No one has been a bigger fan of the Georgetown Hoyas this year more than I. I may have some partiality to the Hoyas since one of our former players is now playing there and performing at a high level. I also do not see through rose colored glasses at how the Hoyas are as a team.
One day they can look like the Beast of the Big East and another night they can look like the expansion team of a new league.
It is easy to say that the Hoyas have gone through a youth movement…. which they have. Now March is upon us. The season of time which college basketball fans starting getting feverish about because it means one thing…. it is just about tourney time!
The Georgetown Hoyas came into this season with a lot of unknowns. How will the highly regarded freshmen come in to the Big East and compete with the likes of Villanova, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John’s and the rest. How will the highly regarded freshmen work together to become something special? Will the freshmen be respected and become part of a bigger picture with the returning Hoyas?
I believe that all of those questions have been answered. The Hoya freshmen are the real deal. They have had their growing pains but also they have carried the team through a lot of situations where last year’s Hoyas team might have faltered. This year’s Hoyas have the capability to become a team of which they can show all of their fans what the future could be like in Capital One Arena. There is also one other thing that I have to say about the freshmen of the Hoyas………….
They are not freshmen anymore.
I have coached basketball for over two decades. We have had some pretty good freshmen on our teams in the past and over the course of the season…. as the end of the year comes around…. if our freshmen gained a ton of gametime experience over the course of the year… we honestly did not consider them freshmen anymore.
If you have played as many minutes as Akingo, McClung, and LeBlanc have this season then honestly…. you really aren’t a freshman anymore. Freshmen are looked to as those players who have not clearly adjusted to the pace of the game. They have not acclimated themselves to the environment around them. They let the game control them instead of them controlling the game. I think it is very very easy to see that the “freshmen” on the roster of the Hoyas should now be considered sub-Sophomores and that honestly if the Hoyas are to reach the NCAA Tournament this year…. it is clearly up to the Hoyas.
We do not see what all goes on behind closed doors. I do not know the persona of Govan but hey… if I am a senior and this is my last year of playing college basketball in one of the most historic conferences in America….under one of the greatest to play the game… I am going to absolutely tear the rim off each and everytime I attack the basket. I am going to go out and be the most enthusiastic passionate teammate I can be and be in my teammates ear smacking them on the backside always encouraging them when adversity hits.
Yes… while the freshmen may have brought the Hoyas a lot of energy and hype this year… to me the true leader of this team is Govan. The big man in the middle, to me, will be the one piece of the puzzle that will help decide which Hoyas team shows up come conference tournament time.
If I am an NBA scout, this is a guy I want to keep an eye on. If the Hoyas make the NCAA Tournament this year, I totally believe it will be because of Govan’s enthusiasm and passion and his ability to lift his team to a consistent high level of play. The freshmen are there…but to me… they aren’t the true leaders of this team. Yes, the play has been amazing and they have won some big games. They have also lost some games that they should not have lost. To me, if you have a guy that is a monster inside, has double digit capability in points and rebounds, and is your returning senior that is on his last ride? He should be the man leading your team. Govan is a great player…. but I truly believe we have only seen the tip of the iceberg with him and what he can be for the Hoyas through this stretch of the season.
If I am Coach Ewing, I am going to be in my big man’s ear and I am going to tell him, “Dude… this is it for you. Lay it all on the line for the rest of the year. Lead this team in ways you never have and we will be great!” To me, whether the Georgetown Hoyas make the tourney or not relies on this factor.
The Hoyas have the capability night in and night out to be very special. Special by playing at a high level each and every night and being a great teammate to each other and wanting something bigger for each other. When the energy become contagious and you see Akingo being congratulated every single time for his beautiful passes and you see McClung going around chest bumping his teammates for their unselfish play and you see Govan thrusting his fist in the air because of the energy that HIS team is playing with?
OOOOPS!!! That is all I have to say if you see this out of the Georgetown Hoyas.
I truly believe that if the Hoyas make the Big East Championship game they have a shot at the tourney. Make the final or win it. That is, to me, their destiny for the tourney. They do have some big wins…but they do have some bad losses.
Here is the fact though. If Georgetown gets hot at the right moment and everything I said above starts happening? Georgetown could win the Big East Tourney and make a run to at least the Sweet 16. To me, they are that good and have that capability.
So here is my question to you…. the Georgetown Hoyas….. which team do you want to be?
I know the team we know you can be… that Coach Ewing knows you can be… that D.C. knows you can be….. but what do YOU want to be?