nodak89
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Roy Roy Royyyyy!!!
Posts: 1,881
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Post by nodak89 on Feb 13, 2007 23:44:09 GMT -5
Going into my senior year (88-89), I was convinced that the John Thompson coached US Olympic team would take gold, and the Hoyas would win the National Championship. As it turned out, the United States took Bronze and the Hoyas got to the Elite Eight (and won the Big East). Who could have predicted that, with the benefit of hindsight, those results would not look half bad?? Eighteen years later, even NBA players have a hard time winning the bronze. As for the Hoyas, I'd be thrilled to win the Big East and to get to the Final Eight. Back then I felt cheated that I was the first class since the Class of '81 that did not experience a Final Four. Tru dat.
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miracles87
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,150
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Post by miracles87 on Feb 14, 2007 1:16:47 GMT -5
I dunno. I was pretty pumped about '01 Hoyas. I mean, with Sweets, Wes, Scruggs, Boumtje and Bras, I thought we were pretty tough. No, I am not currently high on anything, but. That team had a bunch of big wins, alot of talent, and a bright future. That future of course, did not pan out. However, I was one optimistic fan. Losing to a great Twerp squad did not dampen my enthusiasm. Ah, Wesley Wilson, hope he is doing well...
All of that said, yes, this team might well be the best since Zo's freshman year, which was a nasty, nasty group. Still can't believe JT2 didn't play Mutombo in the 2nd half of that region final. The Twin Towers sure seemed to shut down the Laettner / Ferry lovefest in the first half... pain
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SirSaxa
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 747
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Post by SirSaxa on Feb 14, 2007 2:13:29 GMT -5
This was inspired by something SirSaxa wrote in another thread. In that case, I guess I'd better respond! The question is "best time to be a Hoya fan". It wasn't, "will this team do better than last year's team", or "when was the last time we had a team as good as this one". With that in mind, I'd say it is the best time to be a Hoya fan since the '80s. Why? We went to the Sweet Sixteen last year. This current team - right now -- could win the whole thing this year. We have a realistic chance to win it all. And an even better chance to win our first BET title since 1989! Next year's team will also have a great chance to win the BET and even the NCAA -- even if Roy and Jeff depart, we'll still be good. If they stay, we could be and probably should be pre-season favorites. The recruiting outlook for the forseeable future is outstanding. We have a coach who is as good as any coach in the country... if not better. The outlook for the Hoops program at GU is as good as that for any team in the nation. And we have a coach who is also non-controversial and a true gentleman. We have a student body that is totally behind the team and supports them wherever they go. For all the complaints about the MCI/Verizon Center, it beats the heck out of Landover, and at home games... with all the gray shirts behind the baskets, it has become a true home court advantage. We have some of the smartest, classiest, and most talented kids on the current team that we have ever had. They play beautiful basketball that is a joy to watch. Many of us went through the highs back in the day, and the lows since then. Our appreciation of a "second chance" to return the program to the very top is even greater than the first time. Some say 1989. Some say 1985. To me, it is the best time since the '80s. It's a great team, with an even greater tradition behind it. Finally, I'll add one more thing. Back in the 80's, we didn't have Hoya Talk. We didn't have the ability to connect with the team, the school and so many other Hoya fans. Thanks to this board I have met a LOT of great fans of all ages. HoyaDestroya, Gsurus, Megafan, Gigafan, ForesthillsNY, DTrain, AvantGuardHoya, HoyaInSpirit, JahidiHoya, Lic and so many others... not to mention even more of you whom I've "met" on line. And -- for me personally -- I get to enjoy it all with my two sons who were too young to really appreciate the 80s. So hey, maybe this is absolutely the BEST time to be a Hoya fan. We have so many great games and great years ahead! Thanks again to DFW, DanMcQ and WBH. This team right now is one of which we can all be proud -- on the court, off the court. These are "the good old days"!!!
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HoyaSpirit
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Gotta love Smitty - 1989 Big East Player of the Year
Posts: 305
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Post by HoyaSpirit on Feb 14, 2007 4:09:40 GMT -5
I would also say 89 but i'm biased since I was in school back then. I think it's fair to say since Iverson days in terms of ranking and NCAA tourney results. I think it's definitely better this year than last year overall. We have won every win except 1 game by double digits - that's ridiculous. Last year a lot of our wins were closer, and we didn't regularly decimate teams. Also we had Bowman who you never knew if he would show up as Bad B or Good B, and in general we were a little less consistent. We have no Bowmans or Braswell type players (i.e. out of control, with poor fundamentals, yet still talented in a way) from the sad wild west days. This team is a machine and a joy to watch. Great fundamentals and execution. If we don't make the sweet 16, it won't be due to being a worse team, it would be playing a weak game at the wrong time. I think we're better. The difference in Roy alone is incredible.
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Post by hoyalove4ever on Feb 14, 2007 9:16:13 GMT -5
Since the Sweet Sixteen runs of last year and 2001.
Wins in February are great, but wins in March are so much better.
Hopefully the best is best to come.
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Post by HeartAttackHoya on Feb 14, 2007 10:04:10 GMT -5
I think Iverson's sophmore year might have been the most "exciting" time to be Hoyas fan and I would find it hard to put this time past the excitement levels of that team without a run in the tournament..
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YB
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,494
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Post by YB on Feb 14, 2007 10:06:43 GMT -5
I'll say since 1996. Those were epic BE battles with true stars on every team. That 96 team was Damn Good. I'll say since then.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2007 10:45:00 GMT -5
And to think, JTIII is only half way into his 3 season here. Talk about turn arounds
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JB5
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 690
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Post by JB5 on Feb 14, 2007 10:46:44 GMT -5
There is no bad time to be a Hoya fan.
But these are particularly good times. I'd write more, but I don't think I could put it any better than Sir Saxa did aboove. Amen to all that.
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Post by VictorSkyPage on Feb 14, 2007 11:15:30 GMT -5
I'll say since 1996. Those were epic BE battles with true stars on every team. That 96 team was Damn Good. I'll say since then. I totally agree... 1996 was ridiculously exciting all-around. The Big East was amazing and the Hoyas were at the forefront with tons of national exposure. Although there aren't as many epic B.E. battles this year (star power is down a bit, as is the conference itself); I think this team has a higher ceiling and more of a shot at a national championship than the 95-96 squads did, and that hope is the key element in what makes it a great time to be a fan.
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FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
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Post by FLHoya on Feb 14, 2007 11:15:56 GMT -5
There is no bad time to be a Hoya fan. It took 28 posts for somebody to get the correct answer.
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Boz
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
123 Fireballs!
Posts: 10,355
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Post by Boz on Feb 14, 2007 11:27:21 GMT -5
There is no bad time to be a Hoya fan. It took 28 posts for somebody to get the correct answer. True, but some times are more not bad than others. (I am becoming more and more like my hero - lic - every day)
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,440
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Post by lichoya68 on Feb 14, 2007 11:28:39 GMT -5
welll maybe im a little hyper excited but the answer might be SINCE BIRTH YUP THINK THEIR D IS THE BEST SINCE THE EIGHTIES YUP AWESOME BABY EVEN DUKIE VITALE MIGHT COME ON BOARD BEILIEN IS HOME WATCHING TAPES TO LEARN SOMETHING AND STARRED OUR D STARRED OUR D GREAT SWITCHING GO HOYAS PRESS THE NOVAS IMPRESS THE PRESS BEAT THE WILDCATS.. GOOD MORNING STUDENTS WITH THE DAY OFF WELL WHEN YOU WAKE UP FOLKS TIS FEBRUARY AS ROY NOW SAYS HOYA TIME ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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HoyaFanNY
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Never throw to the venus on a spider 3 Y banana!
Posts: 4,991
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Post by HoyaFanNY on Feb 14, 2007 11:32:15 GMT -5
i agree, last season after beating osu. this team is only more successful if we get past that point.
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Post by Coast2CoastHoya on Feb 14, 2007 11:49:40 GMT -5
There is no bad time to be a Hoya fan -- true.
It's the best time to be a Hoya fan since last St. Patty's Day.
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guru
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,605
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Post by guru on Feb 14, 2007 12:02:30 GMT -5
(sigh) too many lawyers on this board I agree that there's no bad time to be a Hoya fan (though that theory was sorely tested during the Mustachioed Era).
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Post by jonnystrongleg on Feb 14, 2007 14:45:45 GMT -5
The JT3 era is incredibly exciting. The program has been revitalized, there is already one successful NCAA tourney under the belt and the promise of more to come in the near future.
That being said, the "promise of more to come" doesn't beat what's already in the bank. And as someone who experienced the Iverson era first hand, there is still a long way to go to beat the 1995-96 season. 1) The Big East was an absolute war with 3 teams in the top 10 (6 in the top 25) most weeks. Kittles @ Nova, Ray Allen @ UConn, Wallace @ Cuse, and of course 3 solid NBA players @ Gtown including the best player in the country - even if the chicken sh*t media refused to acknowledge it come award time. 2) The Hoyas went 16-0 at home. 8-0 in the Big East at home with an average score of 92-72. That's a 20 point average margin of victory at home in Big East play! There was a quote from the paper at the time that said something like, "They Hoyas could make the NBA playoffs if they could play every game at home." The Hoyas home games were incredible spectacles. The drubbings of UConn, Nova and Memphis are probably the 3 most dominating performances over elite competition I've ever seen. SportsCenter could have shown the Memphis game uneditied as an extend highlight package. 3) The Hoyas routinely scored a ton of points. Don't get me wrong. I don't really care how they win, but the sheer amount of NBA talent swarming around the court on a nightly basis made it impossible to play any other style. There was no way to contain this team and watching Iverson toss in 30 points in 20 minutes never once got boring.
The team was not great on the road however. And they failed in three big spots on neutral courts - Preseason NIT finals loss to Zona, BET championship, and the Elite 8 game vs UMass. In retrospect JT was on his last coaching legs and the team's talent was never fully realized. But a few posters here seem to think this wasn't a Championship caliber team. I totally disagree. This team could decimate the best in the country on any given night. The students believed a national title was in the offing and it's great to hear that students today feel the same way.
I hope the 2007 Hoyas blow the 1996 team out of the water, but until they do, for me, it was better to be a Hoya fan in 1996.
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hoyainspirit
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
When life puts that voodoo on me, music is my gris-gris.
Posts: 8,394
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Post by hoyainspirit on Feb 14, 2007 15:09:38 GMT -5
The JT3 era is incredibly exciting. The program has been revitalized, there is already one successful NCAA tourney under the belt and the promise of more to come in the near future. That being said, the "promise of more to come" doesn't beat what's already in the bank. And as someone who experienced the Iverson era first hand, there is still a long way to go to beat the 1995-96 season. 1) The Big East was an absolute war with 3 teams in the top 10 (6 in the top 25) most weeks. Kittles @ Nova, Ray Allen @ UConn, Wallace @ Cuse, and of course 3 solid NBA players @ Gtown including the best player in the country - even if the chicken sh*t media refused to acknowledge it come award time. 2) The Hoyas went 16-0 at home. 8-0 in the Big East at home with an average score of 92-72. That's a 20 point average margin of victory at home in Big East play! There was a quote from the paper at the time that said something like, "They Hoyas could make the NBA playoffs if they could play every game at home." The Hoyas home games were incredible spectacles. The drubbings of UConn, Nova and Memphis are probably the 3 most dominating performances over elite competition I've ever seen. SportsCenter could have shown the Memphis game uneditied as an extend highlight package. 3) The Hoyas routinely scored a ton of points. Don't get me wrong. I don't really care how they win, but the sheer amount of NBA talent swarming around the court on a nightly basis made it impossible to play any other style. There was no way to contain this team and watching Iverson toss in 30 points in 20 minutes never once got boring. The team was not great on the road however. And they failed in three big spots on neutral courts - Preseason NIT finals loss to Zona, BET championship, and the Elite 8 game vs UMass. In retrospect JT was on his last coaching legs and the team's talent was never fully realized. But a few posters here seem to think this wasn't a Championship caliber team. I totally disagree. This team could decimate the best in the country on any given night. The students believed a national title was in the offing and it's great to hear that students today feel the same way. I hope the 2007 Hoyas blow the 1996 team out of the water, but until they do, for me, it was better to be a Hoya fan in 1996. It's great to have so many new posters contributing to the board. Welcome. As far as dominating performances are concerned, try not to miss the SJU game to be broadcast on MASN 2/23. That one was as dominating as dominating can be.
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