Post by DanMcQ on Mar 17, 2007 19:16:09 GMT -5
7:27 PM Game Time
GUHoyas.com NCAA Tournament Central
GUHoyas.com: Hoyas 3/22 Press Conference Quotes
HoyaSaxa.com Pre-Game Report
(check here for links to Vanderbilt-area coverage)
Check out The Hoya for several excellent pre-game articles: www.thehoya.com/sports/
GUHoyas.com Game Notes
Wash Post (3/23) - Camille Powell: Seasoned Teams Meet Again - Hoyas, Commodores Reprise Earlier Game
Wash Post (3/23/) - Mike Wise: From Farm to Hilltop, Wallace Ascends
Wash Post (3/23): Hoyas-Commodores Preview
Wash Times (3/23/) - Barker Davis: Plenty in Reserve
Wash Times (3/23) - Barker Davis: Hoyas spur change to zone
USA Today: Georgetown's business is back in the perfect family
Wash Times (3/22) - Barker Davis: Familiar weapon
Wash Post (3/22) - Camille Powell: Hoyas' Success Starts With Defense
NY Post (3/22) - Lenn Robbins: JESSIE'S GIRL
NJ.com: NCAA: Near tragedy separates friends only on the court
Wash Times (3/21): Vanderbilt's transfer of power
Denver Post - COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Clock striking midnight for Cinderellas
NY Sun - John Hollinger: Sweet 16 Is Oozing With NBA-Ready Talent
GUHoyas.com NCAA Tournament Central
GUHoyas.com: Hoyas 3/22 Press Conference Quotes
HoyaSaxa.com Pre-Game Report
(check here for links to Vanderbilt-area coverage)
Check out The Hoya for several excellent pre-game articles: www.thehoya.com/sports/
GUHoyas.com Game Notes
Wash Post (3/23) - Camille Powell: Seasoned Teams Meet Again - Hoyas, Commodores Reprise Earlier Game
Wash Post (3/23/) - Mike Wise: From Farm to Hilltop, Wallace Ascends
When he is asked to compare himself with former Hoyas point guards, Wallace says, straight-up: "Pretty much everybody I know of were inner-city type guys. . . .
"You kind of create your own identity when you come here. But no matter what, once you set foot on the Hilltop, things change. You go into this old phase of Georgetown basketball: You got to play with heart and represent what's on your chest and take it serious."
The first time Green met Wallace, his future teammate was so anonymous, "I thought he was our security guy's cousin because he was standing next to him."
"He looks like the anti-Iverson," Crawford said. "But John has those moves; he just doesn't display them all the time. He uses them when he has to. I call him a diamond in the rough."
"You kind of create your own identity when you come here. But no matter what, once you set foot on the Hilltop, things change. You go into this old phase of Georgetown basketball: You got to play with heart and represent what's on your chest and take it serious."
The first time Green met Wallace, his future teammate was so anonymous, "I thought he was our security guy's cousin because he was standing next to him."
"He looks like the anti-Iverson," Crawford said. "But John has those moves; he just doesn't display them all the time. He uses them when he has to. I call him a diamond in the rough."
Wash Post (3/23): Hoyas-Commodores Preview
Wash Times (3/23/) - Barker Davis: Plenty in Reserve
Wash Times (3/23) - Barker Davis: Hoyas spur change to zone
Coaching carousel
Georgetown assistant coach Kevin Broadus officially accepted the coaching position at Binghamton yesterday. Known as one of the top recruiters in the D.C. area, Broadus helped deliver several key recruits to the Hilltop, notably freshmen DaJuan Summers and Vernon Macklin and current McDonald's All-Americans Chris Wright (St. John's) and Austin Freeman (DeMatha). Broadus will stay with the Hoyas throughout their NCAA tournament run before taking his new post in upstate New York.
Though Thompson refused to address the subject yesterday, Georgetown assistants Sidney Johnson and Robert Burke are both rumored to be in the pool of candidates for the vacant post at Princeton.
Georgetown assistant coach Kevin Broadus officially accepted the coaching position at Binghamton yesterday. Known as one of the top recruiters in the D.C. area, Broadus helped deliver several key recruits to the Hilltop, notably freshmen DaJuan Summers and Vernon Macklin and current McDonald's All-Americans Chris Wright (St. John's) and Austin Freeman (DeMatha). Broadus will stay with the Hoyas throughout their NCAA tournament run before taking his new post in upstate New York.
Though Thompson refused to address the subject yesterday, Georgetown assistants Sidney Johnson and Robert Burke are both rumored to be in the pool of candidates for the vacant post at Princeton.
USA Today: Georgetown's business is back in the perfect family
TV cameras caught a private moment in the tunnel at Madison Square Garden after Georgetown won the Big East tournament. The Thompsons shared familial smiles as the father patted the back of his son's head, tender and tough all at once.
"It's not an easy thing to describe," Thompson says. "You're proud of your child, but it's not just based on the success he's had but the effort that he put forth and the sincerity with which he approached it.
"I saw my father, when I used to play basketball, have tears in his eyes. I thought that was a strange thing. I didn't understand that. That made me nervous. But I understand very well now with my own child."
A few weeks ago, Thompson got a phone message from Rollie Massimino, whose Villanova Wildcats famously upset the Hoyas in the 1985 national championship game.
"He said, 'Your son's a better coach than you ever were,' " Thompson says, laughing. "Rollie and I, we have a good time. He was congratulating me for what John has accomplished and sticking it to me at the same time, as we always have done."
Thompson III and his brother Ronny, who coaches Ball State, are one of 11 pairs of brothers who have coached college basketball. With their father, they are one of 19 father-son combos.
"I am glad that my Pops is around," Thompson III says. "I want any and all input that he has to give. And I'll sift through what I want to use and what I don't want to use."
His team reflects twin influences: Georgetown plays a version of the back-cutting Princeton motion offense, while the intensity of the defense, especially of late, is reminiscent of his father's teams.
"When he was a little boy we talked about basketball," Thompson says. "So there's no reason now that he's the coach of Georgetown for us not to talk about basketball. That's been a way of life. It's what we do. It's what my family does.
"If you're from Hershey, you talk about candy."
"It takes time to build a program," he says. "It's an evolution. In many ways, we're going through a re-evolution. But at the same time, we're still a long way away from where I want to be.
"We've been fortunate that in the process of getting pieces in place, we have had some success. This is the second Sweet 16, and we were very fortunate that this year we won the Big East regular season and also the Big East tournament. But it's a process. And we're still a long way away."
Four games isn't a long way.
"That's true," he says. "But I've taken the approach that we're going to take it one day at a time. A lot of people say that, but that's truly how we operate here. So right now all of our energy is going toward Vanderbilt.
"If we are fortunate enough to win that game, then we'll find out who we are going to play and all of our energy will go toward that game. We're not looking at it as four games away."
One of his players is, in a way. Center Roy Hibbert grew up a Georgetown fan. He knows the history. He knows how these Hoyas can make some of their own.
"I think we can win this whole thing," he says.
If they do, they can call it National Championship Jr. — and begin yearning for NC III.
"It's not an easy thing to describe," Thompson says. "You're proud of your child, but it's not just based on the success he's had but the effort that he put forth and the sincerity with which he approached it.
"I saw my father, when I used to play basketball, have tears in his eyes. I thought that was a strange thing. I didn't understand that. That made me nervous. But I understand very well now with my own child."
A few weeks ago, Thompson got a phone message from Rollie Massimino, whose Villanova Wildcats famously upset the Hoyas in the 1985 national championship game.
"He said, 'Your son's a better coach than you ever were,' " Thompson says, laughing. "Rollie and I, we have a good time. He was congratulating me for what John has accomplished and sticking it to me at the same time, as we always have done."
Thompson III and his brother Ronny, who coaches Ball State, are one of 11 pairs of brothers who have coached college basketball. With their father, they are one of 19 father-son combos.
"I am glad that my Pops is around," Thompson III says. "I want any and all input that he has to give. And I'll sift through what I want to use and what I don't want to use."
His team reflects twin influences: Georgetown plays a version of the back-cutting Princeton motion offense, while the intensity of the defense, especially of late, is reminiscent of his father's teams.
"When he was a little boy we talked about basketball," Thompson says. "So there's no reason now that he's the coach of Georgetown for us not to talk about basketball. That's been a way of life. It's what we do. It's what my family does.
"If you're from Hershey, you talk about candy."
"It takes time to build a program," he says. "It's an evolution. In many ways, we're going through a re-evolution. But at the same time, we're still a long way away from where I want to be.
"We've been fortunate that in the process of getting pieces in place, we have had some success. This is the second Sweet 16, and we were very fortunate that this year we won the Big East regular season and also the Big East tournament. But it's a process. And we're still a long way away."
Four games isn't a long way.
"That's true," he says. "But I've taken the approach that we're going to take it one day at a time. A lot of people say that, but that's truly how we operate here. So right now all of our energy is going toward Vanderbilt.
"If we are fortunate enough to win that game, then we'll find out who we are going to play and all of our energy will go toward that game. We're not looking at it as four games away."
One of his players is, in a way. Center Roy Hibbert grew up a Georgetown fan. He knows the history. He knows how these Hoyas can make some of their own.
"I think we can win this whole thing," he says.
If they do, they can call it National Championship Jr. — and begin yearning for NC III.
Wash Times (3/22) - Barker Davis: Familiar weapon
Thompson hasn't just brought Carril's offense to Georgetown. He's brought back Daddy's D.
"Defense is the key to everything really," Georgetown junior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said yesterday. "They say defense wins championships, and that's what we're going for."
"I think our guys are doing a good job of helping each other and covering for each other and supporting each other, and that's going to be key if we're going to have success [tomorrow]," Thompson said.
"You say, 'Oh, well, you just have to stop their 3s.' But you can't," Thompson said. "They get 3s. Even when you're playing good defense, those two can shoot over you."
Enter Ewing. Against lineups with multiple sharpshooters and no true center (see also Notre Dame and West Virginia), the Hoyas have benched the slower Hibbert for Ewing, who can defend all five positions.
"My dad told me, 'You're not going to make it to the next level as a big forward, so you've got to develop your guard skills and be able to defend guards,' " Ewing said. "So I spent most of last year trying to guard Brandon [Bowman] and Jeff [Green] and Ashanti [Cook], and I feel like that experience of playing three great players has helped me this year in guarding whomever coach puts me on."
"Defense is the key to everything really," Georgetown junior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said yesterday. "They say defense wins championships, and that's what we're going for."
"I think our guys are doing a good job of helping each other and covering for each other and supporting each other, and that's going to be key if we're going to have success [tomorrow]," Thompson said.
"You say, 'Oh, well, you just have to stop their 3s.' But you can't," Thompson said. "They get 3s. Even when you're playing good defense, those two can shoot over you."
Enter Ewing. Against lineups with multiple sharpshooters and no true center (see also Notre Dame and West Virginia), the Hoyas have benched the slower Hibbert for Ewing, who can defend all five positions.
"My dad told me, 'You're not going to make it to the next level as a big forward, so you've got to develop your guard skills and be able to defend guards,' " Ewing said. "So I spent most of last year trying to guard Brandon [Bowman] and Jeff [Green] and Ashanti [Cook], and I feel like that experience of playing three great players has helped me this year in guarding whomever coach puts me on."
Wash Post (3/22) - Camille Powell: Hoyas' Success Starts With Defense
The banners that hang from the ceiling inside McDonough Arena commemorate the postseason trips made by Georgetown men's basketball teams. Ask any current Hoya about what enabled those teams -- particularly the three national finalists -- to have so much success, and they give a quick answer.
"That was defense," junior forward Jeff Green said.
"It was crazy how they just dominated on defense," sophomore guard Jessie Sapp said. "But we want to create our own kind of buzz on defense. Everybody talks about our offense, but defense is what wins ballgames."
"We might not force a lot of turnovers, but the main thing is to make sure that the other team doesn't put the ball in the basket," Patrick Ewing Jr. said. "Obviously we don't have players back there like Alonzo [Mourning], and my father and Dikembe [Mutombo], but we feel that if we make teams take tough, contested twos instead of wide-open threes, that helps us out a lot."
"That was defense," junior forward Jeff Green said.
"It was crazy how they just dominated on defense," sophomore guard Jessie Sapp said. "But we want to create our own kind of buzz on defense. Everybody talks about our offense, but defense is what wins ballgames."
"We might not force a lot of turnovers, but the main thing is to make sure that the other team doesn't put the ball in the basket," Patrick Ewing Jr. said. "Obviously we don't have players back there like Alonzo [Mourning], and my father and Dikembe [Mutombo], but we feel that if we make teams take tough, contested twos instead of wide-open threes, that helps us out a lot."
NY Post (3/22) - Lenn Robbins: JESSIE'S GIRL
NJ.com: NCAA: Near tragedy separates friends only on the court
Wash Times (3/21): Vanderbilt's transfer of power
Denver Post - COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Clock striking midnight for Cinderellas
East Regional
No one is talking about Georgetown much, but the Hoyas are bringing back memories of the mid-'80s teams without the hype or hatred. Jeff Green is Big East Player of the Year and Roy Hibbert causes a few matchup problems at 7-2.
This team is tough, smart and disciplined. John Thompson's kid has done good.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is a bunch of gunners who can play defense. More than 40 percent of their shot attempts are three-pointers, with Derrick Byers, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, leading the way.
Don't expect Georgetown to give them many good looks.
No one is talking about Georgetown much, but the Hoyas are bringing back memories of the mid-'80s teams without the hype or hatred. Jeff Green is Big East Player of the Year and Roy Hibbert causes a few matchup problems at 7-2.
This team is tough, smart and disciplined. John Thompson's kid has done good.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is a bunch of gunners who can play defense. More than 40 percent of their shot attempts are three-pointers, with Derrick Byers, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, leading the way.
Don't expect Georgetown to give them many good looks.
NY Sun - John Hollinger: Sweet 16 Is Oozing With NBA-Ready Talent
JEFF GREEN AND ROY HIBBERT, GEORGETOWN: Green is a poor man's version of [Brandan] Wright. He's a big guy who can really move his feet and handle the ball, but he's an inch shorter and a year older. He's helped his stock by shooting better (37.6% on 3-pointers, 78.9% from the line), convincing most that he can play small forward in the pros. He should lead the Hoyas to a romp over Vandy before the real test on Sunday — a regional final showdown with North Carolina, with Green matched up against fellow lottery hopeful Brandan Wright.
Hibbert is a lock to be a firstrounder because you can't teach 7-foot-2, but he also has a nice touch around the basket. The NBA is moving away from his type of game, but his ability to score down low and block shots still has value.
Hibbert is a lock to be a firstrounder because you can't teach 7-foot-2, but he also has a nice touch around the basket. The NBA is moving away from his type of game, but his ability to score down low and block shots still has value.
