Post by RDF on Mar 23, 2007 18:32:23 GMT -5
Where the heck is the game thread? I'll start one if we aren't going to have one.
...We interrupt this RDF mini-rant for news of the Hoya Sweet 16 victory...
Multiple additional article links now up at HoyaSaxa.com
NY Times photo as game ends
Summers & Green after the game
The "press" interviews Jeff Green after the game
Wash Times - Barker Davis: Banking on Green
Wash Times - Patrick Stevens: Hibbert provides spark before exit
Wash Times: Hoyas Report
Wash Post - Mike Wise: A Will to Win
Wash Post - Sally Jenkins: Mr. Clutch Delivers
Wash Post - Camille Powell: Money on the Bank
Green Sends Georgetown to First Region Final Since 1996 With Late Shot: Georgetown 66, Vanderbilt 65
NY Post - Lenn Robbins: GOIN' TO 'TOWN - THINKING GREEN WORKS FOR HOYAS
Tennessean.com: One final stop eludes Vandy
Another Game winner photo
GUHoyas.com Recap with photo gallery link
Yahoo Sports - Adrian Wojnarowski: Almost Priceton powered
NorthJersey.com: Thompson keeps his cool, makes mark as a top coach
CBS Sportsline game highlights and postgame JTIII on-court interview
Link to Photo of the game winner
NY Times: Georgetown’s Past Becoming Present
GUHoyas.com Box Score
Hoyas with a 40-16 rebounding advantage (16 offensive)
...now back to our regularly scheduled rant...
What's going on? I've got Butler-Florida and need help with game info until I'm switched when this one goes to Half.
...We interrupt this RDF mini-rant for news of the Hoya Sweet 16 victory...
Multiple additional article links now up at HoyaSaxa.com
NY Times photo as game ends
Summers & Green after the game
The "press" interviews Jeff Green after the game
Wash Times - Barker Davis: Banking on Green
"When you're young you're always in the backyard pretending that you're making shots and listening to the crowd go wild," said Green, whose shot touched off some celebratory chaos among the partisan Georgetown crowd last night at Continental Airlines Arena. "This year I've been making that happen for real, and it's been really nice."
"For any other guy, the degree of difficulty on that shot is impossible," said Georgetown freshman forward DaJuan Summers, who hugged Green for nearly 20 seconds at halfcourt after the Big East player of the year elevated above a Vanderbilt double-team of 6-foot-9 Ross Neltner and 6-6 Shan Foster and flipped in the 8-footer. "I wouldn't want anybody else taking that shot, much less in that situation. But for Jeff, he can take that shot any time. I'm kind of speechless. I was on the verge of tears out there because this is my first time in the NCAA tournament, and I just feel so blessed to have been able to experience that."
"For any other guy, the degree of difficulty on that shot is impossible," said Georgetown freshman forward DaJuan Summers, who hugged Green for nearly 20 seconds at halfcourt after the Big East player of the year elevated above a Vanderbilt double-team of 6-foot-9 Ross Neltner and 6-6 Shan Foster and flipped in the 8-footer. "I wouldn't want anybody else taking that shot, much less in that situation. But for Jeff, he can take that shot any time. I'm kind of speechless. I was on the verge of tears out there because this is my first time in the NCAA tournament, and I just feel so blessed to have been able to experience that."
Wash Times - Patrick Stevens: Hibbert provides spark before exit
Wash Times: Hoyas Report
Wash Post - Mike Wise: A Will to Win
This was about Green's finish, but it was also about one of the great, resilient moments in the program's recent history. Georgetown was, well, getting out Georgetown-ed in the first half. The Vanderbilt kids were more poised on offense, using their dribble penetration to create easier shots than the Hoyas for most of the first 20 minutes. They were playing in-your-grill defense, too, pushing Roy Hibbert off the blocks and rendering him ineffective in the lane.
Shan Foster, a junior wingman who apparently declares himself open once he leaves the team bus, had this loosey-goosey feel to his game that just became contagious among his teammates. They were whizzing the ball around the perimeter, taking three-pointers whenever they felt the urge and just frustrating the Hoyas on the defensive end.
Every possession felt like a monstrous struggle to get a good shot. After a couple of bad calls against them, they grew frustrated and seemed on the verge of really combusting. Down 13 in the first half and 32-24 at halftime, if ever Georgetown had an opening to panic and throw its tournament life out the window, Vandy was the team to make the Hoyas do so.
But, in hoop vernacular, they played through. Through the calls. Through the misses. Through their own sloppy play on both ends. Jonathan Wallace and DaJuan Summers began coolly dropping in three-point rainbows every time the Commodores threatened to pull away. They began closing out on Vanderbilt's shooters. Most of all, they began playing together amid the noise and the prospect of their season fading away.
There were cries that Green had not reestablished his pivot foot, and therefore traveled. But basketball minds much wiser than us surmised you can't make a call like that to end a taut thriller.
And, besides, Rich Chvotkin's hotel room is reserved until Sunday. It would not be right to make him check out early.
Chvotkin, the team's play-by-play announcer 1,000-plus games running, kept yelling courtside after Green's basket, raising his hands, going berserk. Sitting next to his son, Evan, last night, the man's body was shaking at the end.
"HOYAS WIN! HOYAS WIN! HOYAS WIN!" he kept shouting so that every soul in the arena could hear him. He finally took off his headset and started shouting "YES! YES! YES!" This was not a Marv Albert, pause-for-effect Yes! Chvotkin was raising his hands to the heavens as if at a revival. It reminded me of a Thai journalist at the 1996 Olympics, whose body shook as he screamed for his countryman, a featherweight boxer. The Thai journalist finally explained to the security guard who wanted to throw him out why he could not be objective. If his man lost, he had to leave America and return to Thailand. Similarly, Rich Chvotkin did not want to go home.
Shan Foster, a junior wingman who apparently declares himself open once he leaves the team bus, had this loosey-goosey feel to his game that just became contagious among his teammates. They were whizzing the ball around the perimeter, taking three-pointers whenever they felt the urge and just frustrating the Hoyas on the defensive end.
Every possession felt like a monstrous struggle to get a good shot. After a couple of bad calls against them, they grew frustrated and seemed on the verge of really combusting. Down 13 in the first half and 32-24 at halftime, if ever Georgetown had an opening to panic and throw its tournament life out the window, Vandy was the team to make the Hoyas do so.
But, in hoop vernacular, they played through. Through the calls. Through the misses. Through their own sloppy play on both ends. Jonathan Wallace and DaJuan Summers began coolly dropping in three-point rainbows every time the Commodores threatened to pull away. They began closing out on Vanderbilt's shooters. Most of all, they began playing together amid the noise and the prospect of their season fading away.
There were cries that Green had not reestablished his pivot foot, and therefore traveled. But basketball minds much wiser than us surmised you can't make a call like that to end a taut thriller.
And, besides, Rich Chvotkin's hotel room is reserved until Sunday. It would not be right to make him check out early.
Chvotkin, the team's play-by-play announcer 1,000-plus games running, kept yelling courtside after Green's basket, raising his hands, going berserk. Sitting next to his son, Evan, last night, the man's body was shaking at the end.
"HOYAS WIN! HOYAS WIN! HOYAS WIN!" he kept shouting so that every soul in the arena could hear him. He finally took off his headset and started shouting "YES! YES! YES!" This was not a Marv Albert, pause-for-effect Yes! Chvotkin was raising his hands to the heavens as if at a revival. It reminded me of a Thai journalist at the 1996 Olympics, whose body shook as he screamed for his countryman, a featherweight boxer. The Thai journalist finally explained to the security guard who wanted to throw him out why he could not be objective. If his man lost, he had to leave America and return to Thailand. Similarly, Rich Chvotkin did not want to go home.
Wash Post - Sally Jenkins: Mr. Clutch Delivers
Wash Post - Camille Powell: Money on the Bank
Green Sends Georgetown to First Region Final Since 1996 With Late Shot: Georgetown 66, Vanderbilt 65
NY Post - Lenn Robbins: GOIN' TO 'TOWN - THINKING GREEN WORKS FOR HOYAS
After Dan Cage converted two free throws with 17.9 seconds left giving the Commodores (22-12) a 65-64 lead, the Hoyas called their final timeout. Vanderbilt knew Green was getting the ball.
The Hoyas knew he was getting the ball. And Green wanted the ball.
"I have confidence I can make the plays," said Green.
As soon as Green got the ball on the right side of the lane about 10 feet from the basket, Shan Foster and Ross Neltner doubled him.
Green, with his back to the basket, faked left, then right and for an instant fumbled the ball.
There was no panic. Green, after all, is the color of money.
He regrouped, faked left, faked right and spun left, flipping the ball with his right hand off the glass and through the basket with 2.5 seconds left.
"As basketball players we're trained to fight thoughts of time and situation," said Neltner. "But with the Elite Eight on the line, with seconds left in a one-point game, I think most players would have thoughts creep into their head. He never panicked. It's a tribute to the player he is."
"He makes that shot in practice all the time," said Hibbert.
A lot of players make that shot in practice. Green made it with less than three seconds left in a Sweet 16 game. Sweet.
The Hoyas knew he was getting the ball. And Green wanted the ball.
"I have confidence I can make the plays," said Green.
As soon as Green got the ball on the right side of the lane about 10 feet from the basket, Shan Foster and Ross Neltner doubled him.
Green, with his back to the basket, faked left, then right and for an instant fumbled the ball.
There was no panic. Green, after all, is the color of money.
He regrouped, faked left, faked right and spun left, flipping the ball with his right hand off the glass and through the basket with 2.5 seconds left.
"As basketball players we're trained to fight thoughts of time and situation," said Neltner. "But with the Elite Eight on the line, with seconds left in a one-point game, I think most players would have thoughts creep into their head. He never panicked. It's a tribute to the player he is."
"He makes that shot in practice all the time," said Hibbert.
A lot of players make that shot in practice. Green made it with less than three seconds left in a Sweet 16 game. Sweet.
Tennessean.com: One final stop eludes Vandy
Another Game winner photo
GUHoyas.com Recap with photo gallery link
Yahoo Sports - Adrian Wojnarowski: Almost Priceton powered
NorthJersey.com: Thompson keeps his cool, makes mark as a top coach
Ewing was covered, so Green did his thing. Maybe he traveled on the play, maybe he didn't. The whistles remained silent, and Green rose high over two flailing Commodores and made the biggest shot of his life.
He said his coach's endgame demeanor contributed to the successful last-ditch cause. "The way he carries himself just keeps us loose," Green said, "and that showed in this game."
No, the victorious John III wasn't so composed when he burst through his locker room door. "It was an amazing sight to see him that grateful," Green said.
John III arrived Friday night as a big-time tournament coach. He made it to the regional final with a version of his father's defense, and with a version of Carril's offense.
Funny how things work out. As a young college player short on athleticism and long on nerve, John III appreciated the curmudgeonly Carril about as much as he would a boil on his rump.
"It wasn't that my kid didn't like Princeton," John III's father told me once. "He didn't like Pete."
But whenever the Princeton player called the Georgetown coach to complain that Carril was killing his career, sucking the joy out of the game, the old man proved that water can be thicker than blood.
"Shut up," Thompson told his son. "Stop being a baby and listen to the man. He knows what he's talking about."
He said his coach's endgame demeanor contributed to the successful last-ditch cause. "The way he carries himself just keeps us loose," Green said, "and that showed in this game."
No, the victorious John III wasn't so composed when he burst through his locker room door. "It was an amazing sight to see him that grateful," Green said.
John III arrived Friday night as a big-time tournament coach. He made it to the regional final with a version of his father's defense, and with a version of Carril's offense.
Funny how things work out. As a young college player short on athleticism and long on nerve, John III appreciated the curmudgeonly Carril about as much as he would a boil on his rump.
"It wasn't that my kid didn't like Princeton," John III's father told me once. "He didn't like Pete."
But whenever the Princeton player called the Georgetown coach to complain that Carril was killing his career, sucking the joy out of the game, the old man proved that water can be thicker than blood.
"Shut up," Thompson told his son. "Stop being a baby and listen to the man. He knows what he's talking about."
CBS Sportsline game highlights and postgame JTIII on-court interview
Link to Photo of the game winner
NY Times: Georgetown’s Past Becoming Present
GUHoyas.com Box Score
Hoyas with a 40-16 rebounding advantage (16 offensive)
...now back to our regularly scheduled rant...
What's going on? I've got Butler-Florida and need help with game info until I'm switched when this one goes to Half.
