The Georgetown-Marquette game was a swift punch to the gut followed by a hard kick to the crotch. Not only did Georgetown lose to an unranked, winless conference foe, but I also found out that the majority of ESPN viewers believed that Roy Hibbert was the best Hoya player of the decade. I like Roy, don't get me wrong, and he certainly could be worthy of the award if best were defined as most improved out of high school or goofiest. But he could not possibly have been a better player or more crucial to his team than Mike Sweetney or Jeff Green, right?
Well the wizards over at Hoya Prospectus took a look at the numbers and determined that while Big Roy stacked up surprisingly well to the others, Jeff Green was in fact the best Hoya of the decade. They report:
Overall, though, I'd take Green. Yes, he's the worst rebounder of the three, the least efficient shooter and never really got his turnovers down. He also wasn't nearly the shotblocker Hibbert or junior Sweets was.
- Jeff has a massive edge in minutes - I can't overstate this.
- Only Hibbert's senior year came close to his playmaking.
- He faced tougher competition than Mike and his own coach would take him as more valuable over Hibbert, I think.
- He was the most versatile on offense and defense, which meant he could adjust to the talent around him rather than vice versa -- Jeff helped cover up Roy's and other's deficiencies, making everyone better. Versatility can be overrated, because it is cool, but players like Jeff and Ewing, Jr. are essential
All this thinking got me to do some more thinking, which led to a nap. After waking up I began wondering who was the worst Hoya of the decade?
I guess it is important to define what it means to be the worst before embarking on this witch hunt. For purposes of this list, worst is based on both actual and expected performance. Also, only scholarship players that saw or were expected to see playing are being considered (otherwise Craig Esherick would be the worst).
Here are some of the contenders:
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RaMell Ross - HS Class of 2000 - G There were high expectations for Ross coming out of high school. He was District co-Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American Honorable Mention, despite sitting out his senior year of high school with a shoulder injury. Ross never saw much court action for the Hoyas, mainly due to injuries. He sat out what would have been his sophomore season with a foot injury and played only one game as a Red Shirt Junior after having shoulder surgery. Despite the bad luck, Ross used his Georgetown education to land a job in the State Department post-graduation. Verdict: Unlucky with injuries, but forward-thinking enough to use his degree to his advantage. Injuries happen, Ross wrote the text book on how to move on from them. |
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Wesley Wilson - HS Class of 1999 - C Top 100 recruit coming out of high school, Wilson sat out his freshman year and played two full seasons for the Hoyas. He left the team midway through his senior year due to personal reasons, although some suspect that a fight broke out in the locker room during the double overtime loss to Notre Dame, where Wilson picked up three cheap fouls in six minutes of play. Despite being a sturdy 6'11'', Wilson never lived up to expectations, and averaged just 8 points and 5 rebounds a game per his career. Wilson is also the only basketball player ever to eat by himself at the single's bar in the New South Cafeteria. Verdict: Not sure what happened in the locker room in South Bend, but he did contribute to the team his junior year when he averaged over 12 points and 6 rebounds a game. |
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Brandon Bowman - HS Class of 2002 - F The only reason Bowman is on this list is because I once heard him exclaim during a house party his freshman year that he was "one-and-done." Not only was he far from a one-and-done player but he failed to realize that no Georgetown player has ever gone professional after a year. Bad Brandon. Bowman actually ranks in the Top 15 in both scoring and rebounding in Georgetown history. He also had one of the most tumultuous careers in the Blue and Gray, as he threatened to transfer after freshman year, decided to come back thinking he would eventually be a team leader, but was soon overshadowed by Jeff Green. I will forever remember Bowman for fouling Colin Falls while he was shooting a three in the final seconds of the Georgetown - Notre Dame game when we were up four with ten seconds to go. The foul erased a four-point lead and led to a double overtime thriller, three days after we had just beaten Duke. Verdict: Definitely not the worst Georgetown player of the decade, but often the most aggravating to watch. His "throw-dribble" is now Georgetown legend. |
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Jeremiah Rivers - HS Class of 2006 - G Really only here because of his comments after transferring from Georgetown. He actually did a good job on defense for the Hoyas, and would be an All American if defense only mattered. Too bad he ran his mouth too much and has failed to find a barber in Indiana. Verdict: His offensive abilities were atrocious but he was a good defender. Not the worst Hoya of the decade but definitely the most annoying. |
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Nikita Mescheriakov - HS Class of 2007 - F Saw action in 29 games as a Hoya and only had more points than combined fouls and turnovers in 7 of those games. He was a favorite punching bag of the Casual Hoya crew and has the disgraceful honor of being the only player to hit the top of the backboard to end a team's post-season hopes. But taking a step back - what were we really expecting? We knew he wasn't going to be good, yet we criticize him because he sucked... Verdict: Based on play alone, he is the worst Hoya of the decade and the worst Hoya to start a game in the history of the world. But compared to expectations - was he really that bad (the answer is yes, but not bad enough to warrant worst Hoya of the decade). |
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Anthony Perry - HS Class of 1997 - F I am defining the decade as beginning with the 2000-01 season, so only Perry's senior season would count for this list. Regardless, as a McDonald's All American coming out of high school and one of the top recruits in the country, you would expect Perry to at least be a starter during his senior season, right? Not the case, after starting his sophomore and junior seasons (he sat out freshman year), Perry came off the bench to begin the decade and failed to come even remotely close to what was expected of him. He averaged just 6.7 points and 2.3 rebounds a game as a senior, ceding playing time to Demetrius Hunter and Mike Sweetney. Verdict: Certainly the most disappointing career at Georgetown, but not the worst this decade. |
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Cornelio Guibunda - HS Class of 2004 - F Pop Quiz: Who was the highest ranked Hoya out of the HS Class of 2004. If you guessed Hoya of the Decade-Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Jon Wallace or Tyler Crawford, then you are wrong. It was actually Cornelio Guibunda, an Esherick-recruit that saw action in four games as a Hoya, scoring a total of six points, before transferring to American. If only Esherick had offered a scholarship to Joakim Noah over Cornelio Guibunda? Limitless possibilities. Verdict: He can't possibly be the worst because of his awesome sounding name, right...? |
Honorable Mention: Matt Causey
And the winner for Worst Hoya of the Decade is...
via www.downtownbellingham.com
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Vernon Macklin - HS Class of 2006 - F Back in my day they used to give McDonald's All American recognition to true players, not just kids with potential. And you used to have to walk uphill both ways to receive the award. Vernon was the first McDonald's All American player JT3 recruited and played like a walk-on. It was obvious that the system was not a good fit for Macklin, and he was quickly overshadowed by Summers, Hibbert and Green. Sad thing is that he would have seen significant playing time last year had he not transferred, enough to boost up his woeful 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while donning the Blue and Gray. He also shot 31% from the free throw line while at Georgetown, which is a feat in itself. Verdict: Maybe we were all just excited to land a top prospect and overlooked the fact that Macklin did not fit the system. Maybe we set our expectations of Macklin too high. Or maybe we forgot to check if Macklin was wearing two left shoes. Either way, Macklin was the biggest bust of the decade and the worst player to wear the Georgetown Blue and Gray. |