The Bearcats play Georgetown in a few short hours. What better way to get up to speed on all things Hoya than to talk to the great Georgetown blog Casual Hoya? That’s what I thought, and that’s why it’s happening. Visit the site. Follow them on twitter. They run a good twitter. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t follow them. If I follow them, you should follow them. We are one community after all. You should also click on their page because I answered some questions over there. One of them was about Skyline. Two of their questions I stole. You’ll have to guess what two.
Questions in bold
The loss to West Virginia, bump in the road or a sign of things to come?
The loss to West Virginia, I believe, is a combination of a bump in the road and a sign of things to come. I still believe this Georgetown team should finish in the top 5 in the conference, so in that regard, it is a bump in the road. That said, the Big East is a mess this year. Outside of Syracuse, everyone is vulnerable, as we saw this weekend with Georgetown, Louisville, and UConn losing to WVA, Notre Dame, and Rutgers, respectively. In addition, bottom feeders like Depaul and USF are better and Seton Hall is like an entirely different program from last year at this point. What I’m saying is I wouldn’t be surprised if we lost a few games to teams like that because there are no gimmes this year.
What the hell got into Henry Sims this season?
It’s a combination of three things with Sims. First, he’s a senior, and like many seniors in college there is the “holy crap I’m going to be in the real world in 9 months, I need to get it together” moment. I think that happened with Sims this summer, and it resulted in him focusing on basketball more than he ever had before. Second, the NBA lockout allowed guys like Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green to hang around campus and impart their work ethics and wisdom on guys like Henry. Third, this is the first time in his career at Georgetown that he actually needed to be relied on and looked up to, and he seems to have relished that. In previous years, he was a bit of a class clown, running for student vice president and as JT3 said “enjoying college a little too much”. This year has been much more serious and focused for him.
How annoying are commercials that play songs that you know but don’t really know all the words to and you get the song stuck in your head for an hour?
The most recent one that happened to me for was the “Tonight is the night is the night that we fell in love, doo du doo du doo” Pepsi commercial from the X Factor. And yes, I just admitted to watching the X Factor, #teamastro. Also, the “So you’ve had a bad day” tune from those NFL commercials with the gimps who had bad fantasy football seasons is one I find myself whistling a lot when answering questions other blogs send over. (ED: Mine is God Will Cut You Down. That song is the reason this was a question)
Where does Hollis Thompson rank on the list of best Hoya 3 point shooters?
If Hollis stays all four years, I think he will go down as the best three point shooter in Georgetown history. His shot is so obscenely pure, it’s a joy to watch. That said, he needs to take more of them, because he can really fill it up, but he’ll go 15 minutes at a time where you forget he’s on the court. For a guy with that kind of talent, being invisible shouldn’t be an alternative.
It seems like Jason Clark is the same player from last year, except this version gets to the line. Has there been a difference in his game?
There are two major differences in Clark’s game this year. One, which you pointed out, is he is driving and getting to the line more. As the third guard with Austin Freeman and Chris Wright the last two years, his role was much more of a three point specialist. This year, he is creating off the dribble and scoring in a multitude of ways. The second difference is that he’s much more committed to defense this year, which could be said about the entire Georgetown team. Defense, in a lot of ways, really is about pride and effort, and Clark has taken significantly more pride in his defense this year than the previous two years. The 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 teams got absolutely lit up by guys like Dominique Jones, Marshon Brooks, and others, which were usually guys Clark guarded. This year, that hasn’t happened as much, now we get lit up by physical 4’s like Thomas Robinson and Kevin Jones.
Who told Otto Porter is was a good idea to take 3s? What can you tell us about his game?
It sure as hell wasn’t me. What’s interesting with Otto is his mid range game is superb and he’s a pretty solid free throw shooter, but put him beyond the arc and it’s a whole different story. But don’t get me wrong, Otto Porter is the apple of my eye. He is phenomenal, seemingly always at the right place at the right time, and rebounds better than anyone that JT3 has had at Georgetown. He seems to step his game up at the biggest moments as well, as evidenced by his performances against Louisville and Providence. If we can get four years of Otto at Georgetown, we will be very, very happy.
When all is said and done, who are the top 4 teams in the Big East?
It would shock me if Syracuse wasn’t #1 at the end of the year. I think UConn has the talent to challenge them, but something is awry in Storrs right now that I can’t figure out. Thus, I think Georgetown will end up in the 2 spot, Louisville in the 3 spot and UConn in the four spot. If it ended up that 2, 3 and 4 are completely different than what I predicted, I wouldn’t blink an eye though.
If you were to start your own university, which Big East coach would you want running your basketball program? Who is your last choice of the Big East coaches?
I love the program JT3 runs, but that’s a lame choice, so outside of him, I think I’d choose Bob Huggins. I love the way his teams compete, he’s a maniac in an endearing way, and I think he really cares about his players. That moment with Da’Sean Butler in the 2010 Final Four really stuck with me, I thought that was pretty amazing to see. Last choice would be Jim Boeheim, because he has a stupid face and I hate him.
How annoying was it watching Georgetown play Memphis twice this regular season?
It would have been fine had Memphis not decided to poop their collective pants and lose every game they played. Hopefully they can run through Conference USA so those wins mean something, but with the rumors of Joe Jackson transferring and all the other in-fighting, those wins could mean absolutely nothing come Selection Sunday.
Will Nate Lubick ever not look weird in a Georgetown uniform?
He either needs to start rocking the t-shirt or hit a solid spray tan, because something doesn’t look right. I’d rather he go the t-shirt route and try to summon the powers of Ewing, Mourning, and Mutombo. Because of course, he is their lineal descendant, right?!
What’s the blue print for Cincinnati to beat this Hoya team? What do you think will happen?
The blueprint to beating Georgetown is what West Virginia did Saturday. It’s a combination of forcing turnovers, bad three point shooting, and a physically imposing big man. I’m pretty sure Cincinnati can do that if Gates doesn’t ASSAULT someone at somepoint in the game. That said, I think Georgetown probably wins this one by 5, let’s say 64-59.
Now that you’ve given us the blue print, what’s the best Jay Z album?
The Blueprint, without a doubt. As a surburban white man from New Jersey, Jay-Z somehow speaks to me, and that album is his best. Second would be the Black Album, then Reasonable Doubt. Last is Kingdom Come. Go put on “Heart of the City” off the Blueprint and just vibe, bro.
Thanks a bunch to Casual Hoya. Hopefully we are in for a repeat of last year. Read their site, follow them on twitter, and generally adore them and their gambling ways. I do. Thanks to Casual Hoya and thanks to you.
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