24-25 Hoya Basketball

[kettlehill]

So The Cooley interview...most of it was the usual, but when he started taking about Sorber- his eyes literally lit up "....he will have an immediate impact on Georgetown, but the country..."

[DanMcQ]

[zxhoya]

Nov 1, 2024 21:11:23 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

Just a couple of observations: Julius H looks to be fully practicing, curious if he'll play Wednesday.

In every one of these Georgetown teaser videos, Jayden Fort is playing above the rim and throwing it down on someone. Looks like his future is very bright, invaluable experience being able to practice with the team as a Redshirt.

Malik Mack, Micah Peavy, Jayden Epps and Thomas Sorber I believe will prove to be as good as any top 4 players on any team in the BE. (My opinion)

Jordan Burks, Kayvaun Mulready, Julius Halaifonua, Caleb Williams, Curtis Williams, Drew McKenna and Drew Fielder....deep......inexperienced.....can't wait for Wednesday.

[Retro_hoya]

Nov 1, 2024 16:50:44 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

So The Cooley interview...most of it was the usual, but when he started taking about Sorber- his eyes literally lit up "....he will have an immediate impact on Georgetown, but the country..."

I am excited for the season and to see what the new faces can do. I’m slightly concerned about Fielder - Sorber and Julius are phenomenal additions, but Cooley was plugging fielder time and time again last year and while getting him to stay. I was surprised that he wasn’t mentioned with Epps as a holdover and another player that he’s excited about. Coaches can’t force players to improve, and I’m not sure if Fielders minor injuries last season persisted,but a little public acknowledgement certainly can’t hurt, even just “Drew is in the gym, working hard, continuing to improve and you all will see that in his game.”

[SSHoya]

Nov 2, 2024 6:43:09 GMT -5 Retro_hoya said:

Nov 1, 2024 16:50:44 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

So The Cooley interview...most of it was the usual, but when he started taking about Sorber- his eyes literally lit up "....he will have an immediate impact on Georgetown, but the country..."

I am excited for the season and to see what the new faces can do. I’m slightly concerned about Fielder - Sorber and Julius are phenomenal additions, but Cooley was plugging fielder time and time again last year and while getting him to stay. I was surprised that he wasn’t mentioned with Epps as a holdover and another player that he’s excited about. Coaches can’t force players to improve, and I’m not sure if Fielders minor injuries last season persisted,but a little public acknowledgement certainly can’t hurt, even just “Drew is in the gym, working hard, continuing to improve and you all will see that in his game.”

Secret weapon! 😀 Like a football coach not revealing who he intends to start at QB!

[jwp91]

Nov 2, 2024 6:43:09 GMT -5 Retro_hoya said:

Nov 1, 2024 16:50:44 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

So The Cooley interview...most of it was the usual, but when he started taking about Sorber- his eyes literally lit up "....he will have an immediate impact on Georgetown, but the country..."

I am excited for the season and to see what the new faces can do. I’m slightly concerned about Fielder - Sorber and Julius are phenomenal additions, but Cooley was plugging fielder time and time again last year and while getting him to stay. I was surprised that he wasn’t mentioned with Epps as a holdover and another player that he’s excited about. Coaches can’t force players to improve, and I’m not sure if Fielders minor injuries last season persisted,but a little public acknowledgement certainly can’t hurt, even just “Drew is in the gym, working hard, continuing to improve and you all will see that in his game.”

Since Drew is a ‘tweener’, I imagine there will be situations when he looks really good…and really bad.

[prhoya]

Nov 2, 2024 6:43:09 GMT -5 Retro_hoya said:

Nov 1, 2024 16:50:44 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

So The Cooley interview...most of it was the usual, but when he started taking about Sorber- his eyes literally lit up "....he will have an immediate impact on Georgetown, but the country..."

I am excited for the season and to see what the new faces can do. I’m slightly concerned about Fielder - Sorber and Julius are phenomenal additions, but Cooley was plugging fielder time and time again last year and while getting him to stay. I was surprised that he wasn’t mentioned with Epps as a holdover and another player that he’s excited about. Coaches can’t force players to improve, and I’m not sure if Fielders minor injuries last season persisted,but a little public acknowledgement certainly can’t hurt, even just “Drew is in the gym, working hard, continuing to improve and you all will see that in his game.”

He’s in a lot of the off-season videos and looks great.

I’m just wondering if Cooley is planning to use some zone with a Fielder-Sorber(or other 5)-Burks front court, and Micah and Epps/Mack up top. Is that an option? Or… Micah has said he will handle the ball too. So, maybe our best defensive stop unit is that frontcourt, with Micah handling the ball and the second best defensive player at the 2.

[michaelgrahmstylie]

Great interview! Great insight and perspective from Coach!

[hsaxon]

Oct 31, 2024 7:05:00 GMT -5 TC said:

Oct 30, 2024 18:04:12 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Hard stop.

If this team (and by extension, the program) is not judged on wins and losses, what then, exactly? Player surveys? Reps in the weight room? Instagram followers? This isn't the Georgetown field hockey team, which is so underfunded it must play its home games 44 miles from campus because the school can't find a suitable place for hosting seven home games a year. Nor is it Coppin State basketball, whose annual budget of $713,728 is about two weeks of what men's basketball at Georgetown spends, and which must play 11 of its first 12 games on the road to pay the bills. Georgetown University had the largest men's basketball budget in Division I in 2022-23, the most recent season disclosed. More than Kentucky, more than Duke.

Yes, it matters.

I don't recall Dan Hurley saying that wins and losses don't matter, nor Rick Pitino or even Chris Holtmann. A year ago, wasn't it Ed Cooley who said "We're going to win here. We're going to win a lot"? That's why Ed Cooley is in the corner office and not Patrick Ewing. Ignoring wins and losses yet again sends a message to players, recruits, donors, and fans at-large that 2024-25 is potentially another write off for a brand that has fallen further than any in major college basketball over the last decade.

Yes, DFW is right - the wins and losses matter - a LOT.  Our BE record the last three years is 4-58.  Shockingly and atrociously bad.  Ed needs to win a bunch of BE games - this year.
No one is ignoring wins and losses. But I'm not judging Ed Cooley off of the structural mistakes that John Thompson and past administrations (Healy, O'Donovan, etc) made around an arena and real estate or the Patrick Ewing extension that Jack DeGioia gave that truly was a statement that results did not matter and that only insider status did. Today's budget was mortgaged a long time ago.

If your metric is wins per dollar, no coach you could hire would meet the bar for success for the next decade. Those financial mistakes have been made and Ed Cooley's job is to get this program back into competitive shape, not unwind athletic department inequities with women's field hockey.

[hsaxon]

Nov 2, 2024 21:17:48 GMT -5 hsaxon said:

Oct 31, 2024 7:05:00 GMT -5 TC said:

Yes, DFW is right - the wins and losses matter - a LOT.  Our BE record the last three years is 4-58.  Shockingly and atrociously bad.  Ed needs to win a bunch of BE games - this year.

[EtomicB]

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

6. Julius Halaifonua, C, Georgetown Hoyas

Scouting report: Halaifonua elected to reclassify to play this year late after winning MVP honors at the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta in July. The 7-footer has a huge frame and a versatile inside-out skill set to go along with impressive passing ability and an excellent feel for the game. He has already made his senior national team debut for New Zealand, and is drawing rave reviews early on, suggesting he'll play a bigger role than expected despite being 18 years old with some things to work on from a conditioning and defensive standpoint. -- Givony

How he fits: The Hoyas entered the summer in desperate need of an impact big man and beat out North Carolina for Halaifonua. There are certainly minutes up for grabs, given Georgetown's struggles down low last season. Coach Ed Cooley only brings back Drew Fielder from that group, with the rest of Halaifonua's frontcourt competition coming from fellow freshmen. -- Borzello

[SSHoya]

Nov 4, 2024 11:33:53 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

6. Julius Halaifonua, C, Georgetown Hoyas

Scouting report: Halaifonua elected to reclassify to play this year late after winning MVP honors at the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta in July. The 7-footer has a huge frame and a versatile inside-out skill set to go along with impressive passing ability and an excellent feel for the game. He has already made his senior national team debut for New Zealand, and is drawing rave reviews early on, suggesting he'll play a bigger role than expected despite being 18 years old with some things to work on from a conditioning and defensive standpoint. -- Givony

How he fits: The Hoyas entered the summer in desperate need of an impact big man and beat out North Carolina for Halaifonua. There are certainly minutes up for grabs, given Georgetown's struggles down low last season. Coach Ed Cooley only brings back Drew Fielder from that group, with the rest of Halaifonua's frontcourt competition coming from fellow freshmen. -- Borzello

I'm getting a Monroe-lite vibe from the description of his game. Am I offbase?

[SFHoya99]

Nov 4, 2024 11:33:53 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

I don't think we can really avoid it. Obviously, a lot of offense will center around Mack and Epps, but (a) Cooley has always used the post player as a fulcrum point, and (b) we don't have a ton of other options.

Toss in anytime we play a zone defense ... and I think we'll have to see a decent amount of it.

I expect a lot of pick n roll. I expect a lot of high post / mid post posting up. I expect a lot of slip screens.

[hoyasaxa2003]

I am excited to finally see this new group play. And we'll all need a distraction from Election Day fatigue.

[EtomicB]

Nov 4, 2024 12:02:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Nov 4, 2024 11:33:53 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

6. Julius Halaifonua, C, Georgetown Hoyas

Scouting report: Halaifonua elected to reclassify to play this year late after winning MVP honors at the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta in July. The 7-footer has a huge frame and a versatile inside-out skill set to go along with impressive passing ability and an excellent feel for the game. He has already made his senior national team debut for New Zealand, and is drawing rave reviews early on, suggesting he'll play a bigger role than expected despite being 18 years old with some things to work on from a conditioning and defensive standpoint. -- Givony

How he fits: The Hoyas entered the summer in desperate need of an impact big man and beat out North Carolina for Halaifonua. There are certainly minutes up for grabs, given Georgetown's struggles down low last season. Coach Ed Cooley only brings back Drew Fielder from that group, with the rest of Halaifonua's frontcourt competition coming from fellow freshmen. -- Borzello

I'm getting a Monroe-lite vibe from the description of his game. Am I offbase?

I think so, many of the international bigs know how to play in space. Sorber has these traits as well

[EtomicB]

Nov 4, 2024 12:02:36 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

Nov 4, 2024 11:33:53 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

I don't think we can really avoid it. Obviously, a lot of offense will center around Mack and Epps, but (a) Cooley has always used the post player as a fulcrum point, and (b) we don't have a ton of other options.

Toss in anytime we play a zone defense ... and I think we'll have to see a decent amount of it.

I expect a lot of pick n roll. I expect a lot of high post / mid post posting up. I expect a lot of slip screens.

This is true on the blocks but not at the elbows or above. His bigs have been finishers in the past.

I agree on the PnR stuff but I don't think it'll be as effective as the season goes on if the team doesn't prove they can shoot it consistently solid from deep.

Also using the bigs as the focal point in 2ndary transition offense could be a great advantage.

Looking forward to seeing the team evolve over the season.

[RusskyHoya]

[MCIGuy]

Nov 4, 2024 12:02:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Nov 4, 2024 11:33:53 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

I get that they're freshman, but the staff has to allow both Sorber and JH to facilitate the offense this season. They're both too talented as passers not to.

6. Julius Halaifonua, C, Georgetown Hoyas

Scouting report: Halaifonua elected to reclassify to play this year late after winning MVP honors at the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta in July. The 7-footer has a huge frame and a versatile inside-out skill set to go along with impressive passing ability and an excellent feel for the game. He has already made his senior national team debut for New Zealand, and is drawing rave reviews early on, suggesting he'll play a bigger role than expected despite being 18 years old with some things to work on from a conditioning and defensive standpoint. -- Givony

How he fits: The Hoyas entered the summer in desperate need of an impact big man and beat out North Carolina for Halaifonua. There are certainly minutes up for grabs, given Georgetown's struggles down low last season. Coach Ed Cooley only brings back Drew Fielder from that group, with the rest of Halaifonua's frontcourt competition coming from fellow freshmen. -- Borzello

I'm getting a Monroe-lite vibe from the description of his game. Am I offbase?

There are things Greg did better but he didn't have a jumpshot of any kind. Julius also seems to have a legit back-to-the-basket game for buckets.

[DanMcQ]

[hoyasaxa2003]

Nov 4, 2024 17:01:59 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

Not to be too tough on our student publication, but the tease in that Tweet (or X) and the headline don't really match what is in the article. Aside from one paragraph, it's basically people saying they are excited to attend games.