We here at Casual Hoya will do anything to bring you the inside info you need about Georgetown's opponents. Anything.
With the season tipping off tomorrow, see below the results of our pillow talk with The Wave Report, the best source of Tulane sports information on all of the internets. On that site you will find our answers to some of Tulane's most pressing queries about our Hoyas. Enjoy.
CH: What exactly is a Green Wave?
TWR: It's one of those nicknames like "Crimson Tide" where a radio guy came up with it. As legend goes (according to TU media guide) the announcer saw the Tulane football team, decked in green, moving down the field - like a Wave.
He then put the two together, called them the Green Wave - changing from former nickname of Greenbacks and Greenies. The mascot used to be a literal Wave, shaped like Gumby with a football helmet, or basketball or baseball bat depending on the sport.
In 1998 they changed it to the "T-Wave" which is the current symbol with the water going over the curved T.
I know you're all quite fascinated.
CH: Any truth to the offseason rumor that Tulane Coach (and former Maryland assistant) Dave Dickerson openly campaigned for the then open assistant coach position at Georgetown?
TWR: I never heard any of those rumors, but that doesn't meant they're not possible. Dickerson is familiar with the area, coaching under Gary Williams for a number years during Maryland's heyday.
Dickerson walked into the toughest situation in the country, taking over Tulane's basketball program just months prior to Hurricane Katrina. He lost most of his first recruiting class, then fought against New Orleans' reputation for several years to try and get kids to play in a 75-year old arena with no practice facility.
He's had some success with winning seasons, in a difficult place to win, and he has a good reputation nationally. But to answer your question, I don't think he did.
TWR: As far as I know, it's just beer and it's not at NBA prices. I'm thinking Fogelman Foam probably runs less than the average DC bar. Expect between $3-4. The other joy of Fogelman Arena is if your tickets aren't on the Freret Street entrance side, you get to walk on the back end of the court to get to your seats.
So every game Tulane wins, they technically storm the court. Not like Syracuse, where they actually storm the court after mediocre wins. (CH NOTE: This dude is tremendous.)
CH: Other than the John Williams game fixing era, what is Tulane’s signature basketball moment?
Coach Perry Clark went 10-deep with his team and when he substituted, he brought in an entire fresh-five nearly every time. The whole crowd knew it, the PA announcer knew it and the radio guys knew it. The "posse" would enter from the bench and it caused an immeidate jolt in the little arena. It was the first taste of post-scandal success Tulane had (in anything really) and it was met with huge ovations. The Wave, led by center Anthony Reed, were also pretty good back then going to a few NCAA tournaments in the early/mid 90s.
Outside of that, Jerald Honeycutt won an ESPY in 1997 for the shot he hit, falling out of bounds at the buzzer, in the Superdome to beat Florida State. It was also voted as No. 23 best basketball shot of all time by ESPN on its countdown.
CH: What can Georgetown expect from Tulane on the offensive and defensive ends? Who are the players the Hoyas will need to contain (if any) in order to leave New Orleans with a win?
Both guys can shoot, run and are quick enough to force a lot of turnovers. If they get going, Tulane has a chance to win a lot of games this season.
The Wave's issues come down low where they haven't recruited a legitimate big man in five years. It's not an issue in C-USA because it's such a guard-oriented league, but facing non-conference competition, especially a club like Georgetown is difficult because Tulane can't rebound or defend the post.Tulane desperately wants to run and if the Hoyas let them, it could be competitive. If it turns into a half-court battle, it could get ugly.
TWR:
2) The Boot x 4
3) Jacques-Imos (and all high-fat, high-comfort, high-booze level restaurants) (x3)
18) Any Tulane Sport
Although basketball can gain quick momentum since Fogleman is in the middle of campus - as compared to the Superdome for football which is 10 minutes away downtown. They should have a nice student contingent for Friday night though. Expect both booze and The Boot to play a role in their pregame.
TWR: 78-65 Georgetown. Greg Monroe gets game-high 25. Kris Richard, Tulane-high of 17.
CH: Casually.
Pasted below is the article that appears on The Wave Report which includes The Wave Report's questions and Casual Hoya's responses:
Every week, The Wave Report gains the perspective of Tulane's football opponent by talking with someone who covers the team. This week, we also decided to bring you the view from the other side of Green Wave basketball. We pick the brain of Andrew Geiger the publisher of CasualHoya.com, Georgetown's home on the SBNation blog network, to gain some inside knowledge on the No. 20 Hoyas days before the seasons starts.
1) What happened last year? After some strong preseason buzz and a nice run in an early tournament in Orlando, the Hoyas failed to meet expectations. In your opinion was it a chemistry problem, talent problem, coaching problem, etc..?
Everyone believed chemistry to be the problem and there have been some recent leaks indicating that last year's upperclassmen didn't really mesh with the younger guys. The Hoyas were a young squad last year and when you combined the combination of the chemistry issues and inexperience, the result was a toxic cocktail of unspeakable downside. While the talent was there, the losing begat more losing - as the Ls piled up, it was clear that the players had little confidence and even the fans knew to generally expect the worst.
The Georgetown offense takes time to master. The Final Four squad from 2007 suffered a similar collapse in 2005, when the team was mostly freshman. I think all Hoya fans are anxious to see how much the team has benefited from off-season practice and summer ball and are hoping, praying, begging and pleading that there are signs of improvement.
2) What's different about this year's group as they get ready for the opening tip?
The team clearly worked hard over the offseason and several players developed their bodies and came into the season in much better shape. The backcourt - Chris Wright, Jason Clark, and Austin Freeman - have another year of playing with each other and looked very good over the summer.
The Hoyas have high hopes for sophomore Henry Sims to man the middle and make opponents pay for doubling Greg Monroe. Green-shirt freshman Hollis Thompson should be ready to contribute right away, and by all accounts he already has a firm grasp on the principles of the princeton offense.
Junior Julian Vaughn provides some size off the bench and is a homeless man's Jerome Williams There are no seniors on this year's team and it is expected that Wright, Freeman and Monroe take on leadership roles.
3) Georgetown's strength is clearly in its size. Will the Hoyas pull back for a slow, plodding tempo or do you think they will go with the flow of the game? If Tulane tries to turn it into a track meet, can Georgetown match them or will they just throw on the brakes and will it into a half-court game?
Although Monroe is Gtown's best player and happens to be a big guy, I'm not sure I'd say size is our strength - particularly as rebounding has been an issue.
Several players have the ability to put the ball on the floor and one of the goals of the offense is working to take advantage of defensive mistakes. Slow is a legitimate way to describe it but I don't think "plodding" is fair.
Throughout Coach Thomson's career, the Hoyas have dictated tempo and it's tough to believe that Tulane will be able to get them running. Should that happen, however, this team should be built to adapt, as point guard Chris Wright is probably more suited to a fast-paced tempo and all of the bigs can run the floor.
4) How does Georgetown's perimeter game stack up? If Tulane doubles down in the post, which they will likely have to, can the Hoyas knock down three pointers to spread the defense and take pressure of the big men? Who are the top shooters?
Georgetown's top shooters are probably Jason Clark, Austin Freeman, and Chris Wright. All of them can knock down threes, and that is a key component of a successful Princeton offense.
The Hoyas were a bad shooting team last season, mainly because DaJuan Summers (now riding the pine for the Detroit Pistons) infamously took a bunch of awful shots all season long. As long as Nikita Mesheriakov stays on the bench, I'm confident in Georgetown's outside shooting.
5) Local product Greg Monroe was tabbed the top high school player in the nation coming out of Helen Cox two years ago. He didn't leave for the NBA last season, opting to stay for a sophomore year. Did he fail to live up to expectations or did he just realize his game needs a bit more sharpening? How important is this game for him to come back home?
Monroe was universally believed to be no worse than a Top 5 pick last year so I'd say that he lived up to the expectations on him personally - though clearly the team goals fell way short of what he expected.
The return to home game is an important one for almost all athletes who attend colleges outside their area and I'm sure this one is really important to him. Early reports have him picking up scores of tickets. For those who haven't seen him, think Chris Bosh--smooth lefty who can do damage inside and out.
6) The Hoyas are clear favorites, but are any Georgetown fans a bit nervous for this one since it's a season-opener, on the road, in a small building, against a team which is dying for a signature victory?
Yes, and the fact that's the game is on Friday the 13th doesn't help. But if any Gtown fans are nervous, I'm sure they'll feel better after that second Hand Grenade.
Obviously anything can happen, but I don't think Tulane has the firepower offensively or the size defensively to hang with the Hoyas for more than 10 minutes. That being said, we all felt the same way last year before they lost to St. John's.
Twice.