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Visits?
Apr 19, 2005 9:52:34 GMT -5
Post by Churchwell on Apr 19, 2005 9:52:34 GMT -5
I visited the hilltop as a high school senior this same week many years ago, and I had just taken the train down from Philly, and the contrast between GU and Penn couldn't have been more different. The weather was amazing, but Penn's campus was so crowded that I literally couldn't find an open patch of grass anywhere. I got to GU and saw people studying on the lawn, playing frisbee, volleyball, etc. and was sold instantly. For a city campus, I think GU shows off really well.
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Post by Churchwell on Mar 10, 2005 15:11:19 GMT -5
Foget Comcast...I wanna see if he shows up at the Pep Rally tonight. Now that should be priceless.
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Post by Churchwell on Mar 9, 2005 12:49:28 GMT -5
I agree completely and am very pleased with TIII's first class.
Next year have a strong nucleus of underclassmen: Soph Hibbert 7' 2'' C (and growing?) Soph Green 6' 9'' PF (and growing, from Post article) Soph Wallace 6'1'' PG
Frosh Thornton 6'1'' G Frosh Sapp 6'3'' SG Frosh Spann 6'7'' SF Frosh Egerson 6'5'' SG
Add Seniors Bowman and Cook with backup bodies Diaw and Sead and we are young and solid (but a little thin in the middle). I wonder where Cornelio fits in but maybe he was just raw and needed a year of practice under his belt. BTW, not trying to dismiss the contributions of Reed and Crawford - we definitely will need them next year, but I see them more as key role players.
If TIII can add a premier big man from the class of 2006 (freshmen when Green and Hibbs are juniors) then this is a solid program again.
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Post by Churchwell on Mar 2, 2005 14:47:22 GMT -5
My $02:
1) I agree about the refs. Where were they when this guy was laying waste for 5 minutes.
2) Someone made an interesting point about the fact that Chaney didn't intend for anyone to get hurt and just wanted to send a message with some physical, intimidating play. Totally valid point, but the fact is someone did get hurt and intentional harm was done. So Chaney is culpable.
3) Suspension for the rest of the year seems adequate. The guy is a legend and he has been very contrite and proactive about wanting to make amends. If this wasn't the case (Bobby Knight, anyone?) I would suggest that Chaney needed to be sent a message with a harsher punishment. I wonder, however, if Chaney will coach in the NCAAs if Temple wins the A10 touney. My understanding is that he has suspended himself through the A10 tournament and not the entire post season should Temple go the the NIT or NCAA. Given that the St. Joe's kid doesn't get to play for the rest of his senior season, I don't think Chaney should coach again in 2005.
4) Where the heck has the A10 Commisioner's office been through all of this? A coach from one school sends a kid into a game to intentionally goon it up and a kid from another school gets injured? Come on. I would expect the A10 Commisioner to step in and insist on some sort of punishment. The fact that Chaney initially suspended himself for one game (one game!) is a joke. I am thrilled that he came to his senses after meeting with the kid's parents and saw fit to increase the penalty. But since when does anyone get to impose their own sanctions when they make an aggregious mistake like this one? I expect the A10 to insist that Chaney not coach for the rest of the year...they almost have to in order to save some face. If I were the kid's parents, Phil Martelli from St. Joe's, or anyone else from SJU, I'd be furious that no higher authority besides Coach Chaney seems to have any jurisdiction here. This is not an isolated incident. Chaney has pulled this kind of stunt on at least one occasion (instructing William Cunningham to "take [Chris Webber] out" during the Elite Eight game vs. Michigan in 1993 after telling the media he intended to do so the day before). He threatened to kill another coach (Calipari in 1994) in a post-game news conference. These incidents are serious blemishes on an otherwize legendary career. Legend or no legend, Chaney must be held accountable to an authority higher than himself or the NCAA is sending the wrong message.
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 24, 2005 14:42:21 GMT -5
Someone in the althetic department should let Camille Powell of the Wash Post and Barker Davis of the Times know about this. I'm sure they would want to cover it (but wouldn't it be unfortunate if attendance is underwhelming and the press is there to document it.).
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 18, 2005 10:08:35 GMT -5
I don't know that Gay is playing better than Jeff, but he certainly is getting more comfortable out there and beginning to show why he was so highly touted. Some of his blocks against UNC were outstanding. That said, it seems to me that he continues to make the kind of freshman mistakes that Jeff just doesn't make - forcing passes, putting the ball on the floor too much, etc. Roy makes these kind of mistakes, but not Jeff.
That said I think Gay is an incredible talent tnad he probably deserves BE ROY this week as much (or more) than anyone. It's gonna be fun to watch these guys play down the stretch.
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 16, 2005 11:50:54 GMT -5
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 16, 2005 10:51:23 GMT -5
I know I will probably get blasted for some of what I am about to say...but here goes.
Yes, there was a ton of hype at the beginning of the season about how the ACC was going to dominate this year. Yes, ESPN and Billy Packer and Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas and all the rest are largely to blame for blowing their horns. But isn't their job to sell the product? Isn't it their job to continue selling the product? Why would we expect them to come out and say "we were wrong, the ACC isn't as good as we thought, the Big East is better." It's in their best interest to kindle the fire and keep the debate going.
As a fan, I LOVE the new angle of the Big East is deeper and tougher but the teams at the top of the ACC are stronger. On the one hand...it's true, and on the other hand, it adds that much more drama to the NCAAs this year. What basketball fan isn't going to take note of how many ACC and Big East teams get in this year and what the respective seeds are? What fan isn't going to look 2-3 games down the bracket to see if any potential Big East and ACC teams match up?
Of course we're going to judge the "best" conference based on things like how many teams get in, how many make it to the sweet sixteen, the elite eight, the final four. And of course the conference that is home to the eventual champion will stake their claim as well. How your team and conference shakes out will determine how much weight you give whatever statistics are available.
Why do we have to take anything away from the ACC? Personally I love the Big East/ACC us-vs-them drama. I think all the hype surrounding UNC and Duke is just part of basketball. I love that the Terps will forever be in the shadow of Tobacco road no matter how much success they have against Duke and UNC. I also like watching ACC basketball as much as I like watching Big East basketball, cause I'm a fan. This is setting up to be one of the most exciting post seasons ever (especially if the Hoyas remain steady down the stretch and get a berth in the NCAAs). Heck this could be one of the most wide open Big East tournaments ever. I wouldn't put it past NC State of GA Tech to make a run in the ACC tournament as well, because they are very good teams.
So the pundits were wrong. Big deal. They were doing their jobs and I think we all probably agreed that the ACC looked great on paper from top to bottom (well, almost to bottom) at the beginning of the season. We all probably thought Providence had a decent shot at the NCAAs this year as well. Heck most of us were convinced that anything more than 5-6 wins for the Hoyas this year would be gravy. It's a great year for college hoops and I LOVE it. I say keep the ESPN hype machine going...heck ESPN is now firmly on the "7 teams from the Big East bandwagon"...that's fantastic!
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 15, 2005 10:35:25 GMT -5
I saw the bubble breakdown during halftime of the Pitt SU game. Mike Jarvis and Digger consider Notre Dame and Villanova the bubble teams from the BE, andfelt that both would get into the NCAAs if the tourney were held today. There was no mention of GU at all, which means they consider the Hoyas a lock (for now).
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 8, 2005 11:05:10 GMT -5
Let's also not forget that if we finish 10-6, that means we have just limped into the post season going 3-3 in our last six games, as opposed to 7-3 for our first ten. That also means we probably beat up on the bottom feeders (with all respect to WVU, who is a tough out) and lost to 'Nova, ND, and UConn. RPI and conference record aside, that's not a great resume and would likely require a mini-run or another top 25 scalp in the BET. We must finish up 4-2 to make this a moot point. The way this team is playing (competitive in EVERY BE game), and with a week to re-group and re-charge, I like our chances.
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 6, 2005 12:49:45 GMT -5
Not to split hairs, but we've already had a brutal schedule: 1/5 @ then #12 Pittsburg 1/8 @ then # 9 UConn 1/11 home for Rutgers 1/15 @ Villanova
Okay, this was 10 days, not 7, but still scarier to me than Nova, @ UConn @ Providence
We also followed up on the above schedule with: 1/18 @ then #7 Syracuse 1/23 home for Notre Dame.
Could we lose all three of our final games? Sure. Are they critical to assure a tourney bid and/or strong seeding. Yup. A harder stretch than this team has faced this season? Not by a long shot.
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Post by Churchwell on Feb 4, 2005 11:24:52 GMT -5
GU getting some props from folks in the prediction thread over at the rutgersfan.com message board:
[RU Predictions][http://rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=641&tid=47905387&sid=&style=2]
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 24, 2005 14:31:13 GMT -5
Hmmm....the bracketology predictions are great...and let me preface this by saying I still think an NCAA bid for the Hoyas is a stretch (remember we are a few bad bounces away from being 1-5). That said, the laughable notion here is that Maryland comes anywher CLOSE to resembling an NCAA tourney team at this point.
They are 11-5 (2-3), with games remaining against: Duke (2x) GA Tech Clemson (2x) VA Tech (2x) Miami NC State UNC VA
Let's say they sweep Clemson and VA Tech, split go 2-2 against Miami, NC State, VA, and GA Tech, and go 0-3 against Duke and UNC, that puts them at 17-11 (8-8), likely with no wins (ok maybe one) against the RPI top 25. Granted, it's doable, but they would have to win one or two in the ACC tourney to get in, don't you think?
Gary Williams is too good a coach and this team has too much talent to not right the ship, but the problem is not just that they are losing. This team is barely competitive against decent teams right now. I don't know how you make an adjustment for that.
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 24, 2005 14:17:14 GMT -5
I hear you YB - we need to do anything we can to make MCI a great home court. If that's putting students on both sides, filling a section or two (or an entire side) with students in the lower bowl, that would be great.
The student support this year has really been amazing...and sustained. It hasn't been this way in many, many years. I just want to make sure we don't dilute the rabid student fans we have - who are key to making noise, leading cheers, and in general intimidating opponents (and yelling at Calhoun) - by spreading them too thin. Of course that would never be a problem if we could get 3,500 or so to hop over to MCI every home game!
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 24, 2005 13:52:37 GMT -5
No one said anything about the MCI Center being an ideal long-term solution. I dream about a day when GU has a convocation center on campus where we can engineer an incredible home court advantage for certain special games. Of course in thate case you'd want to surround the court with a sea of students a la Cameron and make it a very formidible place for opponents to play on the road.
That said, the MCI center can and will be a good home court for the Hoyas when enough DC natives embrace JTIII's Hoyas as the ditrict's team and GU alums wake up to the fact that attending games regularly is great entertainment and a way to stay connected to a very special time in their lives.
I've had the priviledge of attending some great games: McDonough (UTEP NIT back in the mid-90s), Cap Centre (Villanova/Syracuse/St. Johns) during the 'Zo/Mutumbo years, MCI (UConn/Nova/Syracuse) during the Iverson/Reid/JYD/Harrington years. Each venue rocked...when the product was good.
Since an on-campus arena is so very far from reality - and probably not a smart economic decision if the product can ever be good enough again to attract 12,000+ to MCI on a regular basis - I am a realist. MCI is our home court and all we got is to pack in the fans. I'd love to have the students surround the court. I'm simply saying:
1) There aren't enough of students to really make a difference at MCI and spreading them out would be a bad idea. I'd love to see both ends of the court full of students - get rid of the press boxes - if they'll come.
2) A lot of alums spend a great deal of $$$ to get their great seats. I remember what I was like at GU games when I was in college, and I wouldn't necessarily want me and all my buddies then sitting next to me and my family now.
3) I love Georgetown. I hold two degrees, am relatively involved in a few alumni orgs, and have some insight GU's financial situation and investment priorities. I am a rabid Hoya hoops fan, but there are about 10 things higher up on the list that I would prefer GU spend $$$ on. An on campus facility would be amazing if GU were flush with cash. Unfortunately the opposite is true and we have to play the hand we're dealt. Make the program a winner with MCI as our home court. What a great problem it would be to have so much demand for tickets - students, alum, community - that we need to get creative about how to accomodate everybody.
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 24, 2005 10:48:33 GMT -5
Of course I've seen where the students sit at Cameron. Build me a 6,500 seat arena on the hilltop and we'll talk about where the students should sit. The fact is that until GU students become rabid basketball fans and more of them come to games, this whole issue is a non-starter. You could give away tix to students in the lower bowl surrounding the MCI floor and there would be so many empty seats it would be a joke. At least the students are concentrated together in one place now where they can really make some noise. This is not to indict the dedication of GU student fans...just the reality of a situation where you have to hop on bus to attend a game. When the demand for student season tix and attendance at games outstrips supply, I'm sure the athletic department and MCI will gladly accomodate. If you want to see a partisan crowd, just win games at home and they will keep coming. I don't remember anyone complaining about how pathetic the "horrible fans" were back in the 80s when the Hoyas put a great product on the Cap Centre hardwood.
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 23, 2005 22:18:06 GMT -5
A couple of thoughts/comments:
1) Moving the students to behind the basket on BOTH sides of the court is a great idea as it would encourage some back-and-forth and would fill the arena with sound.
2) That would entail getting twice the number of students to go to the game. Is that possible? Is there that kind of interest on campus? Even in the late 80s early 90s when the product was pretty good you couldn't have filled both ends of the court with students...
3) As an alum who pays a lot of $$$ for my tix in the 7th row on the sideline...no offense but it's kind of a family atmosphere and I'd like to keep it that way. As much as I love the enthusiasm and encourage it, I don't pay for tix to have my kid unable to see the court b/c people are standing up the whole game. Call me a spoil sport, but that's just how I feel...
4) I've been attending GU games for 14 years now, and today's crowd was as partisan a GU crowd as I've seen in many, many years. Complaining about the "horrible" fans is just plain silly. As the season rolls on, more and more closet GU fans are coming out of the woodwork to check this team out. In years past this game would have been dominated by loud ND alums. Remember the 4OT game...hardly a partisan GU crowd then. Today the ND faithful made up about 25% of the crowd and were sitting on their hands until the last two minutes...when they were promptly drowned out by 6,000+ who were on their feet making noise for the blue and gray. If they keep winning, the MCI center will become as good a home court for the Hoyas as the 18,000 pro arena can become.
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 22, 2005 0:18:10 GMT -5
Definitely a Hoya - class of '94.
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Post by Churchwell on Jan 14, 2005 16:06:04 GMT -5
Will someone who has a rivals subscription please remind some of these yahoos that despite our dismal 0-4 record against Syracuse over the last 2 seasons (with one loss in OT and another by 3 points), we are 4-6 against them over the past 5 years (yes, that would make GU 4-2 from '99-'02). If you want to erase a 25 year rivalry based on 2 years of one team wallowing in mediocrity, then you can't be much of a basketball fan.
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Post by Churchwell on Dec 10, 2004 17:53:34 GMT -5
In addition to not letting GU get open looks from beyond the arc, Illinois was in Bowman's mug all night. Their gameplan was pretty clear - contain Bowman and Georgetown doesn't have a prayer. If Jeff and JW continue to play with the consistency they've shown over the past few games, Bowman will have plenty of moments to shine in the BE.
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