With June now behind us and July bringing the annual HoyaFest that is the Kenner League, we would be remiss if we didn't point out one of the biggest problems the Hoyas faced last season, framed perfectly in the FanPost below.
This post kicks off Casual Hoya's 1st of 4 in the series of Why Things Went Horribly Wrong Last Season (or, WTWHWLS for short). Each will be divulged on the 1st of each month leading up to Midnight Madness at the end of October:
by GrittyCrusader
Every time I attempt to break down the reasons for last season's limp to the finish, I always come back to one thing - chemistry - or the lack thereof. That team had the talent to play with, and beat, the top teams in the country. The coaching staff didn't forget how to coach and I am not buying the idea that teams have figured out how to defend the Princeton Offense. I just don't think these guys liked each other. Summers was all about the NBA and getting face time at various elite camps. Jessie was too busy resting on his reputation from the previous three years and did nothing to improve. Chris Wright was hell bent on proving that this was his team and Greg Monroe seemed more worried about fitting in than quickly establishing himself as THE leader.
As the season progressed, all of the themes that began in the summer revealed themselves in very ugly ways. Jessie was quickly exposed, not as a senior leader but as a pouting, step-slow has been. (Nothing was more telling than the fact that JT3 did not start Jessie on Senior Day against the worst team in the league). DaJuan attempted all of the big shots over the course of the season and failed to convert any. By mid-February, he was well on his way to the 2nd round of the draft. Chris apparently exerts his leadership on the team by being selective about who he throws the ball to and Greg Monroe had to be wondering why on earth someone of his caliber was in the trenches with this group of guys.
So why rehash a painful winter? Because as we prepare (or at least I think we are preparing) for another Kenner season, I think we will know quickly whether last year was an anomaly or if we are quickly returning to the realm of irrelevent on the national college basketball scene. Georgetown will never have first pick of McD all-Americans. We will be lucky to have one or two at a time. We currently have three. If those three can get beyond their egos and figure out how to work with each other, we may be pretty good. But chemistry starts now. Learn a lesson from last year. Stop parading around the country and get in the gym with your mates. Chemistry matters. Those guys should be able to figure that out.
(Editor's Note: It's posts like the above that make us so happy we didn't impose that 406 word minimum requirement for the FanPost section.)
(Editor's Note 2: Feel free to add a comment below or utilize that the FanPost section on the right. Maybe someday we'll use your insight as a Main Event Post, and you can become as Casual as 'GrittyCrusader'.)
Dare to dream. Michael Jackson would have wanted it that way.
Casually.