DC Sports Bog shot at Hoyas

[guru]

Pretty tame, but Hoya-related. From Steinberg's post-Duke/UMCP writeup:

"Some teams keep their locker rooms closed and only allow you to interview their players on a stage with PR people hovering nearby (ahem, Hoyas), but Duke has enough faith in their players to turn them loose, and they managed themselves quite well, thanks."

voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2009/02/dukies_take_the_high_road.html#more

[henlehoya]

If Gerald Henderson or Jon Scheyer openly admitted to kicking puppies and steal children's lunch money, I doubt they would be hated more by non-fans. Perhaps that's why Duke can afford such a hands off approach to its players. And that's also another reason why Georgetown might have a vested interest in managing its public relations--we aren't the most hated team in America.

Who knows! Maybe Steinberg is trying his personal brand of not-funny irony because if you actually read the quotes, neither player is really "taking the high road."

I also feel really compelled to share this nugget of a comment from the linked article:



Gerald Henderson:

"Oh, we got a lot of calls, a LOT of calls," he said. "It's been happening here probably since Coach Dawkins played here."

Is he talking about prank calls or the refs?

Posted by: GiannicolusJones | February 26, 2009 11:10 AM

OH SNAP.

[rosslynhoya]

If Gerald Henderson or Jon Scheyer openly admitted to kicking puppies and steal children's lunch money, I doubt they would be loved any less by the media.

As for our program's policy,

1. Paranoia is a Georgetown Hoyas tradition, and since suffocating defense and tough play in the paint have been forgotten, we've got to hold on to what we've got.

and

2. If Pops can catch all kinds of hell for his "thugs" comment, imagine what might spring from a player's mouth that the media would intentionally twist and misuse for a few weeks. See also, 1 above.

[HoyasAreHungry]

his schtick is to find interesting tid bits and stories for his blog...of course he wishes he could get inside the locker room to do some not quite newsworthy interviews.....I don't think it was really meant to be an offensive shot just trying to be funny etc

[Big Dog]

Does our overprotective policy really have a point in this day and age when freshmen are the same age LeBron James was when he was dominating as a rookie in the NBA, and may only be a few months away from making more money than they could ever dream? What's the case for this on the merits? Isn't it possible that this overzealousness has been used against us in recruiting and/or has driven away a worthy player or two over the years?

I know the stock answer to this is to pat ourselves on the back and ponder what a wonderful, first-class program we are and how we always have the kids' best interests at heart. But is that really what this is about? And if so, are the rules properly tailored to achieve that end?

[guru]

I agree Big Dog. I think it's an outdated, and frankly pretty stupid, policy. Not a huge deal, but I don't see why the players can't be trusted to speak for themselves.

[bosoxfan3]

I'm pretty ambivalent on the issue, and until a player speaks out against the policy or it comes out that a player is bothered by it I don't really care.

Athletes (and people in general) say stupid things, and I'm not surprised that this university is not too keen on giving its highest-profile students more opportunities to say stupid things... I'm not calling our basketball team stupid, just that you put guys in a bad situation following a tough loss and, understandably so, dumb things can be said.

[Cambridge]

I don't think its a policy primarily motivated to preventing a player from saying something stupid, rather it is geared towards helping a player make the adjustment to Big East basketball with fewer distractions. It must be hard enough just going away to college for many of these guys - as it is for most college freshmen, let alone having just about everyone on campus and much of the nation know them by sight. I can only imagine it would be even more overwhelming if every day a reporter stuck his microphone in your face. I say, leave the policy in place, it makes the transition much less intimidating and allows the freshmen to focus on adjusting to college life and developing on and off the court without worrying about what to say to reporters.

[CAHoya07]

Feb 26, 2009 15:29:26 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

I don't think its a policy primarily motivated to preventing a player from saying something stupid, rather it is geared towards helping a player make the adjustment to Big East basketball with fewer distractions. It must be hard enough just going away to college for many of these guys - as it is for most college freshmen, let alone having just about everyone on campus and much of the nation know them by sight. I can only imagine it would be even more overwhelming if every day a reporter stuck his microphone in your face. I say, leave the policy in place, it makes the transition much less intimidating and allows the freshmen to focus on adjusting to college life and developing on and off the court without worrying about what to say to reporters.

Agreed. That's why I kind of like this policy, although the media seems to perceive it as "paranoia."

[TBird41]

Feb 26, 2009 15:41:51 GMT -5 CAHoya07 said:

Feb 26, 2009 15:29:26 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

I don't think its a policy primarily motivated to preventing a player from saying something stupid, rather it is geared towards helping a player make the adjustment to Big East basketball with fewer distractions. It must be hard enough just going away to college for many of these guys - as it is for most college freshmen, let alone having just about everyone on campus and much of the nation know them by sight. I can only imagine it would be even more overwhelming if every day a reporter stuck his microphone in your face. I say, leave the policy in place, it makes the transition much less intimidating and allows the freshmen to focus on adjusting to college life and developing on and off the court without worrying about what to say to reporters.

Agreed. That's why I kind of like this policy, although the media seems to perceive it as "paranoia."

Not surprising. The media hates anything that prevents the media from getting what it wants. Almost a good enough reason to keep the policy in and of itself.

[Big Dog]

Feb 26, 2009 15:29:26 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

I don't think its a policy primarily motivated to preventing a player from saying something stupid, rather it is geared towards helping a player make the adjustment to Big East basketball with fewer distractions. It must be hard enough just going away to college for many of these guys - as it is for most college freshmen, let alone having just about everyone on campus and much of the nation know them by sight. I can only imagine it would be even more overwhelming if every day a reporter stuck his microphone in your face. I say, leave the policy in place, it makes the transition much less intimidating and allows the freshmen to focus on adjusting to college life and developing on and off the court without worrying about what to say to reporters.

I agree with you that this must be the basis for the policy, and that it sounds sensible enough. But it obviously must have some negatives or why wouldn't any other program adopt such a posture? There have to be reasons other than "Georgetown cares, other schools don't," right? I'm suggesting that some of these negatives might be in a perception among players and recruits that opportunities to shine and to get the attention of the "league" are limited by the policy, and that therefore it is better to go somewhere else. And there is probably a good argument to be made about whether it is better for a particular kid (and for the program as a whole) to have the opportunity to raise his profile vs. being protected from it. The fact is that most of these kids have to have been exposed to very high levels of attention and press coverage from long before they began attending Georgetown, and so maybe the policy is being overly protective where only a few really benefit.

Not to be the bad guy here, but if there's a chance that our recruiting/retaining is hurt by the policy, then I'd be in favor of revoking, notwithstanding its possible benefits to some number of players.

[SFHoya99]

I'm ambivalent.

I can't really remember the last time I heard a quote by a player that I thought really gave me incredible insight, and frankly, kudos to them for that. There's no upside to the players or the team there.

Reporters make snarky comments like these because quotes mean its easy to write a story.

[Gold Hoya]

When I occasionally covered men's basketball for The Hoya in 1997-2000, the locker room was always open to talk to players from when JTII/Esh began their remarks until about 10 minutes after the coach wrapped up. Several reporters would leave their recorder on the coach's table after asking a question or two to make sure they got enough time to get player quotes.

HoyaLS05, is this different now?

The ban on freshmen talking to the media lasts for 8 whole weeks, from mid-October until the end of finals in December. I think the fourth estate can survive on comments from upperclassmen and transfers until after finals.

[Big Dog]

Feb 26, 2009 16:22:00 GMT -5 Gold Hoya said:

The ban on freshmen talking to the media lasts for 8 whole weeks, from mid-October until the end of finals in December. I think the fourth estate can survive on comments from upperclassmen and transfers until after finals.

If this is true, the policy makes all the sense in the world.

[FLHoya]

hahaha, as if Dan Steinberg's even been to a Georgetown game this year.

Take away the stupid Pikachu costumes and he's got nothing to write about at Verizon. Give UM students credit for that at least, they make better fodder for humorous sports blogs.

Incidentally, the Scheyerface thing was played out before last night.

[jgalt]

You have all gotten way too worked up about this. Everything written by Steinberg is supposed to be taken with a huge grain of salt. He rights a humorous blog that he admits does not make him anywhere close to a journalist. the way i read the quote is that he is more making fun of the idea that the players are going say something crazy because there really isnt much they could say that is crazy. The hoyas are a local team that he writes about often (always saying good things) and that is why he included it. To be offended by this is like being offended when your 3 year old nephew calls you a "doo-doo head."