center around 6:00pm. Seated in the back corner I was mostly out of view in the dark restaurant, but a fan happened to glimpse mine and my girlfriend’s We Are Georgetown shirts as he passed, prompting him to turn around and say “Nice job today, guys.”

Maybe we’re not doing so bad after all.

[The Stig]

Verizon can be intimidating at the best of times. When the place gets going in the last 5 minutes of big games, it really gets rocking. The explosion after Ewing took a charge near center court against Pitt a couple years ago was particularly memorable.

Outside of the last 5 minutes though, the place can be a bit dead. The difference to me is the non-student fans. When they get into it, the place goes from sort of loud to really loud. That's when it gets intimidating.

If we can get our non-student fans to get loud from the start, that could make a huge difference. I hate to say it, but that was something that impressed me about the Carrier Dome atmosphere last year. We never heard much of the Cuse student section during the game, but their non-student fans stood and cheered during every Cuse possession for about the first 10 minutes. Not just cheering when they scored a basket, but standing and making noise for the entire possession. Granted, there were about 30,000 of them, so it's not that hard to be loud, but they were into the game from the start. It made the cursed Dome a very intimidating place. If we could get our non-student fans to do that, we'd have a very intimidating venue.

[chep3]

For those of you who went to games during the JTII era, were the non-student fans loud then? If we keep this program on its current track for the next 5 years, will we start getting bandwagon jumpers who gravitate to our success and actually cheer loudly at games? Or is this probably going to be the way it will be forever?

[vcjack]

Its not really that difficult to understand the difference in non-student game day atmosphere at the Verizon Center and places like the Carrier Dome and the Colliseum: its all institutional.

Before I joined FLHoya and others to West Virginia last season I had wondered where the hell "Let's Gooooooo Mountaniers" had come from, and why did every Eer fan do it? I assumed that it was something carried over from their days as students and non alumni fans had just coppied it. But during the game, it became clear that its an institutional part of the West Virginia gameday experiance. During timeouts, the cheerleaders come out with big signs that either say "Lets Go" or "Mountaniers" and when they shake their signs, everyone follows along. Cuse cheerleaders do similar routines and to the same effect.

Compare that to the Verizon Center where its only the students yelling "Hoya Saxa" or "We Are Georgetown". I used to think that it just was that way for whatever reason, but watching the end of the Maryland game in Orlando, the cheerleaders turn to the (completely non student) Georgetown section, and guess what? They followed along and it was really cool. Yesterday I noticed that the jumbotron has some new "get loud" graphics, which seem to be pretty lame but somehow they worked; people saw and obeyed. If our cheerleaders or perhaps the jumbotron started engaging the non-student crowd to participate in these "student only" cheers, things would get turned around pretty quickly. As much as we like to highlight the culture differences between ourselves and the people of West Virginia and upstate New York, the only difference is institutional.

[royski]

Not to nitpick what was as always a great read, but no opinion on Jessie FLhoya?

[sleepy]

FL great recap like we all expect. Your comparison of Omar to PE2 is dead on. I was thinking the same thing after the game . Ewing in training great line. Freeman is starting to concern me. Not just the giveaway late, but a pattern of bad turnovers or near tunovers off of lazy passes. He is great when attacking but under pressure in the backcourt he scares me. He has developed the Jesse Sapp tendency of picking up the dribble in anticipation of the trap instead of waiting for it to come and having the open man to pass to.

Big difference between this team and the 07 and 08 is how we attack after breaking the press. More importantly we are scoring easy baskets off it.

Rebounding while the overall numbers were not pretty Memphis was sending 3 and 4 to the glass on a consistent basis. On numerous occasions on a strong side 3 point shot they would send the weak side either from the base line corner or even from the elbow extended to the three point line in to rebound. you're not going to box that in most situations Our weakside gaurd is typically either looking to come back for an outlet or looking to release . In the first half it apeared that we wanted to run on the unbalanced defense after a defensive rebound but just couldnt get enough of them to make Memhis pay. we clearly made some numbers adjustments for the second half.

[lichoya68]

great recap flhoya and agree need to fill the booth and cheerleaders should start LEADING CHEERS ALL OVER THE BOOTH YUP ALL OVER YOUNG AND OLD go hoyas go cheerleaders fill the booth and fill it with NOISE go hoyas

[SirSaxa]

FLHoya, really nice job on your game recap, keeping the exam theme working throughout -- never letting it feel trite or tired. It gave your solid analysis a nice extra touch.

You also cited and accurately described key play after key play we could all recognize and recall, bringing your recap to life. Very nice work. I think I speak for many when I say how much we appreciate and enjoy your recaps.... and player evaluations too!

[grokamok]

Dec 14, 2008 16:38:04 GMT -5 FLHoya said:

--Speaking of mediocre stuff at the Verizon Center…nobody’s taken down the BB&T Classic ads from last week.

We all know that the VC provides too welcoming a venue for most high-profile opposing teams based upon the availability of tickets and the numbers of opposing fans in the area, for whom a game against us may be the one chance they have of seeing their team play in person. I'd think that the cost of tickets in recent years (even for marginal seating) is also a factor that keeps local Hoya fans from attending regularly in dominating numbers. These are, in a way, simply the facts of life when using a large off-campus venue in a cosmopolitan city.

Outright disrespect for our team from our hosting venue is another matter entirely, and the observation above evidences only one of many such slights. Showing up for Hoya's season finale in 2005 to see the VC bedecked in ACC regalia for that conference's tournament (still a week away at that point) with nary a blue and gray banner to be seen was enough to put the nail in the coffin for me. We lost by 3 to a pitiful Friars squad in a game we absolutely had to have for a realistic shot at the NCAAs (having lost four straight beforehand). I have no confidence in the VC as anything but a venue of convenience.

[ericcusimano]

In my personal opinion, the weaknesses of Verizon as a viable venue are moot discussion points for the time being, we have 0 say in the lay out of the arena and for all practical purposes that isnt changing; therefore, as a cheerleader, it's our jobs to use what we got so to speak.

In that regard, our student fans can be the absolute best in college basketball on any given night, but bear in mind our student fans probably don't make up any where close to even half of the total fans in the arena at any given game. Therefore, without the alumni, local fans, etc. its difficult for me to agree that Verizon truly is an intimidating venue. That said, having seen our fans go up against opposing fans in more head to head tournament venue's, we are not hampered by our numbers with everyone in mind.

I was in Orlando and while I was initially very much concerned that there would be 0-10 students in the stands, however, the alumni did an excellent job, leaving me no longer doubting that they are just simply not capable. At the milkhouse, we went straight at the alumni, as if they were students, to hypothesize: it could be that at Verizon they feel like that's what the students are there for, thus in there absence we get what happened in Orlando.

I have had a number of ideas as far as what we could do to at the very least encourage more alumni participation, the best is as follows. Typical cheerleading routines are not what we usually do during the 12 minute timeout of the second half; instead they often involve just straight up cheerleading, no dancing at all in many cases. As a guy trust me I'm not a big fan of the dancing anymore than the next dude cheerleader. Therefore we could during halftime (after the contest for you deal or no deal fans) put together some routines with various stunts and what not in them that incorporate the signs and go straight at the alumni. My thinking here is if we can get them to participate at half-time they will be more likely to do so during regulation.

With that said, I have always tried especially at bigger games to reach out to the non-fan base during key moments, taking student participation as an assumption. It's come with mixed results depending on the moment and the games importance; however, there is a way to get non-students into these games.

Hoya Saxa.

[theexorcist]

We're stuck with Verizon. It can be intimidating, but it's not ideal.

I was in the standard lower bowl section the past two years, and am next to the student section now. The student section is very very active - everyone stands the entire game, and cheers are constant.

The standard lower bowl has none of these. The game is not the be-all end-all, and people aren't standing and constantly cheering. However, during key moments of the game, most people get up and cheer loudly (on the Milk House comments, remember that you had dedicated fans there - if I had booked a vacation around a basketball game, I'd make sure I got my money's worth).

One of the cooler chants the entire game - sometime in the second half, the student section started up a "Hoya!" "Saxa!" chant. No other cheers - just one chant, a beat, then the other. Gave me chills.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

If you want the 400's filled, it is going to be with out of towners & fans of the opposition. Saturday displayed that since Memphis didn't seem to travel very well. I agree on the noise and I am always surprised by the number of fans in the 100's who don't show up at all or after tip. Those are "sold" seats.

Part of it may be out of town alumns who keep seats and don't make it to every game. I for one am in my seats every game I am in town for. As far as the JTII era, it was the same at Cap center only the student section was worse because of the effort to get to games. For a big match up (AI v. Kerry Kittles years or AI v. Ray Allen, those were always packed but most of the other games were the same).

[dungeon ball]

Sidenote from the Section 102. I had the severe misfortune of sitting next to the two young ladies from Memphis that were holding their Tiger signs the entire game and screaming during Georgetown free throws. Mainly, it was "I love you Tyreke!!!!" at a decibel and frequency level that the written word could never accurately describe. If you were sitting anywhere near the Georgetown bench, you know who they were. There were kids from the student section giving them the death glare, which was actually pretty funny.

I'm not a confrontational person by nature, and despite my friend's best efforts, nothing was going to shut these girls up, (not even the hammered, older random dudes in front of us relentlessly hitting on them). So I apologize for not being able to do more.

It became abundantly clear to me Saturday that my seats are surrounded by scalpers' seats (they have yet to be occupied by the same people twice) and my only hope is that they fall into hoya hands, or at the very least just much quieter fans of the road team.

Point is that the lower level is never going to get that rowdy when scalpers' have control of so many seats.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

I would just love it and it would be a big step if the non student fans would participate in the Hoya Saxa cheers and the We Are Georgetown Cheers. I think this needs some institutional assistance. When those cheers happen they should flash the chants on those thin strip screens that encircle the arena and even on the corner monitors. the cheerleaders can even hold up the signs.

I don't think trying something at halftime will do anything since half the arena is no longer in their seats. Perhaps we should institute one of those no sitting until our first made basket things. Something to get fans into the idea of cheering right at the begining of games.

[PhillyHoya]

Dec 15, 2008 9:36:20 GMT -5 dungeon ball said:

Sidenote from the Section 102. I had the severe misfortune of sitting next to the two young ladies from Memphis that were holding their Tiger signs the entire game and screaming during Georgetown free throws. Mainly, it was "I love you Tyreke!!!!" at a decibel and frequency level that the written word could never accurately describe. If you were sitting anywhere near the Georgetown bench, you know who they were. There were kids from the student section giving them the death glare, which was actually pretty funny.

I'm not a confrontational person by nature, and despite my friend's best efforts, nothing was going to shut these girls up, (not even the hammered, older random dudes in front of us relentlessly hitting on them). So I apologize for not being able to do more.

There were 2 of those girls in 119 on the tunnel as well. One of them was a shrieker. She got the death glare and a lot of crap from 118 and the student section. I seriously wanted to slug her after awhile especially because she had little Georgetown kids around her and all the could do was screech and wave her stupid sign around.

[dungeon ball]

Dec 15, 2008 11:33:34 GMT -5 PhillyHoya said:

Dec 15, 2008 9:36:20 GMT -5 dungeon ball said:

Sidenote from the Section 102. I had the severe misfortune of sitting next to the two young ladies from Memphis that were holding their Tiger signs the entire game and screaming during Georgetown free throws. Mainly, it was "I love you Tyreke!!!!" at a decibel and frequency level that the written word could never accurately describe. If you were sitting anywhere near the Georgetown bench, you know who they were. There were kids from the student section giving them the death glare, which was actually pretty funny.

I'm not a confrontational person by nature, and despite my friend's best efforts, nothing was going to shut these girls up, (not even the hammered, older random dudes in front of us relentlessly hitting on them). So I apologize for not being able to do more.

There were 2 of those girls in 119 on the tunnel as well. One of them was a shrieker. She got the death glare and a lot of crap from 118 and the student section. I seriously wanted to slug her after awhile especially because she had little Georgetown kids around her and all the could do was screech and wave her stupid sign around.

Forgot to mention that these girls weren't even Memphis students. They were GW students from Memphis. Now if that isn't the worst combination possible to be sitting next to, I don't know what is.

[fsohoya]

I am constantly disappointed in the regular fans, but the students are much better than when I was matriculating (91-95). I also think the VC is a far superior venue to the Cap Center, even if it is a little too pro. And like others here, it seems that many of the seats around me (sect. 113) are either owned by scalpers or just rare attendees. (Seats to my left, actually, I have been told belong to the university and they are rarely filled.)

I think there is little we can do about scalpers or no-shows -- DC is a big city with lots of busy people and lots of things to do -- but our regular, non-student fans have got to get more into the game from the start. I think having the cheerleaders lead the regular folks in cheers would be great, but we also need someone -- like, I'm sorry to say, a Dome Ranger -- who shows it is not a bad thing for normally button-down adults to get a little nuts. I think it also takes a few catalysts; I often stand up in close games long before the end and try to get other to do the same (I use the ol' waving up of the arms) and when a few other join me all others do. When I stand there just by myself, though, it lasts about 1 minute.

[lichoya68]

in the past a number of times during the game the cheerleaders would fan out up th aisles around the lower bowl to lead some whole arena cheers cna they do that a few times especailly at critical times go hoyas go cheerleaders