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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 31, 2023 13:00:03 GMT -5
I have not seen any comments at all. For what it's worth, Ewing is either still under his extension (which reportedly pays him out 3 more years) or a settlement/amendment to that extension (if the parties decided to do that, I have no idea if they did). So, I imagine that might limit his ability to talk but I think this is one of those instances where it is in everybody's benefit for Ewing to say as little as possible. Ewing's best bet is to keep a low profile.
I imagine someday in the future we will get more first-hand accounts of the Ewing years, but those sort of things only tend to happen after the passage of time. For example, even with respect to JT3, little has been written about the latter years, and even insider accounts like Julian Vaughn's interview where he discussed the lead up to the Ohio game only came after almost a decade had passed, and after JT3 had been fired. Unless someone decides to be overly chatty on social media, my guess is that true insider-type accounts of the Ewing years will likely not come out for a while. And hopefully by then Cooley will be winning, and nobody will care.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 30, 2023 16:00:26 GMT -5
Nice efficient player at Fairfield, low turnovers which is also good. Great rebounder. Obviously, it's a big step up in competition, but hopefully it will translate to the Big East.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 30, 2023 15:59:51 GMT -5
Nice pickup! Welcome to McKenna and good job by Ed Cooley and the staff.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 24, 2023 23:15:19 GMT -5
Agreed that he seems qualified instead of a bunch of crazed fickle boosters that are always a hair trigger from firing the coach at places like some large state schools. And regarding my not so subtle comment, I think it is fair to dislike the continued strategic placement of allies by the man who led the program into this crater in the first place, who still insists on retaining a powerful position in it despite obvious incompetence. You've thrown around the competence claim before with no real argument other than you don't approve of him hiring or retaining Patrick Ewing. In this case, it's less about Jack strategically placing talent and more likely that real business talent went to Georgetown and saying, "We can do this"; otherwise, Georgetown is still selling the Blueprint that netted almost no NIL activity. Yes, we talk a lot of basketball around here but, as difficulty as it may be for a blogger and occasional Twitter feeds to remind themselves, it's a very small part of the 2023 ecosystem, and certainly not as visible as it once was as a driver of institutional policy. Men's basketball spending makes up roughly 1% of overall spend, and roughly 1% of alumni are season ticket holders. More than half of degree recipients last weekend never took a class on the main campus, and most of these "Hoyas" know its campus as a office building at 640 Mass Ave. A University President is a CEO and if he does not manage his time to drive the depth and breadth of the enterprise, it breaks down. You don't have to agree with someone to recognize that after 22 years there is an implied competence that the University is doing its job and has not gone into receivership during his tenure. As to "status quo" and impatience over rankings, that's a fair conversation. Georgetown is not a groundswell for rapid innovation and higher education is preternaturally opposed to it. When a college president comes out for change, he or she pays a price. Take Thomas LeBlanc at GW, who proposed reducing the size of the undergraduate population by 20 percent (which would reduce fixed costs, improve acceptance rates, and drive US News ratings as a byproduct) and redirect that into STEM. Sound plausible, so how did that go? He was forced out within 18 months. A cadre of faculty whose six figure incomes are guaranteed for life are not looking for change and USN&WR rankings are of passing interest to them. Managing the Venn diagram of faculty, parents, donors, alumni, and public perceptions is more than a full time job and a lot of college presidents spend far less time worrying about basketball than does Georgetown. The selection of Ed Cooley was a tacit admission that the House of Thompson had run its course, and it was a fairly visible decision from the President's office. But then, too, so was committing hundreds of millions of dollars on a downtown campus, a big play in public health, not committing to matching the no-loan tuition offers of its peers, or simply to choose which myriad of priorities in a six year, $3 billion campaign rise up and which lay fallow. Competency goes both ways. In the present campaign, over 250 university departments, organizations, and entities submitted requests for funding on the link below. Absent from that list? Men's and women's basketball. calledtobe.georgetown.edu/opportunities/You make some valid points, but I do think it ignores the most egregious of all actions taken with respect to Ewing. I think all or most of us can agree that even if one thought the initial hiring of Ewing was a bad idea in 2017, there was a case to be made. In retrospect, it's obviously easy to pile onto DeGioia for that, though I think that John Thompson bears a lot of responsibility for that too. As for "retaining" Ewing, I do think that retaining someone who is 0-20 in his fifth season for another season is mostly, if not entirely unprecedented, and highly questionable. Still, I think at most those decisions are essentially just bad decisions. Where I have a problem is that DeGioia agreed to extend Ewing after 2021 without a buyout, even though he had 2 years left on his original contract and other than the BET win, Ewing had struggled. This decision is even more egregious because I truly think that no outside observer or decision maker, faced with the same facts in 2021, would have given Ewing an extension like that with no buyout. Frankly, I don't care if men's basketball is 1% of the overall budget. DeGioia made a negligent and arguably reckless decision to extend Ewing in 2021, which will now result in the university paying him an additional several years. We are paying an entire Ewing extension over which time he will (thankfully) not be coaching. That DeGioia allowed that to happen is not only negligent but a high degree of mismanagement.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 24, 2023 21:52:06 GMT -5
Is nobody else noticing that this is "According to ChatGPT"? I tried it on Chat GPT and got a similar list, though Thompson wasn't on it. I wouldn't put much stock in this. For overall impact, I definitely think John Thompson could be in a top 10. For overall on court performance, there are good arguments he should not make the cut.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 23, 2023 11:26:23 GMT -5
Given this kid’s journey, extremely happy for him to have a business degree from Georgetown. He’s got a chance to do great things in his future. Congrats, Q! Agreed, really great to see. I do not at all hold it against him that he left Georgetown; I think he was given bad advice, and he was often the best player on the floor when he did play with us. I wish him the best.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 23, 2023 11:23:05 GMT -5
Put me in the camp of people who is/was Neptune-skeptic, but admittedly that is based mostly on seeing the Villanova team and performance last year. BUT, Villanova kicked it up a notch at the end of the year, and looked a lot better when some injury-related problems were resolved. I also think it is unfair to judge a coach based on a single season, even in this day and age of player transfers, etc. He also had the unenviable task of following the departure of Jay Wright, who is easily one of the best/most accomplished coaches of the last two decades.
It seems like Villanova is primed for improvement this coming year, with a better roster. This year will be telling. If Neptune can build on the roster and improve on the good ending to last year, that would be a really good sign. If not, then there will be more questions. I do think bringing Dunleavy back is a little weird, and if I were Neptune, I would probably feel weird about that, but I also do not know enough about about the inside machinations of Villanova to really know what it means.
For what it's worth, I know some people wanted Dunleavy, but his stint at Quinnipiac was not very good, either. Perhaps he is better suited for the GM-type role Villanova gave him, and if he works well with Neptune, it could be a good partnership.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 22, 2023 12:27:29 GMT -5
Normally I hate the 300+ games, but this one makes sense if you're going to have one. Rutgers at the RAC will be a nice one, I saw Georgetown play there once before, I highly recommend going to anybody who is nearby.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 22, 2023 12:24:13 GMT -5
I really think because of the last several years, a lot of people view our roster as "What You See Is What You Get." It's important to remember that some of Cooley's best players last year had limited success before, even where their recruiting rankings were good. Bryce Hopkins saw a significant improvemnet under Cooley compared to the little time he played in Kentucky. And very similar with Devin Carter. So, I don't think we can look at guys like Epps or Styles and automatically project that their impact will be similar to last year.
Cooley also has a history of developing his own players. We won't see that impact for a few years, of course, but it is something I look forward to that we have been missing for some time.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 22, 2023 8:59:00 GMT -5
Blair stayed 4 years and graduated, so I don't think this is correct. But 2 in 6 years shows that it was a problem (it remains unclear whether Pickett actually graduated).
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 21, 2023 22:48:35 GMT -5
I think some people are overselling. Lol. Imo, he's not a high major player, and shouldn't be higher than 3rd string unless everything about his game from footwork to agility to instincts to offensive repertoire and beyond have improved. On a 2-18 team last year he was essentially 4th string behind a former player/manager. And from the leaked/rumored staff discussion with recruits this offseason - they would prefer not to even play him in a backup role. In 2003s case, he absolutely despises Ewing so there is a Little bit of that going on in terms of Hoping Mutombo dominates. Which doesn’t even make any sense because Ewing would have played his friends son as much as possible if Mutombo was any good. For what it's worth, I do not despise Ewing. I think he was a very bad coach, and I think he had a horrible impact on the program, but I don't "despise" Ewing. As I said numerous times, once it was obvious he couldn't do the job, most of my ire was directed at those who kept him in place when it was abundantly obvious he could not do the job. I really have no idea what to expect of Mutombo, but I do think he will benefit from better coaching and a better environment. I think the same thing can be said for Akok, Heath, and Bristol, too. After JT3 took over from Esherick, a bunch of the players who had already played undr Esherick saw big jumps in performance. It would not shock me at all if all of Akok, Heath, Bristol, and Mutombo do much better this season. As for Sorber, I think he's a great add. And if Cooley cannot get another center before Sorber can take on the role, we may have to rely on Mutombo whether we want to or not.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 18, 2023 12:16:27 GMT -5
Most reclass cases are kids going back to their original year so I don't know of they apply to this situation. Like the kids are in a class where they are coming in at 19/20 as freshmen, then revert back to 18/19 because they were planning on taking a prep year for better offers or grades. I’d assume they know if he is going to reclassify or not because if he isn’t we still need a starting center and maybe one rotation big. I really think people are underselling Mutombo. Is he going to be an All Big East Center? No (or probably not--stranger things have happened). But, last year I actually thought he looked good in the limited minutes provided. He was extremely efficient, and given how clueless everybody was under Ewing the last two years, I thought he did fine. It's still unclear to me why Ewing had him bolted to the bench last year, as I think the kid has talent. Keep in mind unlike Mourning, Mutombo was a real high school player with real recruiting interest. And while I am not the biggest fan of the expression (because you can be tall and be a bad basketball player), "You can't teach height." I think Mutombo is primed to make a jump under Cooley simply because he will now have access to a better head coach, better assistants, and better strength and conditioning. And in the modern game, center is arguably the least important position anyway, as it's easier to get by without a true center. A lot of teams do it. Does that mean a great big like Soriano would probably destroy us? Maybe, but it doesn't mean that we cannot be good anyway.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 18, 2023 8:01:10 GMT -5
Can anyone explain to me why anyone cares when the staff is formally announced? Like, what does it matter? Post-Thompson stress disorder (PTSD) Definitely. I think people bristle at any sign that it's "business as usual." It's really not a big deal, though obviously not announcing the staff officially gets weirder as more time goes on. But, I'd rather have a good, unannounced staff, than a bad publicly announced one.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 17, 2023 19:00:42 GMT -5
6. What Should the Expectations be for a $6 Million Dollar Man? Not my position, but some (or at least one on here) think $6mm per should buy you a coach that executes more quickly (like now) on #1 and #2 and at if not on par with, at least close to least on par with #4. Probably sufferings of the last few years (or realistic?) but I'm on board with KenPom 100 next year, bubble at minimum year two. Year 3+ minimum expectations need to be a tourney bid 4 out of every 5 years. If people want to say Georgetown should have hired Pitino instead of paying Cooley $6 million a year (and we don't even know if that's right), then fine. I understand the point and probably agree. But, the fact is that once Pitino was off the table, there was nobody else out there available who we could have paid $5-$6 million a year who was better than Cooley. And don't mention Chris Beard, who is definitely a better coach than Cooley, but allegedly (with circumstantial evidence) beat up his girlfriend or fiancée. For any major university that has any sense of self respect, hiring Beard was a non-starter. That's why he ended up at Ole Miss. I would argue that other than Pitino, Cooley was the best coach, with prove experience, that we could get. I realize there are some Cooley haters who would have preferred to take a chance (a risky chance) on someone like Kim English or other unproven guys, but Georgetown is in such a hole that taking that risk over hiring Cooley (regardless of price) would have been very fraught with risk was a good bargain. And Cooley at $5 million or $6 million is easily more valuable than Ewing at nearly $4 million a year (which he will surely get paid for sitting at home this coming year). That could have been our alternative! For these reasons, I really don't care about the money. While Ewing was grossly overpaid for his skill level, that never really bothered me either. What bothered me was (a) that he stunk and should not have been the coach at all and (b) DeGioia giving him the sweetheart extension that no rational human being would have given Ewing. But that's significantly different than the situation with Cooley, who might be overpaid, but frankly, not by a ton given the market.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 17, 2023 18:54:19 GMT -5
6. What Should the Expectations be for a $6 Million Dollar Man? Not my position, but some (or at least one on here) think $6mm per should buy you a coach that executes more quickly (like now) on #1 and #2 and at if not on par with, at least close to least on par with #4. Probably sufferings of the last few years (or realistic?) but I'm on board with KenPom 100 next year, bubble at minimum year two. Year 3+ minimum expectations need to be a tourney bid 4 out of every 5 years. Teams in the vicinity of KenPom #100 in 2022-2023: 93. South Alabama (19-16) 94. Nebraska (16-16) 95. UNLV (19-13) 96. St. Louis (21-12) 97. San Jose St. (21-14) 98. James Madison (22-11) 99. Southern Mississippi (25-8) 100. Indiana State (23-13) 101. San Francisco (20-14) 102. Wichita State (17-15) 103. Tulane (20-11) 104. UC Irvine (23-12) 105. Akron (22-11) 106. Charlotte (22-14) 107. Washington (16-16) kenpom.comI know 100 is a nice round number, but it's pretty bad for a high major team to be ranked around 100. My take is people are so warped by how brutal Ewing was, the filter isn't what it should be for a program like Georgetown. You can't have it both ways as a fan - you can't say that Georgetown is an attractive brand, Cooley's a great coach who deserves $5M-$6M/year and we have plenty of NIL money to bring in the players we need, but we should be happy with KenPom 100 in the first year. I agree that a 100-level team isn't a good team. And if I thought that our future was going to be 100 team after 100 team, I would be pretty upset. And you know what? If we had hired a coach from the pool of some crazy names that were being thrown out there (including some of the unproven lower level D-1 coaches with some success, but not huge success), there is a decent chance that could happen. But, Cooley at Providence only had one 100-level team (his first season). So, the odds of that happening long-term are really zero. I don't understand why people--who just witnessed two abysmal seasons from Ewing (and several bad seasons before that)--think that somehow that does not impact the future. Of course it does. Georgetown has been really awful for a long time. Ewing and his staff did little to foster relationships with local recruiting, did nothing to build relationships, etc. And on top of that, Georgetown hasn't seen the NCAA tournament since 2015. If you're a transfer, and you want to play in the NCAA tournament, why on Earth would you choose Georgetown, no matter who the coach is? And I am saying this as someone who absolutely loves Georgetown. But, let's be real. You can say all you want about DC, playing in a professional arena, NIL (and the status of that is still murky), being in a big time conference for basketball, but the blunt fact is that we have been known--now for several years--as a laughing stock and the bottom of the barrel. That isn't going to change simply because Cooley has been our coach for 2 months. As for next year, I definitely think we could be better than 100. I am just saying that expecting an NCAA bid is totally unrealistic. The guys who are returning received horrible coaching under Ewing, everyone else is going to be brand new to the university, and the Big East is really pretty stacked. So, while I think we will see a ton of improvement, I just think "NCAA or bust" in year one is essentially asking for disappointment. For what it's worth, if Pitino was our coach I would largely think the same thing. As for St. John's, while I think Pitino is a great coach, I think expecting them to be an NCAA at large team is a stretch too. Yeah, Pitino has filled his roster, and Soriano is a great player, and picking up Ejiofor was nice (though questionable how good he will be). But, he's also got three Iona guys (imagine the complaining about Cooley if he stocked our roster from Iona), and almost everyone else is a transfer from a mid-major. Of course that doesn't mean they're not good players, but it's not like Pitino is out there landing 5 stars while Cooley is getting scraps, either. We haven't even played a game yet and some people just want to complain (including about Cooley's salary, which is entirely irrelevant at this point when we haven't even played a game yet).
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 17, 2023 18:29:45 GMT -5
Good get, and more reason why we need to trust the staff before panicking about the roster. Even if this year we don't have a ton of success as far as Wins/Losses, we will better, and we have good pieces in 2024 already in Mulready and Sorber.
On the reclassification issue, I leave that in the hands of Thomas Sorber, his family, and his coaches, though if he is ready, I selfishly would like to see him sooner rather than later. But there are guys who reclassify and it works out well; others do it and it does not. And now kids get the incentive of maybe making some money off NIL early, too, so I'm sure these kids (and they are kids) have a ton to think about. Either way I am looking forward to his playing for the Hoyas.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 16, 2023 15:23:41 GMT -5
I think people are reacting to a few different things:
1. The Roster Isn't Final. I think some people are nervous because they see Pitino filling his roster, we have a bunch of spots left, and whiffed on anybody high impact (so far) like Dickinson. I think this is a fair concern, but there are also tons of guys in the portal. So, let's see what happens.
2. People Want To Be Competitive Next Year. The other side of that coin is that I think we, as fans, have been so deprived of success, that we all want immediate success. I know I do, but I also recognize that it's unrealistic to ogo from Ewing's last two years to being an NCAA at-large team. I've said from the start I think a realistic finish is near 100 on KenPom, though I do think finishing better is possible depending on how our roster shakes out. The bottom line, and I think people need to remember this over the course of the next season, is that we can be A LOT BETTER under Cooley in Year 1, and still be bad. So, we are really looking for significant improvement here, particularly on the defensive end.
3. It's a Long Way Up. The problem with going 0-20, and then 2-18 is that you cannot get lower than 0 wins. But, we were really bad, as was detailed at length by numerous people on here. Even with essentially stealing Providence's entire coaching staff, which has succeeded far more than Ewing's in the past, there is still a lot of ground to cover. It's also not just having the staff in place, but putting in the procedures and processes necessary to succeed, that were likely absent at Georgetown, but in place at Providence for a decade. This takes time, though I am sure everyone is scrambling to get up and running as soon as possible.
4. Pitino Envy. I do think there are some who look at Pitino, that he arguably has a better roster (certainly a more complete one at this point), and the attention he gets and think we are falling behind. And, I think many of us really wanted Pitino at Georgetown. I get it, and I was someone who wanted Pitino, but Georgetown was never going to hire him despite my hopes, and I think Cooley was a great hire and will be a great representative of Georgetown. He has really done a huge amount since getting hired, and I am impressed by that. I love that he's personable, open to students, alumni, and fans. I think that will definitely pay dividends in the coming years.
But we have to be fair. Rick Pitino is a man with faults, but he is also one of the best coaches ever. Will he turn St. John's around faster than Georgetown? Very possible. That is certainly the expectation in the media, and it would not surprise me one bit. I also think that Pitino will get way more attention than us at the outset because he's in New York, he's extremely well known, he has strong New York roots, he plays well into the media's wants and desires, and he is Rick Pitino.
But, frankly, I think that people saying St. John's might be a tournament contender next year are really ahead of themselves. Is it possible? Sure, but the Big East is also very strong, and while St. John's wasn't as bad as Georgetown, they were also in pretty bad shape, and Pitino like Cooley is really starting from scratch (arguably more so since Cooley brought his entire staff). So, let's see what happens. If Pitino stomps us and St. John's is in the Final Four in 2-3 years, some of us may be jealous/annoyed it's not us, but that's life. I'm fully on board the Cooley train until there is reason to get off, and hopefully there won't be.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 16, 2023 12:38:57 GMT -5
With the caveat that I haven't spent a ton of time focused on Pitino's roster, it doesn't surprise me that he's put together a roster fairly quickly. Pitino is an amazing coach who has done a number of rebuilds, and that's why I wanted him as Georgetown's coach. Because Pitino is Pitino, he is going to get a lot of buzz for his roster, and if Pitino delivers, it'll be a great story for St. John's, and the New York press will eat it up.
I am getting a little nervous that we have a bunch of roster spots still to be filled, but the staff is experienced and seems to be approaching things in a smart way, so I am still optimistic. Also, under Ewing the roster in September/October was basically what you were going to get. There was little improvement, and the schemes on both ends of the ball were absolutely terrible. Under Cooley, not only do I expect Cooley to install a much better offensive/defensive system (especially on defense), but I also think having the strength and conditioning coach from Providence and other guys focused on player development will make a big difference too. I also think for the first time in years, the squad in March may be much better than whatever we see in November.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 15, 2023 10:18:42 GMT -5
But the portal hasn’t closed. Just the deadline for entering g it (minus the postgraduate exception). So there are close to 1,000 players in the portal still looking for a new home. Yes, and sadly, many of those 1,000 players won't find a new home.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 14, 2023 14:22:23 GMT -5
Yes, I think you are right. If Akok graduated, then I do think he would have the freedom to transfer despite the portal deadline. An oversight on my part. I don't even know if I'm right - I had to read that release like five times, but that's the most plausible explanation I could find. I think we need to understand that this works both ways though - we have 4 slots to fill currently and we want to have a bunch of scholarships available for 2024's. Being able to pull in a couple of first year postgraduates in June or July who never entered the portal seems to be a definite possibility if this is the way the rules actually work. It feels like people are freaked out that the portal has just closed and our roster isn't full but if this is the way it works for graduating seniors, I'm sure things will work themselves out. It also tells me that the staff isn't just filling the scholarships for the sake of filling scholarships. I am hoping that the staff has irons in the fire that will yield at least a couple more impact commits for next year and beyond.
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