Multiple transfers end of semester 2019

[HamptonHoya]

Dec 2, 2019 22:52:05 GMT -5 hoya9797 said:

Yes, but the school knew about the legal issues and should have been prepared, even with the say nothing canned statement they just made, last week.

At least you're consistent.

[Ranch Dressing]

This whole thing sucks.

[HoyaFanNY]

I honestly can't see how Gardner and Alexander are still on the team by the end of the week. How Akinjo is involved in this, if at all, is another question. It's been reported that his departure is separate from this legal mess but the timing is odd unless he decided to bail when Leblanc was shown the door. This is far from over and is going to have ramifications for the university, AD, Ewing and the basketball program going forward.

[SirSaxa]

nypost.com/2019/12/03/georgetown-basketball-hit-with-assault-claims-star-exits/

[rhw485]

I appreciate that Ewing cannot control the actions of individuals, but this all ultimately looks like a lack of institutional control.

Combined w Walker (i know JT3 recruited him but it happened on Ewings watch) and Sodom, we can't simply look at these as isolated incidents.

Ewing brought in these players and this happened on his watch.

Part of what made the Georgetown / Cuse rivalry so real for me was that they were the bad guys. We might not win every game but we had our integrity and ran a clean program.

I can handle Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio, I'm not sure how to handle this.

[Bigs"R"Us]

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

[bostonfan]

Dec 3, 2019 7:55:51 GMT -5 Bigs"R"Us said:

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

Just an awful situation for the university, team and these players. While Coach Ewing can not be held responsible for everything that his players do while not on the court, he does have to take some responsibility for the character of the players he recruits and the culture of his program. 

I don't think anyone on this board knows all of the details of what happened at this point, so trying to place blame is not a useful exercise, but it certainly does not look good for the program or the players implicated at this point.

As a fan I always want the program to recruit the best players and to win as many games as possible, but also as a parent of a daughter who was on campus not too many years ago, I also expect that the players given the privilege to play basketball at Georgetown will represent the university with the class and dignity while they are a part of the university community. This is a bad look for everyone involved.

[saxagael]

Dec 3, 2019 7:40:51 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

I appreciate that Ewing cannot control the actions of individuals, but this all ultimately looks like a lack of institutional control.

Combined w Walker (i know JT3 recruited him but it happened on Ewings watch) and Sodom, we can't simply look at these as isolated incidents.

Ewing brought in these players and this happened on his watch.

Part of what made the Georgetown / Cuse rivalry so real for me was that they were the bad guys. We might not win every game but we had our integrity and ran a clean program.

I can handle Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio, I'm not sure how to handle this.

The recruiting process is about 3 to 4 years long to get good kids. The official first look in is after a kid's freshman year in high school. But, books are started on kids they are interested in about 7th grade and coaches reach out to the kid's travel team coach to find out what kind of kid he is (good grades, stays out of trouble, encourages teammates, can't keep the kid off the court, etc.).

When Ewing came in he wasn't in the college game he was an long time assistant in the NBA. He didn't have this book on kids built up, but also he was brought in late and was scrambling. He brought in Orr, which was a great addition and kept some assistants that did have some relationships and had built their books. But, Ewing was in a bit of a scramble and trying to pull together a team to play (JTIII lost a lot of players and the team needed serious rebuilding). When you are in that mode the kids that are left may not be fully vetted, they haven't been tracking the kid for years and building a relationship for 3 years or more. Recruiting for college is tough and rebuilding a program is even harder.

I don't put this on Ewing.

But, this does show a need for adding to the Georgetown basketball program another role. They are known for their tutors who actually work with players and get them passing classes (I know too many programs that don't and pressure professors to pass players and do a great disservice to the players as people, ask me about Chris Washburn one day). They have worked with players who have had troubled pasts and get them on the right path (mostly, there are some exceptions). But, adding a life counselor I think would be a great addition. In the 90s the NBA had severe problems with players coming in right out of high school, and much of it was they had no life skills and no understanding of how to treat and deal with others. The NBA added rookie training for life skills around money, keeping good people around you, not getting into trouble, how to dress and act, how to deal with the media, and more. This sort of thing may be good to add to the program to help these young men get the life skills they need to stay on track and get to the next level.

[HoyaDr]

If we start losing our 2020 class, burn it down, burn it all down. What an embarrassment. I spent 8 years of my education at Georgetown and so did my brother. I was a student season ticket holder all 8 years. I say I went to Georgetown to my family and friends with pride. I cannot do that anymore. I told my wife not to wear the Georgetown gear I have gotten her. She was actually starting to like the school and the fact that I love the basketball program, she was looking forward to the Syracuse game. I told her we can't go anymore. This sucks.

[SSHoya]

Dec 3, 2019 8:11:55 GMT -5 saxagael said:

Dec 3, 2019 7:40:51 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

I appreciate that Ewing cannot control the actions of individuals, but this all ultimately looks like a lack of institutional control.

Combined w Walker (i know JT3 recruited him but it happened on Ewings watch) and Sodom, we can't simply look at these as isolated incidents.

Ewing brought in these players and this happened on his watch.

Part of what made the Georgetown / Cuse rivalry so real for me was that they were the bad guys. We might not win every game but we had our integrity and ran a clean program.

I can handle Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio, I'm not sure how to handle this.

But, this does show a need for adding to the Georgetown basketball program another role. They are known for their tutors who actually work with players and get them passing classes (I know too many programs that don't and pressure professors to pass players and do a great disservice to the players as people, ask me about Chris Washburn one day). They have worked with players who have had troubled pasts and get them on the right path (mostly, there are some exceptions). But, adding a life counselor I think would be a great addition. In the 90s the NBA had severe problems with players coming in right out of high school, and much of it was they had no life skills and no understanding of how to treat and deal with others. The NBA added rookie training for life skills around money, keeping good people around you, not getting into trouble, how to dress and act, how to deal with the media, and more. This sort of thing may be good to add to the program to help these young men get the life skills they need to stay on track and get to the next level.

Ironically, just two weeks ago (and Ms. Fenlon also filled a life coaching function IIRC):

www.guhoyas.com/news/2019/11/16/mens-basketball-fenlon-inducted-to-athletics-hall-of-fame.aspx

[daveg023]

I don’t get what changed from last week to yesterday. Doesn’t seem like anything happened on the legal front, so other than a frustrating loss, why did the departures come Monday and not after MSG? Has we won Saturday are these guys still on the team?

[hoyasaxa2003]

Dec 3, 2019 7:55:51 GMT -5 Bigs"R"Us said:

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

LeBlanc just turned 20 and Alexander is almost 21. The teenager excuse doesn’t work for them. These are bad excuses that simply have no merit.

[madgesiq92]

Dec 3, 2019 7:55:51 GMT -5 Bigs"R"Us said:

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

This may be the worst take I’ve read yet. Congrats.

[hoya9797]

Not sure the teenager excuse flies when we are talking about things like burglary and assault.

[guru]

Dec 3, 2019 7:55:51 GMT -5 Bigs"R"Us said:

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

Has JT2 attended any games this season? The ones I’ve been at he has been noticeably absent, which I wondered about.

He lobbied to bring in Ewing. As much as I appreciate what the Thompson family and Patrick have done for the school, their success was long ago. This may be an opportune time to move forward without them.

[Bigs"R"Us]

Just saying I’m not surprised multiple players are involved versus an individual.

[calhoya]

Horrible sleepless night trying to deal with the disappointment that has brought this season which I had looked forward to since last March to a crashing halt. As a Hoya fanatic for the past 40 years before setting foot on campus this is the all-time low for me.

Although I have not practiced criminal law, I do know that the issuance of a TRO is neither as conclusive of guilt as some here seem to think or as routine as others imply. Different judges apply different perspectives in determining the necessary degree of threat or the likelihood of success on the merits when deciding on a TRO--with many playing it safe in reaching the decision to issue the TRO. While the allegations are very serious, they remain allegations and before people start condemning the kids, the coaches and the school it is important to just let it play out. Also necessary to understand how hard it must have been for these two young women to take the step they have taken, knowing the firestorm that would follow. Too little is known for anyone to judge either the accuser or the accused.

More damaging is the harm these circumstances do to the school and the program. Georgetown alums have always had a holier than thou image of the school and its basketball program, and incidents like just serve to remind that no school or program is without warts.

For the immediate future of the basketball program and the coach, this is truly a disaster. The most talented recruit in years has chosen to leave for what are probably a myriad of reasons, including presumably some unhappiness with the direction of the program. While he was often selfish with the ball and his decision-making suspect at times, he was the best PG this team has had in many years. The coach shows flashes of growth and incredible commitment to recruit, but has not done enough yet to demonstrate that he is the right person to restore the program to relevance. Additionally, the loss of at least two key players (and possibly more) in such a short time makes it much more difficult to evaluate his progress in what is now likely to be another losing season that looks more like a repeat of the recent St. Johns experience than the stability everyone is hoping to see.

It's been a very bad 24 hours for Hoya fans, the program and the school. The optics are horrible and it is going to take one hell of coaching job to get back to where this team was just a few months ago when expectations were high.

[wponds]

From WaPo's Ava Wallace:

When reached by telephone Monday night and told of the details of the second complaint, Gardner said, “I don’t know who you’re getting that from, but I’ve never done those things in my life.”

LeBlanc, also reached by telephone Monday night, declined to comment.

Patrick Ewing, Georgetown’s third-year coach, also declined to comment beyond the statement published on the program’s website stating that Akinjo and ­LeBlanc will not be members of the team for the remainder of the season.

[chuckinhoya]

I honestly think most "Sky is falling/I'm embarrassed to root for this program/fire Ewing" takes are waaay too over the top. The due process takes are right on the money. Who on this board has never had a knucklehead family member or few? Who has never known someone to be falsely accused? Who has never know charges to be exaggerated where they throw many charges out there and only one sticks? In no way am I trying to lessen the seriousness of these accusations, but when you take emotion out of it, common sense can be exercised. And what makes sense is to allow due process to play out. These are children who have obviously gotten themselves in a terrible situation that has jeopardized their futures. But, they are still allowed due process by law and maybe the coach/administration recognized that....or made their decisions based on info we arent privy to.

[TC]

Dec 3, 2019 7:55:51 GMT -5 Bigs"R"Us said:

Ever since the JT2 days, we have given inner city kids the opportunity to play ball for GU. Hard to tell when recruiting a basketball player if theft or assault will occur. These types of events typically involve groups of players. Teenagers do stupid things in groups.

Which one of these kids was from "the inner city"?