Coach Thompson - I'm Sorry. A Love Letter From An Irrational Fan
We're back for our second post in Samsung's "Enhance Your Experience", sponsored by Samsung. Samsung, Samsung, Samsung. If you are watching TV, you are watching Samsung. I love Samsung.
Writing for this blog is, for the most part, a gift. I have become impossibly famous, met numerous women, and live a life I couldn't conceive of just one year ago. Everywhere I turn I hear "Holy Crap! It's JGD!" On top of that, I get to enjoy talking with you fine folks on a daily basis with an easy-to-use, fan-friendly technology.
The one curse of writing for this blog is that internet technology is so sophisticated that everything is archived and easily accessible. I am a very, very irrational human being. My hyperbole knows no bounds, both negatively and positively. For example, in the span of one week last year, we beat Duke, lost to South Florida, and then beat Villanova. In the victories I claimed that we were "one of the top 5 teams in the country." In the defeat to South Florida, which happened IN BETWEEN THESE VICTORIES, I said "We have no chance of winning the Big East regular season, we have no chance at a #1 seed, we have no chance of winning 6 straight games in the NCAA tournament, and at this point this team is almost as Jekyll and Hyde as last year's team." Pretty schizophrenic stuff, I must say.
That said, I feel like all die-hard fans go through magnificent highs and absurd lows through the course of the season. We are schizophrenic because we care. The problem is I have the ability to re-read my mood swings because of this blog.
I have taken no dumber stance than the one I took after we lost to Ohio. In the post game recap I wrote:
Now for the elephant in the room. John Thompson III needs to be reevaluated. Doing well in the Big East Tournament is one thing, but to lay an egg this badly on national TV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is another. Our last three seasons have finished 2nd round exit, NIT, 1st round exit. It pains me to say, because he has done so much for the program in terms of bringing it back to prominence, bringing in good talent, etc, but at the end of the day, he is judged on his tournament results.
After The Jump, I apologize to JT3.
JT3, I am sorry. That is the most idiotic thing that has been written on this blog in the nearly two years of its existence. I think about it more than I should, and I keep getting more and more embarrassed.
What you have done with this program, bringing it back from the point of irrelevance, is nothing short of spectacular. We have been to a Sweet 16, a Final Four, made four NCAA Tournament appearances, won two Big East regular season titles, won one Big East Tournament, and have made three Big East Final appearances.
You have done all of this with atrocious facilities at a school with rigorous academic standards, while playing "home" games in an NBA arena on the opposite side of the city. The facilities are so poor that all 155 pounds of me lifted weights in the same gym as future NBAers Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green.
Speaking of the NBA, I spend 15 minutes every morning scanning box scores of games to see how Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, DaJuan Summers and Greg Monroe did the night before. Not to mention Jessie Sapp, Patrick Ewing Jr., Ashanti Cook, Brandon Bowman, and Jonathan Wallace, all of whom continue to play basketball in various professional leagues throughout the country.
On top of the excellent results you've had with current players, you continue to tirelessly recruit. The pipeline of talent coming to the Hilltop is so stacked it makes me pee my pants a little. We have four top tier recruits for 2010, another three for 2011, and are off to a great start in 2012. It's great to see alums of your program coming back to help out with current players (Roy Hibbert and Julian Vaughn), and you have created a family environment that says "Once a Hoya, always a Hoya."
Most of all, throughout your tenure, there has not been a single scandal, recruiting violation, or anything of the sort. Georgetown players are uniformly known as some of the most professional and most articulate athletes in college basketball. It is a pleasure to root for kids that contribute in the classroom and are visible on campus. All of our players came from the same AAU circuits as recruits from other schools, so clearly you and your staff's influence on them is part of their maturity process.
I hope you accept my apology and know that any Hoya fan that truly believes you should be anything other than lauded is a moron. I love you.
#WelcomeHomeWeezy
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It's only a few days
until your schizophrenia returns and you go all KG and call him a cancer patient
by itsallthatmatters on Nov 5, 2010 9:07 AM EDT reply actions
Seriously
It is about damn time you apologized. I will now wave this in front of your face next time you call for his head.
"It was almost like if Harry didn't call it, it wasn't real." - Jayson Stark
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I sure would like to see some tournament success
but JT3 is the man.
High fives only on three pointers.
by TheYellofAllYells on Nov 5, 2010 9:17 AM EDT reply actions
I haven't even been a fan for all that long
but I know enough to see the impact JTIII has had on a program that was flailing under Esherick.
Someday, as we are a flagging A-10 program hoping to grab a single 3-star recruit, we will look back at all this JTIII griping and weep.
Already excited to read your postgame blurb after Georgetown loses to Old Dominion in 7 days
Casually.
Georgetown Degree's
Most of those players mention have their degree’s and some are working on it also…Hoyas Saxa!
Coach JTIII has definitely been great for the program
and doesn’t need to be reevaluated.
That said, I can’t be pollyanna on him; he’s got flaws. The buck stops with him for the Ohio loss.
Hooked up with Angelina. Someone had to!
by SomebodyBuyAustinaSteak on Nov 5, 2010 10:17 AM EDT reply actions
.....
But don’t shit the bed in the tournament again
who would be better?
That is what I keep coming back to. Unfortunately, I think in a lot of minds the program is the Thompsons and without them, most people, including recruits and the media, instantly see the program as less desirable. And I think we would become a second tier program very quick. The only possible criticism are the tourney flameouts, which are valid but can’t come close to outweighing how bad things would become without him.
Also, the AD and president need to be called out, where is the plan for the new practice facility?
completely agree on both points
who will be better? who will take over a program with no facilities, no money, no football program? Muir was looking to get out as soon as he came in and it took over a year to find a replacement for him.
i fear if we dont plan for a practice facility soon thompson leaves gtown. fundraising should have started the day after we lost in final four.
Good talk.
Casual Hoya
by Hire Esherick on Nov 5, 2010 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Still...
There’s good reason to feel ridiculous highs and lows about him when we watch the national championship game between two teams we defeated earlier in the season, and yet somehow lose inexcusable games to RUTGERS and USF.
The losses to Davidson and Ohio in the tourney definitely show the need for us to play more mid-season invitational type games against non-conf opponents to get better tested for post-season. Glad JTIII has incorporated these into schedules for next two seasons (Charleston Classic and Maui Invitational).
davison was a fluke
cinderella team like northern iowa or murray state.
ohio is definitely a bigger program but i keep going back to that game to figure out what went wrong. was the team not prepare? not motivated? just had a bad day?
Good talk.
Casual Hoya
by Hire Esherick on Nov 5, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
This is off topic
But where can we listen to Georgetown games on radio? Is there a stream?
"I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."-Yogi Berra
Is there anywhere to watch old games?
I really want to watch the BET Final from last year
My handle used to be Jeff Green's Dad, but it was confusing and creepy, namely because I am not his dad. My new handle is JGD. I am trim and in charge.
no idea
doubt there is a BE archive like there is for NCAA games
Good talk.
Casual Hoya
by Hire Esherick on Nov 5, 2010 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions
There is way too much emphasis placed on the NCAA tournament.
You can have a great season without NCAA success.
You should not evaluate the season based on one game alone.
A single elimination tournament while incredibly fun is not the best way to truly determine who the best team is.
I mean honestly. In a 5 or even 3 game series Georgetown would certainly beat Ohio or Davidson.
Look at 2008. People say that year was a failure because we got Curried in the second round.
But we won 28 games and were the big east regular season champions. That season is not a failure. the NCAA tournament is not the end all be all when it comes to measuring success.
by hoyasincebirth on Nov 6, 2010 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Family vs. Leadership; Team vs. Star
Agree with JGD’s comments and most of the above. Hoya basketball is team oriented and family based (all part of the Hoya family). But what often wins tough games in tough circumstance is leadership – which I think we often sacrifice in the name of teamwork. When the going gets too tough, too many players look to too many other players rather than taking hold of the rock and putting it into the hoop. The last player I saw at Georgetown who would do that was Jeff Green – who on several occasions at the end of games would just take the ball and will it into the basket (usually off of the backboard). Of course he also took just 4 shots in a memorable NCAA loss. I know that JTIII does not want to create a “star system”, but closing down a win at the end of the game based on relatively young kids making decisions to share the ball is not always a high percentage strategy. There is a balance here, and JTIII needs to decide on his key “go to” guys and get them organized to get it done when we need to get it done.
With paranoia,

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