It is the question that inevitably arises at the end of every season. Regardless of the outcome of the prior month, Sweet Sixteen, Final Four, Big East Regular Season and Tournament titles, the period between April and November is always reserved for debating the usefulness of the offense John Thompson III employs. The objective of the original system, brought to the national spotlight by Pete Carril at Princeton, is to neutralize the athletic superiority of an opponent by slowing down the offense and forcing a low scoring game. While Georgetown does not actually use the full-fledged Princeton offense, whether Georgetown should use any aspects of the system is highly contentious, where opinions and arguments often change depending on the outcomes of the previous games. Against Duke and in 2006, it was a brilliant schematic run by a young visionary. During the 2008-09 season, it was torturous offense run by a stubborn descendant of nepotism. But the debate has always been internal; a subject reserved for in-fighting among the Hoya Faithful during the quiet days of summer. But now it is drawing more mainstream attention.
Last week HoyaReport discussed some unfavorable comments made by Terrence Williams of Louisville on the Georgetown offense. A subscription is required for the full article but the essence of the remarks is captured in the paragraph above.
Recently, NBA scouts and executives shared their views on the Georgetown offense through their evaluations of former Hoya, DaJuan Summers. Regarding Summers' pre-draft workouts, one exec commented:
"He was very impressive. People tend to forget that we didn't really see what Jeff Green could do until he got out of school."
Is this one comment made by an executive who failed to realize that despite Jeff Green's average numbers, he was overwhelmingly chosen as Big East Player of the Year in 2007 and shared Big East Rookie of the Year honors with Rudy Gay in 2005? Was it a near-sighted comment that overlooked the amount that Jeff Green learned about how to play without the ball while at Georgetown - the aspect of Green's game that makes him so unique in the shoot-first NBA? Or was it an accurate representation of what many feel about Georgetown, that the offense does not utilize the full athletic abilities of its highly-touted recruits? An argument often used by opposing coaches to dissuade recruits from the Hilltop.
I have my own opinion on the subject but have learned it is pointless trying to convince the opposition. So I leave it to you: should Georgetown run the Princeton offense?
Good talk.