What the Heck’s Going On at Georgetown?
College Basketball May 28th. 2008, 1:00pm
First the collapse against Davidson, and sophomore jumping jack/center Vernon Macklin, pegged as perhaps a starter next year, transfers to Florida. And now, Jeremiah Rivers, another nice role player who could have been a starter this season, is transferring to Indiana. What’s going on with John Thompson’s program? We thought the Hoyas would be a Top 10 team next year, but factor in these two losses, plus the graduation of starters Patrick Ewing, Roy Hibbert and Jon Wallace, and the Hoyas dip from a top three or four NCAA seed to probably seventh or eighth.
37 Responses to “What the Heck’s Going On at Georgetown?”
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May 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
fuck john thompson and his father.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
at least they still got Dejuan Summers right?
F GTown, what has happened to Syracuse
May 28th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Why would you transfer to Indiana???
May 28th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
aside from the basketball team being fucked for a few years…the chicks there are phenomenal and you’re king shit if you play bball, great party school, easy access to good weed…just for starters.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Plus it’s not like you have any authority figures to answer to. And I doubt you have to go to class.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
@vegas- maybe so Rivers can fit in with the weaker competition, also known as the Big Ten
May 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
good job, irish. plus 1, or however that works
May 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I guess there are reasons. You’re also the king of shit if you play basketball at Georgetown though. “Indiana sucks” was really my point.
I never even considered the good weed angle.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Rivers can start immediately and, for at least a season, perhaps showcase some skills under a damn good coach. No slight to Thompson. Rivers could be a 20-7 assist guy on Indiana. They have NOBODY.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
that’s why im here.
and Georgetown cant hang with Indiana when it comes to bootah.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Thats cause you need a brain to go to GTown
May 28th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
@Irish — If he stays at Georgetown, with that scheme and those players, he never gets noticed. This has to be a decision by him to get himself in better position to play after college.
As to Syracuse – did you watch them play much last season? Lots of talent, not a lot of brains. Boeheim has his work cut out for him getting them to play smart, team ball.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
@sportsdork- Syracuse has always been one of my favorite college basketball teams.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
@sportsdork- forgot to add, the scheme JT3 is different then his fathers way of basketball. JT3 runs princeton offense, where his father was big man happy
Rivers would excel in that system if he was good, but he sucks
May 28th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
If by immediately you mean 17 months from now, then I agree.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Rivers could be a 20-7 assist guy on a community college team
May 28th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Looks at Georgetown’s incoming class and tell me if they care that Doc Rivers’ kid is transferring. Just opens up another scholarship for another 4 or 5 star recruit.
/bitter UMD fan
May 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Vegas Watch-you took the words out of my mouth.
Rivers isn’t a done deal to Indiana. The Boston Globe (I believe) reported at the end of last week that Rivers is still considering Georgia Tech, Central Florida, and Indiana. The Crean connection makes sense for IU, but I’m really not sure that Rivers is good enough. I hold nothing against him and wish him nothing but the best of luck, but after personally watching him play about 40 games the past two years, I don’t think he’s very good. By the time that he’ll be able to play, IU will have better guards than him, unless he greatly improves this coming year.
Macklin listened to other people when he would’ve been a starter this year. He didn’t always seem to have his head in the game, and was very frustrating to watch. Again, I wish him luck, but I’d really love to know what he is thinking.
Rivers was never going to be more than a defensive sub. Freeman, Wright, Clark, Sapp would’ve all been ahead of him as an offensive option. Macklin was your starting center after playing behind Roy.
This is certainly a rebuilding year for the Hoyas, and I don’t expect them to be very good. But they’ve got a top 10 recruiting class this year followed by another top 10-20 (I don’t follow those numbers closely) the following year. The real test is for JTIII to keep the recruits and not have them transfer also. That would be very alarming.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
The losses of Macklin and Rivers are negligible. Rivers was a decent ballhandler and defender, but couldn’t shoot worth a damn. Macklin has a nice jump hook. I imagine they’re transferring because they realize they’re not vital to the team’s plans next season.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
a 20-7 guy? hahaha. Rivers can’t shoot or create his own shot. TBL, you ever watch him play?
May 28th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Crean needs all the warm bodies he can get these days. Give him 3 years to build a foundation and the Hoosiers will be fine.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
TBL, you also thought that last night the Spurs would win and Manu would have an awesome game.
I think you are becoming worse than the SI cover or Madden cover jinxes combined.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Why does everyone consider this to be a rebuilding year?
Take a look at their starting 5:
PG- Chris Wright
SG- Jessie Sapp
SF- Austin Freeman
PF- Dajuan Summers
C- Greg Monroe
That is definitely not a 8/9 seed team. My guess would be around 4 or 5 only because the BIG EAST is supposed to be siiiiiiiick this year (NOVA, Louisville, UCONN, ND, CUSE, etc.)
Of course they won’t be as deep as they have been in past years but they have a load of talent in their starting 5.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
o btw, Jeremiah Rivers is known for being a great defender and really nothing else. What is all this 20/7 talk? Rivers is nothing more than a great defender with adequate offensive skills.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
jking: You’re right on the starting 5, but its the bench that concerns me. They’ll have almost no depth or experience, especially in the front court if Braswell doesn’t qualify (as is pretty much expected now). Wright will have to perform for an entire season after that mysterious injury last year, Summers will have to step up and take charge, and Monroe has a lot of expectations to fulfill as a freshman. They could be very good, but especially after the way last season ended I think many of my fellow fans will enter the year with somewhat low expectations.
Rivers did have that sick spin dribble. hahahaha. He was also good at shooting off the side of the backboard. Think he did that about 3 times this season down the stretch.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
17 months to work on his game and jumper, and nobody in front of him. If he wants, he’ll take 15 shots a game, easily.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I just think Rivers is the player to be named later in the Patrick Ewing Jr trade of 3 years ago…oh and this guy would not only start but star at St. John’s a sad testament to the once mighty University
May 28th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Nick, i expect Sapp and Summers to carry the load and lead by example. I agree that Chris Wright is the X factor here. He is clearly an upgrade over Rivers IMO. Monroe will grab tons of boards and contribute at least 8-10 PPG, but he has the ability to dominate if he can develop quickly.
The depth is definitely an issue but i would still put them as a top 4 BIG EAST team with NOVA, ND, and UCONN. Louisville, PITT, and CUSE not far behind
May 28th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
In a word – shenanigans.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Rivers was/is basically used as a defender and a backup ball handler. If he ever averaged 20 and 7 I would eat my own foot. As frustrating as it was to watch Hibbert last year, Macklin may have been worse. I keep hearing about how talented he is but he never really showed it on the court.
I’m expecting big things from Summers this year. I think he could easily be an even more talented version of Jeff Green. Monroe will take awhile to round into form, but the guards will be solid. I agree that the bench will be a huge question though.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Rivers transferring isn’t news, all that was up in the air was where he’d end up. You’ve clearly never seen him play for more than ten minutes if you think he can score 20 per game in any major conference. Macklin was a bit of a bust, and neither guy was expected to be a primary contributor on next year’s team. Chris Wright’s return from a foot injury and the signing of Greg Monroe made them realize they’d have to go elsewhere to get the kind of minutes and touches they’re looking for. All this does to Georgetown is hurt their depth, especially in terms of defense.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I was very pretty underwhelmed by Greg Monroe the times I saw him play last year. Granted most of what I saw was in those shitty HS all-star games, but he didn’t seem to know how to pass or make a good power post move and he looked like he had a lackadaisical attitude. He’s a physical specimen though.
I don’t think the loss of Macklin is negligible. With Hibbert gone, he would have been one of the only experienced bigs. GT should be fine with those guards though…
May 28th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
You can’t evaluate a big man based on a couple of high school all star games. Take a look at his actual high school career and you’ll see a fairly dynamic player. Of course it’s impossible to do that now, but the highlight reels are readily available.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
@Maj: I thought my caveat was enough to indicate that I was aware that my ‘analysis’ was limited based on a small and low-quality sample. But I am glad I checked back in on this thread because I realized the player I was thinking of was Tyreke Evans (I believe he ended up choosing Memphis, imagine that). So, I take back the failure to pass and the comment concerning attitude. Now that I remember correctly, Monroe appeared to be a very raw, athletic big man and seemed to have a pretty good attitude. He should serve JTIII well.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
TBL – if Jeremiah can score 20 and 7 in the Big Ten, then I could score in double digits in that abomination of a league. He is a horrendous offensive player, and an excellent on-the-ball defender.
I wont reiterate the points others have made here, but Jeremiah saw the writing on the wall – not only is the incoming class of 2012 stacked, but the class afterwards could be even better, with Dashonte Riley, Hollis Thompson, and JT3 hot on the trail of other 5-stars.
There is nothing wrong with this program at all. People transfer all the time – especially ones who aren’t going to play and/or shine.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
To be fair, TBL also thinks that Jerry O’Connell could lead the Big Ten in scoring.
It’s worth noting that nobody in the conference averaged even six assists last year, and White won the POY with 17 ppg.
All hail King Jeremiah!
May 29th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
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