Sucks for Summers

Congrats to Greg Monroe for being named to the Big East All-Rookie team.

Congrats to no one else on the team.

After being named to the preseason All-Big East Team, DaJuan Summers received no recognition whatsoever. Going to suck when he has to explain that to his future employer.


Good talk.

It's Finally Over

The much awaited end to this season has come. JT3's worst season as a head coach and one of Georgetown's most disappointing seasons ever is officially over. It is remarkable that the same selfish and out-of-sync group of players donning the Georgetown uniforms on Saturday beat UConn in Hartford a little over two months ago. It is remarkable that this group of uninspired players has beaten four teams this season that were at some point ranked in the Top Ten. And it is remarkable that this team itself was once ranked as one of the Top Ten teams in the country and has spent nearly 70% of the season ranked in the Top 25.

Here were my preseason predictions. Not too far off on these, I was 9-4 in the major games I forecasted, two games off my 18-11 finish to the season and three games off on my 10-8 prediction for the conference season. I knew we would lose some bad ones, but never thought we would lose to Seton Hall and St. John's in the same season. If we had won one of those games we would still have a fighting shot for a tourney spot come Sunday. Now our only shot is to win four straight to be a bubble team and five straight to get an automatic bid.

Here were my midseason predictions. I was way off on these, but I was trying to predict the sloppy and sporadic play we saw through the first half. I knew we would lose a really bad game and win a really good one. I just thought it would be a South Florida loss and Syracuse win instead of the actual St. John's loss and Villanova win.

For the midseason review, I split the conference season into two types, Good Georgetown and Bad Georgetown. Not every win was good (Providence) and not every loss was bad (Notre Dame). But for the end of the season, there aren't enough games considered to be good to make any type of statistical comparison relevant. The only good wins were UConn, Syracuse and South Florida. The other four wins were horribly played games where we pretty beat a much weaker opponent (South Florida, DePaul and Rutgers) or we lucked out (Villanova). So instead, I will just split the conference season into games we won and games we lost and look at the difference in the teams through the same six categories.

Fouls
Good Georgetown committed 17 infractions a game, whereas Bad Georgetown committed 19. Opponents of Good Georgetown (teams that lost to us) averaged 11 points from the line and opponents of Bad Georgetown (teams that beat us) averaged 16 points. But the numbers are all over the place; in the loss to Pitt, the Panthers only made 3 foul shots, whereas Marquette scored 30 from the line when they beat us for the first time.

Turnovers
Good Georgetown averaged 16.1 giveaways which were converted into 15.9 points by opponents. Those figures are skewed by the Villanova win where Georgetown had a season high 23 turnovers and miraculously won the game. Bad Georgetown averaged 13.4 turnovers a game which were converted into 17.8 points by opponents. So Good Georgetown actually had more turnovers, but opponents were less likely to take advantage of the mishaps.

Good Georgetown averaged 18.3 points off of 15.3 turnovers by opponents, whereas Bad Georgetown averaged only 12.7 points off of 12.6 turnovers by opponents. So Bad Georgetown was more likely to have Chris Wright throw a layup off the bottom of the rim after a turnover.

Passing
Assist to turnover ratios for Good and Bad Georgetown were the same; both were below one, a telling sign since we run an offense so dependent on precise passing. This marks the first time a JT3-led Georgetown team has had more turnovers than assists in a season.

64% of the field goals for Good Georgetown were created by assists whereas only 54% of field goals for Bad Georgetown had the same attribute. Seems logical, Bad Georgetown had a tendency to forget the principles of its offense (i.e. Summers shooting off balance jump shots with 25 seconds left on the shot clock whilst trying to impress NBA scouts with his lack of an outside game).

Rebounding
Both Good and Bad Georgetown were badly rebounded on the offensive glass, embarrassing since they normally had a height advantage over the teams they played. Major problem for this season and probably will be in the future until Monroe learns how to... wait for it... BOX IT OUT.

With the offense we run, it is okay to not get many offensive rebounds since we take high percentage shots. But there is no excuse to allow opponents to hit the offensive boards as much as they do. We are not a running, up-tempo offense; there is no need for our five players to be out of position when a shot goes up. Opponents realized this very early on and took advantage. Opponents of Bad Georgetown took five more jumpers and three pointers than opponents of Good Georgetown.

Defense
Opponents of Good Georgetown averaged 10 assists a game and had an assist to turnover ratio of 0.65. Opponents of Bad Georgetown averaged 15.5 assists a game and had an assist to turnover ratio of 1.22. That is where the games were lost. We were unable to shutdown opponents' best players and often were unable to get a defensive stop in critical times. Good passing leads to easy buckets, something that affected Georgetown on both sides of the court.

Good Georgetown gave up 56 points a game (very skewed by Rutgers, South Florida and DePaul games but those make up half our wins...) and Bad Georgetown gave up 74 (also skewed by the three overtime losses).

Offense
Good Georgetown averaged 67 points a game and Bad Georgetown averaged 65. Good Georgetown shot 50% from the field whereas Bad Georgetown shot 43%. Surprisingly, both types of teams took and made the same types of shots. Of Good Georgetown's 49 shot attempts a game, 58% were layup/dunks, 25% were three pointers and 16% were jump shots. Of their 24 field goals a game, 45% were layup/dunks, 34% were three pointers and 21% were jump shots.

Of Bad Georgetown's 55 shot attempts a game, 56% were layup/dunks, 25% were three pointers and 19% were jump shots. Of their 24 field goals a game, 45% were layup/dunks, 34% were three pointers and 21% were jump shots. Interesting that despite the opponent, we still managed to do the same thing on offense, miss the shot.


Summary
What does all this mean? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, so sorry for wasting your time. It really comes down to intangibles. It comes down to execution in crunch time, it comes down to making the play when it counts and it comes down to heart. Georgetown has shown all of the above at different times this season but was never really able to put it together for a meaningful streak (we haven't won two in a row since Jan. 14). Before this season, JT3 was 5-1 in overtime games at Georgetown and had won his last three conference overtime matches. This season, JT3 was 1-3 in overtime games and lost all three conference overtime matches.

Syracuse found a way to regroup in overtime against us in order to thwart a crushing and historic collapse. We couldn't find a way to do that against St. John's. Good teams find ways to win when it matters. People call it luck but at the end of the day it is really about confidence in yourself and trust in your teammates. This team severely lacks both.

A quote to sum it up:

"We've got a serious challenge on our hands and I've got a young team."

As said by JT3 in a preseason press conference when asked about his expectations for this season.


Good talk.

Change is Coming

Hire Esherick is moving websites shortly. The change should be seamless, all my absurd posts, biased rants and offensive statements will be archived on the new site. The new venue will have more features including a discussion board, picture, video and quote sections and quick links to Hoya Basketball information. And followers will have more ability to interact and voice opinions, including remarks that I am most likely two tacos short of a combo meal. I will also have a similarly delusional blogging buddy, who will represent my first non-inflatable friend!

Be excited. Change is a comin'.


Good talk.

More Fuel to the Fire

Former class of 2009 Hoya commit DaShonte Riley has just committed to Syracuse. Congrats to the 6'11'' idiot. No better place to get attention as a big man than Syracuse.

Let's take a look at the most notable Hoya and Orange big men over the last thirty years. Here is a list of centers post-1980 that have played in the NBA.

Georgetown
Craig Shelton
Patrick Ewing
Dikembe Mutombo
Alonzo Morning
Othello Harrington
Jahidi White
Jerome Williams
Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje
Mike Sweetney
Roy Hibbert

Syracuse
Roosevelt Bouie
Danny Schayes
Rony Seikaly
Derrick Coleman

Well thought out DaShonte. Maybe 'Cuse was the right decision for you, academically speaking of course. Look forward to laughing at you for the next four years.


Good talk.

Hip Hip Hooray!

The normally reliable and accurate NBADraft.net has taken Greg Monroe and DaJuan Summers off their list of prospects for the 2009 draft. Both had been lottery picks for most of the year and if they decided to leave after this tragedy of a season, the Hoya program would be in shambles. Imagine a starting lineup of Clark, Wright, Freeman, Thompson and Vaughn. I just cried into my own puke after thinking Vaughn could be a starter.

Both, however, are listed as lottery picks in 2010 draft. Summers will be forced to leave since will be a senior but I am hoping Greg stays at least three years. But that is for a discussion next year, when we hopefully have a couple of off-days in rounds 1 and 2 of the Big East Tournament.

The Big East is projected to have 11 players taken in this year's draft, more than any other conference. I already discussed the experience of this year's conference, a look at what to expect next year will come soon.


Good talk.

Speechless

Cause I'm laughing too hard. Is this the next logical step for my songs?



Special shout-out to follower Sweet 16 for passing along this gem.


Good talk.

Calhoun Follow-Up

Well I might not agree with the name of his site (I did at the end of January and for most of February and all of 2002-2004), but I certainly agree with the results of his investigative reporting.

Here is reason number two why Jim Calhoun is a dirtbag courtesy of Hoya Suxa: He is a liar.

Reason number one is because he is dirty coach (link attached for those that don't remember my Happy Holidays post).

Kudos to Hoya Suxa. Only for the next 2 minutes... And I'm over it.


Good talk.

The Sky is Falling - Part Three: Expectations

This season sucked. The way the players wore out at the end. The way the fans gave up on the team. The way the students stopped showing up to home games. The way the message boards are plastered with posts questioning the team's effort, the team's conditioning, the team's preparation and the team's coach. I too have many times complained about all of the above throughout the season but sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

I remember when Georgetown was a joke. I remember when a UConn fan asked me outside of Madison Square Garden before the 2004 Big East Tournament if Georgetown was still playing Division 1 basketball. I remember when I would be excited for our games to be broadcast on TV; I still have the tape of the time we played Cal State Fullerton in the second round of the NIT in 2005 and it was broadcast on ESPN. I remember when I asked President DeGioia why he gave Esherick a contract extension, as the room full of ass-kissers gasped that I would have the audacity to question the President of our beloved and perfect University. And I remember when we lost the last nine games of the 2003-2004 season. Here's the last six years as I remember it:

- In 2004, Georgetown failed to make a post-season tournament.
- In 2005 Georgetown had its first year under a brand new coach and had incredible, invigorating and inspiring wins against Pittsburgh, Villanova and Notre Dame.
- In 2006, Georgetown went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
- In 2007, Georgetown went to the Final Four for the first time in 22 years.
- In 2008, Georgetown won its second consecutive Big East regular season title, the first time in school history.
- In 2009, after losing three key players and having three players from the 2007 Final Four team drafted by NBA teams, fans are worried about the state of the program. They are worried about the team consisting of mostly of freshmen and sophomores who this season defeated two teams currently ranked in the top 5 and have played the hardest schedule in the history of the program.

Lofty expectations lead to disappointment. Disappointment leads to rationalization. Rationalization leads to optimism or anger. For the first time ever as a Georgetown fan, I am sticking with optimism. We will be good. Very good. This is 2005 all over again. And look where that ended up.

Hopefully this isn't where the delusional part of my tagline comes into play.

We're going to lose tomorrow. And it will not be pretty. But that's ok. The future is bright.


Good talk.

The Sky is Falling - Part Two: Consistency

So we are young. If you look at the current top eight teams in the Big East, seven of them also rank as the most experienced in the league. The only young team included in top half of the standings is West Virginia, which replaces Notre Dame, an experienced team that is in the lower half of the standings. But next on the docket is the notion that somehow this season ruins any chance of JT3 and Georgetown building a true program, and that we have taken a step back from the turnaround over the past four years. But first a story.

A team enters the season with 8 freshman and 5 sophomores. Every analyst in the country has labeled them as "very young and very talented." They are ranked 18th in the preseason polls. After tearing through their November and December schedule they find themselves at 11-0 and ranked 9th in the national polls. Young, energetic and excited about the national attention, they open their conference schedule with a loss on the road. They climb back by winning their next 2 out of 3 conference games, but sandwiched in-between those games is a road loss to an out of conference ranked opponent. They are now sitting 12-3, ranked 23rd in the national polls. They win an easy road game against a bottom-feeder conference foe to rebuild confidence and momentum. With 14 games left in the season the young team runs out of steam. They lose 10 out of those 14 games, including 8 to unranked teams. The stretch consists of a five game losing streak and ends with a three game losing streak. They lose in the first round of their conference tournament and do not go to a post season tournament for the first time in twenty years. The season is a major disappointment and fans of the program wonder what went wrong.

This team was the 2006-2007 UConn Huskies. A program three years removed from winning their second National Championship in a six year span. Two years later that same group of young and talented freshman and sophomores are now experienced and NBA-bound juniors and seniors. They have won 26 out of 28 games so far this season, been consistently ranked as one of the top five teams in the nation and are on the brink of being ranked #1 in the country on Monday.

Sticking with the UConn program, two years after winning the first national championship in school history in 1999, they failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They eventually lost in the second round of the NIT to the Titans of Detroit Mercy. I will repeat. The Detroit Mercy Titans. Three years after that shocking and embarrassing loss, they won the national championship again.

One of the most storied and legendary basketball programs in NCAA history has a similar story. In 2005, North Carolina won its fourth national championship. This was also the school's 16th Final Four appearance, a record at the time. The team was led by a talented group of juniors and seniors who as freshman, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They ended the 2003 season by losing to Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the NIT.

The UNC story is also a good way to address a point Anonymous made after the Louisville game. In response to my argument that a program wins national championships, not a team, Anonymous responded "Agree, but this team will hurt the program by scaring recruits away." The three UNC juniors that won in 2005 were recruited to the program in 2001-2002. While being recruited, they saw Matt Doherty run the storied program into the ground. While seniors in high school, UNC failed to qualify for a post-season tournament and accumulated a 8-20 record, the first losing season in 40 years for the program. They stuck with their commitment, even after the coach that had recruited them was fired and those three Doherty recruits ended up bringing the UNC program back to national prominence.

Recruits commit to a program, a coach, a system and a story. And not all of those have to stay constant for them to remain interested in a particular school. I am hard-pressed to believe that a high school player is scared away by a losing season. A look at the recent post-season tournament history of the current top 25 illustrates that point:

# 2 Connecticut - Nothing in 2007
#3 Oklahoma - NIT in 2004
#4 Memphis - NIT in 2005
# 6 Louisville - NIT in 2006
# 8 Missouri - Nothing in 2006, 2007, 2008; NIT in 2004, 2005
#10 Marquette - NIT in 2004, 2005
#11 Arizona St. - NIT in 2008; Nothing in 2006, 2007
#12 Villanova - NIT in 2004
#13 Clemson - NIT in 2006, 2007
#14 Wake Forest - Nothing in 2007, 2008
#16 Purdue - Nothing in 2006
#18 LSU - Nothing in 2007, 2008
#19 UCLA - Nothing in 2004
#20 Illinois - Nothing in 2008
#21 Washington - CBI in 2008, Nothing in 2007
#22 Xavier - Nothing in 2005
#23 Butler - NIT in 2006
#25 Florida St. - NIT in 2008, 2007, 2006

So 75% of the teams voted to be the Top 25 teams in the country today have some point in the last 5 years failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Nearly 50% have failed to qualify at some point in the last 3 years. And nearly 30% failed to qualify last year alone. Now I realize five or any stretch of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is indeed a great feat but the above is to just refute the point that a bad season scares recruits away. If this were the case, none of the teams that failed to make even a post-season tournament appearance in previous years would be able to attract recruits to bring them to a Top 25 ranking today.

All teams go through dry spells. That is what happens when you have a work force that loses it's most experienced workers every year. But what creates a program is the ability for players to learn and build off of a bad year.

Consistent programs get to the Sweet Sixteen every year. They have good underclassmen and reliable upperclassmen. Great programs win National Championships. They take those good underclassmen and mold them into unstoppable upperclassmen. The jury is still out on which program JT3 runs.

The Sky is Falling - Part Three: Expectations to come later.


Good talk.

The Sky is Falling - Part One: Youth

I think this is the perfect opportunity to mention to those new to the website or that have not already figured it out, that the name of this blog is a joke. A very bad joke since the Georgetown season has now dropped to the point where people actually think I am serious when I say Hire Esherick. But to all of those who are running to the bunkers and stocking up on canned tomatoes and powdered milk to survive the nuclear winter that is now Georgetown basketball, I offer the following: This season has been a major disappointment and we have played poorly, but why were we expecting anything different?

After our loss at home to Cincinnati, which was our sixth loss in seven games, our first overtime loss in four years and our first overtime loss at home since 2003, I mentioned that all programs go through slumps. I tried to rationalize that teams that have as much attrition as we had last season take time to rebuild the program. I am going to expand on this a little further. And I know there are plenty of ways to debate, refute and argue what I am about to propose, so I welcome all the naysayers. And I also accept that this year has been particularly hard by the seemingly careless, selfish and lackadaisical play by some of our supposed leaders. And for those who know me, I am always the last to drink the Kool-Aid and always see the downside in everything so maybe I am on to something here...

Youth
Much has been said about the lack of experience of the Georgetown team. We have 2 upperclassmen on scholarship, a starting lineup that consists of 1 senior, 1 junior, 2 sophomores (one of whom missed 18 games last year due to injury) and 1 freshman, and a bench that consists of 2 sophomores (one red-shirted last year), 2 freshman and 1 transfer. Before the match against Louisville, Barker Davis of the Washington Times wrote:

According to basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy, Georgetown's roster ranks 314th among 344 Division I programs and 14th in the Big East with an average of 1.12 years of experience. Given that Pomeroy credits Mescheriakov with a season of experience, Wright with a season (though he was injured throughout league play in his freshman campaign), and seldom-used walk-on Bryon Jansen with a season, Georgetown is even younger than 1.12 years suggest.

Youth equals energy which equals more late game spurts and wins right? Let's take a look at the last four NCAA Tournament Champions, and the experience of their starting squads and benches. To add transparency to my madness I'll set forth the following definitions:

Starting Team - players ranked in the top five in minutes per game for the season
Bench - players not included in the starting team that average ten or more minutes per game
Contributor - player that averages 10 or more minutes a game
Experience - 3 years for seniors, 2 years for juniors, 1 year for sophomores and 0 years for freshman
Age Classification - as listed on roster, regardless of injury, transfer or red-shirt status
(Note: Not the same as Pomeroy calculations)

Some things to note from the above:
- In the past four years, there have only been two freshmen that have contributed to a national championship team.
- Georgetown currently has two freshmen contributors.
- They have three freshmen contributors if Nikita were counted as a freshman, since he red-shirted last year.
- They have four freshmen contributors if you consider that Omar averaged three minutes of playing time as a freshman, the least amount any sophomore contributor averaged in the previous year. The average sophomore contributor saw twenty minutes of playing time as a freshman.
- They have five freshmen contributors if you factor in that Wright missed 18 games last year.
- On average, 71% of a championship winning team's contributors are upperclassmen.
- 25% of Georgetown's contributors are upperclassmen.
- On average, a championship winning team has 2 upperclassmen bench players.
- Georgetown has 0 upperclassmen bench players.
- The 2008-09 Georgetown starting five has 32% less experience than the average starting five of the past four national champions.
- The 2008-09 Georgetown bench has 227% less experience than the average bench of the past four national champions.
- The 2008-09 Georgetown team has 75% less experience than the average team of the past four national champions.
- Take away a freak Florida team that won back-to-back championships with a roster that included three of the top nine players selected in the 2007 NBA draft and two additional players drafted later in the first and second rounds, this Georgetown team has nearly half the experience of an average winning team.

Before you say it, I'll try and address the comment first. Yes, there is a difference between the current Georgetown team and a national champion. So below is the same analysis applied to Big East Tournament Champions of the past four years.

Teams that have won the Big East Championship have starting teams with the same average experience as NCAA Tournament Champions, but average less experience on the bench. The current Georgetown team is still vastly younger than the average Big East Tournament Champion, by over 40%.

So we are young. Very young by champion standards. Equate that downwards and maybe we are right about where we should be in the standings. Now add on the fact that JT3 runs an incredibly complicated offense; an offense so complicated that Pete Carril, the coach attributed to creating the offensive scheme, had trouble teaching it to NBA players when he was an assistant coach at Sacramento. Don't forget about losing three seniors contributors from last season. And oh yeah, we played one of the toughest schedules in the country. What were we really expecting?

The Sky is Falling - Part Two - to come later in the week.


Good talk.

WSJ Wants Georgetown in the NIT

With the newspaper industry in a death spiral and the recent announcement of Journal Register seeking Chapter 11 protection fresh in media moguls' minds, the Wall Street Journal has decided to make a bold move and stray into the world of poorly thought out sports opinions. Unfortunately, they will soon find out that this niche sector is already saturated with the likes of Dick Vitale and Doug Gottlieb. Today, the WSJ attempted to argue that mid-major schools should get more bids to the NCAA Tournament. First off, there are only three reasons why mid-major schools should even be in the Tournament.

(1) They have super-sweet lax-bro nicknames and mascots.
(2) Their fans are egregiously more intoxicated and entertaining when their team is playing since they know they have no shot of winning and their invitation to the Big Dance was out of courtesy for going 25-4 against high school-level competition.
(3) It creates gender and age equality because they are the only reason why the boss's daughter wins your NCAA pool. And those who know me are aware that I am always a fan of equality. And sweatpants.

But where this article really makes me laugh at its pitiful attempt at journalism is the final paragraph:

The republic will survive if Georgetown and Notre Dame land in one of the three-letter tournaments. Instead of rewarding them for compiling a losing conference record, the sport would be better off letting the little guys try to keep winning.

So if the republic will survive if two mid-majors get in over Georgetown and Notre Dame, does that mean the republic will fall if they don't? I don't know about you but I would much rather watch a game between two teams in the middle of major conferences, say Arizona and West Virginia, than two teams at the top of mid-major conferences, say Chattanooga and Long Beach State. That is like asking if you would rather watch Gossip Girl or Matlock. The question like, totally, like answers itself, like.


xoxo.

Gossip Girl

Calhoun = Dirtbag = Funny

Not much to be happy about this weekend but the following video is awesome. A freelance reporter questioned Jim Calhoun's salary after their win over South Florida and Calhoun goes off on him.



ESPN picked up the story as well. (1) Calhoun is a dirtbag. (2) But this is funny. (3) And he is right. (4) Cuse lost.


Good talk.

Truth in Advertising

While perusing the Internet this afternoon, in search of news on the legendary Kelly Clarkson and her not yet announced new tour, I came across an advertisement informing me of the aforementioned legend's IQ.


I questioned the intrusive and seemingly impossible advertisement which contends that the creator of the ad has either gotten on Kelly's super-busy schedule to administer the test or legally obtained documents proving the score. Thus I decided to investigate further. As I dug deeper and deeper into the Truth in Advertising standards created by the FTC, I came across the following section simply entitled, The Internet. It stated:

Every word, sentence and picture displayed in an advertisement on the Internet is true. Given its broad reach, the Internet is closely monitored by both the FTC and FCC and users should feel secured that anything they are offered, whether or not they are asked to provide monetary recourse, is in fact a valid and legitimate legal contract. All statements and claims have been thoroughly checked and researched. Caveat emptor does not apply to the Internet.

After reading that I felt assured. So I decided to find out what other IQ tests I could find. I ventured over to ESPN and noticed that they had the IQ of the fans of every major college program. Listed below for your viewing pleasure are the IQs of Big East fans.

Now, to be completely fair and unbiased, as is the goal of any analysis put forth in this blog, I checked each school three times and chose the lowest score that appeared at least twice. I also doubled checked against non-Big East schools to make sure the range of scores made sense holistically. Harvard had an average IQ of 128, which seems reasonable. Duke had an average IQ of 99, which again seems on par. I have always questioned the intelligence of any student willing to blindly and unconditionally follow a coach that preaches seeking the audible and shriek sympathy of partial referees through exaggerated, voluntary and self-induced loss of body control (i.e. flopping). Also, I hear there is lead in the face paint.

School / Avg. IQ
Providence - 120
Notre Dame - 114
Georgetown - 113
Syracuse - 109
Marquette - 105
Pittsburgh - 104
Villanova - 103
St. John's - 103
Cincinnati - 103
West Virginia - 103
Louisville - 101
South Florida - 101
Connecticut - 101
Depaul - 99
Rutgers - 98
Seton Hall - 97

Here's what the scores mean:
*Over 140 - Genius or near genius
*120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence
*110 - 119 - Superior intelligence
*90 - 109 - Normal or average intelligence
*80 - 89 - Dullness
*70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency
*Under 70 - Definite feeble-mindedness

Congrats to Friars fans. You guys are way smart brosefs.


Good talk.

The Weather is Nice Today

The last four games I have previewed we have lost. So because I am superstitious I am just going to put the below quote from JT3 after the USF win and say no more. Additionally, the last time I went to a home game wearing pants and deodorant, we lost too. Well I guess tomorrow is gonna suck for the people sitting next to me.

"Hopefully we can get a little momentum from this, winning on the road and coming home. Our fans are great and we're going to need them."

I love it when he politely and indirectly tells me what to do. There are only two people that I listen to unconditionally. The first is JT3. The second is Billy Mays. JT3 gives me hope and Billy Mays gives me a variety of products to repair and clean my house. What more can an ol' fashioned country girl like myself ask for?


Good talk.

Georgetown Everywhere

Despite receiving no national attention due to their pathetic play over the past month, Georgetown is still everywhere. Case in point:

For tonight's hyped matchup between UConn and Pitt, ESPN is relaying the following facts:

- UConn has won 12 out of their last 13 games against ranked opponents.
- Pitt has lost 10 of 11 road games vs. ranked opponents.

Read between the lines and what do you get? GEORGETOWN!

The last ranked team to beat UConn was the Hoyas and the only road victory against a ranked opponent for Pitt was against those very same Hoyas.

Georgetown is like the nerd that always gets picked on by the jocks in high school. Yeah they are stuffing us in a locker, but at least they are noticing us, right?


Good talk.

Game Day

New season starts today. Take it away Al (when he says football he really means basketball, he's just trying to see if you are paying attention):



Assuming the Orange in the Syracuse Orange represents the fruit and not the color, I recommend the following:


Rip em' apart Hoya gents. Fight for freedom, democracy and all that is Holy in this world.


Good talk.

Happy "Manley Fieldhouse Is Officially Closed" Day!

It is the 29th year anniversary of the great day on which Manley Fieldhouse was officially closed! Tomorrow, Georgetown will play its 81st game against Syracuse, below is an overview of the series:

- Syracuse leads the series 43-37.
- Since the inception of the Big East, Syracuse leads the series 32-31.
- Georgetown is 7-18 at the Carrier Dome.
- Georgetown has won twice at Syracuse in the past 15 years.

I recently reached out to a bunch of Syracuse players to ask how they prepare for facing their biggest rival. Below is a summary of the best responses:

- Eric Devendorf said he releases built up energy by punching girls.
- Devendorf followed up to say that before his new found interest in beating females, he used to hang out with his friends from 8 Mile before big games.
- Andy Rautins said he experiments with new metro-sexual hairstyles to ease the tension.
- Johnny Flynn walks on his tippy toes to see what it feels like to not be a midget.
- Arinze Onuaku closes his eyes and pretends that a 33% free throw percentage isn't embarrassing.
- Paul Harris likes to rap 50 Cent to himself in the mirror and sent the below video:



Stay classy Cuse.


Good talk.

The Many Faces of Jim

Most people think Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is two-dimensional. He is a coach and a whiner, and that's it. But this could not be further from the truth. Boeheim, or Versatile Jim as his acting classmates refer to him, is in fact a very talented and accomplished thespian. Through superb facial expressions and incredible body control, Versatile Jim is able to project a wide array of emotions and states of being. Presented below for your viewing pleasure: The Talented Mr. Boeheim.




Good talk.

I Lied, And For That I Seek Forgiveness

What a day of college hoops yesterday!

Wake gets destroyed by Miami.

Notre Dame loses its sixth straight, this time at the merciless hands of Cincinnati.

And Duke gets completely embarrassed on national television by Clemson. Did anyone else see Kyle Singler in the closing seconds of the game, when his team was down by 27 points and Clemson was nonchalantly standing to run out the clock, punch the ball out of the hands of Clemson guard K.C. Rivers? Singler was of course demonstrating the fine sportsmanship he often sees on the sidelines when his coach whines, cries and complains when calls don't go in his favor. I guess Singler was just baffled by amount of physical play accepted and lack of charge fouls called by the refs, especially when he and his teammates put so much work into sliding across the floor after being barely bumped by an opposing player. Almost positive that the fraud and detriment to the game of basketball arrogantly known only as Coach K uses a slip n' slide in practice to help his guards rid themselves of any athletic skills that would otherwise lead to a lucrative professional career.

A loss in February, however, is what we have come to expect from an always over-hyped and over-rated Duke team. In the past five years, they have averaged 1.4 losses in November through January and 2.4 losses in the month of February alone.

But that is not why I am writing this post. I am actually writing to apologize to all the followers, casual observers and friends that periodically check-in to see if I have been institutionalized yet. I ask for forgiveness because the Hire Esherick blog is based on a lie. The purpose, mission and objective of this hastily put together collection of ridiculous ramblings is in fact built upon a foundation that has just crumbled to the ground. And while I too am completely in shock over the news that I am about to share, I feel it is my responsibility to bear and suffer the consequences. Ladies and gentlemen, boys, girls and other folks, hold your breath, fasten your seat belts and reach for the nearest bottle of spirits because Craig Esherick is actually gainfully employed.

My desires to hire Esherick are no longer valid. I feel like an explorer landing to greet the native people of a brand new land to only be told that Columbus had been there first. I am left with the same sense as the time that I was going to be the first to leave a mark on the bathroom stall of a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop only to see the heart wrenching scratch Tony Wuz Here. Damn you Columbus. And damn you Tony.

Craig Esherick is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University. Among his wide areas of academic interest are sports history, coaching, parenting and the leadership of athletes, and my favorite, the club sports system in Europe. I would not be left in such an exposed position now if only my daily Google searches for the man had yielded results earlier. But alas they did not, and I am left to contemplate my future, for if you as a reader cannot even trust the basis of the tablet upon which I scribe, how can you trust the etchings?


Good talk.

What is Going On?

Joe Schmo's reaction in the first 43 seconds of the below video probably describes the current feeling of every Hoya fan across the whole entire world ( I know follower Ronald Ramon Says "74-65" is probably tickled pink by the inclusion of his favorite reality TV moment).


Well, I will tell you what is going on, by song. Thus I present to you "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler.

Where are all the great leaders
The real men, not the boys
Where's the legend Jeffrey Green
Jon Wallace and Big Roy
Isn't there a Hoya who wants a tourney seed
After games I cry and I blog and I long
for what I need

Chorus:
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero to win us big games
He's gotta be calm
And he's gotta have guts
And he's gotta not care about fame
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero with ice in his veins
He's gotta be tough
And he's gotta think quick
And he's gotta play through any pain

Do you all remember
Jon's shot against UNC
At West Virginia, Ewing's block
vs. UConn, Hibbert hit that three
And against Vandy, Jeff hit the winning shot
Now that they've all graduated, who will take their spot?

Chorus

Three All-Americans, a Jordan All-Star
Add Jesse, there's our starting team
A squad with so much talent, losing
Makes me scream

In Durham, vs. the Hall, at Cincy
Could have won, it was tight
Took bad shots, lost the games
Cause this team, has no fight

Chorus



This video scares the freck out of me by the way.


Good talk.