We're back for another edition of your favorite mailbag on the internet related to Georgetown basketball. As always, send any questions to jeffgreensdad@gmail.com please.
Without further ado...
Jeff Green's Dad - I've noticed that Casual Hoya is a huge fan of "Jersey Shore". I am a big fan of TV in general. Can you tell me what TV show each Hoya is like? Darren, Palm Beach, Florida
Sure, Darren. Not a problem, as long as you don't judge me for the shows I watch.
Greg Monroe - Entourage. Like the show following Vincent Chase, Greg debuted to rave reviews. At one point during the first season, I actually believed Entourage could turn into the best show on TV. At one point during his freshman year, I thought Greg could carry us to a national championship. Entourage, though disappointing, is still a must for me on Sunday nights during the summer, and is always good for a few laughs. Johnny Drama is going to say something stupid, Ari will make fun of Lloyd, there are going to be jokes about Drama's age, Turtle's weight, E's height, and Vince is going to hook up with hot girls. I get it. Just like Greg. He's going to give you a few nice post moves, a couple good assists, and I enjoy watching him play. But he's not going to carry us to a national championship. The sooner people recognize that he is Lamar Odom - a second banana who is an effective and versatile big man - the better people will feel. I made peace with Entourage as an enjoyable Sunday night show, and I've made peace with Greg for who he is.
More after "the Jump"
Austin Freeman - Friday Night Lights. Both had breakout first years. Austin started for the 2008 Big East champions, Friday Night Lights gave me Minka Kelly, Coach Taylor and Tim Riggins. I had monster expectations for both Austin and FNL coming into their respective second seasons. The TV show decided to have Landry and Tyra kill that random dude, basically submarining the entire season. Austin spent his sophomore year seeing if he could be the first person to go from Division I basketball player to Biggest Loser contestant in four months. Or maybe he was concerned about Wisey's in the recession and kept them in business by eating 14 burger madnesses a day. Either way, they both sort of sucked in their second seasons. Ahh, but those third seasons. Friday Night Lights solidified itself as the best drama on TV and Austin leads Georgetown in scoring, hustle, and 28 point second halves to salvage our season. Weirdly, no one on a national level seems to notice either FNL or Austin. Ratings still suck for FNL, enough that NBC had to partner with Directv to keep the show on the air. Austin, even after his 33 point explosion with Dick Vitale orgasming on air, isn't getting any love from NBA scouts.
Chris Wright - 30 Rock. Both try entirely too hard. Chris tries too hard when he runs recklessly into a crowd of four and tosses the ball up aimlessly. 30 Rock tries too hard by injecting smarmy pop culture references and star cameos. Either way, I love both unconditionally. Both are riveting to watch - Chris because he is such a punk and such a rollercoaster, 30 Rock because every word that comes out of Jack Donaghy and Tracy Morgan's mouths makes me giggle like a little girl.
Nikita Mescheriakov - The Jay Leno Show. Both had one shining moment. Nikita hit those threes against Syracuse his sophomore year. Jay had Kanye West on after the Taylor Swift scandal in his first week, artificially spiking ratings. Both flamed out pretty spectacularly - Nikita with his season ending shot over the backboard against St. Johns and Jay with stabbing Conan O'Brien right in the back. Both suck a lot. I hate both. Nikita is transferring to Wake Forest, Jay is moving to 11:35. Even in new surroundings, both will continue to suck a lot and I will continue to hate both.
Julian Vaughn - How I Met Your Mother. I randomly watched How I Met Your Mother one Monday night my junior of college. I wasn't expecting much, but enjoyed it a lot. Similarly, I expected Julian to be a body with five fouls for his career at Georgetown. Instead, he has turned into exactly what this team needs, a bruising rebounder who lets Greg Monroe play his natural power forward position. How I Met Your Mother is an enjoyable show for both guys and girls, it has enough bro comedy, but also enough love storylines to keep both sexes entertained. Julian, as documented by my mistress, is a lady killer. He also appeals to guys because of his workmanlike attitude and his badass streak. I also feel very comforted when watching both the TV show and Julian.
Ryan Dougherty - Cougar Town. Similar to How I Met Your Mother, I randomly watched this once. Not similar to How I Met Your Mother, I hated it with a fiery passion. This is the worst show on TV, I don't care what critics, your mom, or anyone else says. The same can be said for Ryan Dougherty, he sucks.
via coverawards.com
Jason Clark - Modern Family. Both are breakout stars in their respective worlds. Both are also currently experiencing a bit of a slump. For Modern Family, I need more Manny and more Phil Dunphy. For Jason, I need him to start making shots more often. I still have high hopes for both the show and the player.
Henry Sims - Saved by the Bell Junior High. The first two seasons of the show were pretty forgettable. The cast was too young, and the girls hadn't fully developed. For some reason, NBC stuck with it, introduced Kelly Kapowski in the third year, and magic happened. I am expecting the same from young Henry. His first two seasons are forgettable, but the basketball version of Kelly Kapowski is coming this summer for Henry, through hard work, growing into his body, and another year of experience. Henry will be a successful Hoya, I am as prescient as NBC executives, I promise.
Hollis Thompson - Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Hollis is a do-it-all forward, plays hard defense, comes up with clutch rebounds, and makes one or two threes a game. All the while, he is cheering on the bench, the first to help a fallen teammate, and seems to be a pleasure to coach. This really doesn't have that much to do with Always Sunny, other than Hollis' disposition.
Why doesn't Casual Hoya report on anything but basketball? Courtney, Washington DC
I just spent 1,000 words on comparing the Hoyas to popular TV shows. WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM US DEVIL WOMAN?
What is it like being best friends with Austin Freeman? A Jealous Fan, San Francisco, CA
For those of you who don't read the GLOBAL PHENOMENON that is Casual Hoya, Austin and I are having some problems, mostly stemming from my belief that he should use proper grammar when tweeting and his belief that I am a giant tool. But, there are definitely perks to being BFF with Austin, I feel like I know him really well, which will help me with the next series of questions...
What is Austin Freeman's favorite color? Favorite movie? What are his deepest fears? What is his biggest pet peeve? K Dogg, Williamsport, PA
His favorite color is black because he thinks it is slimming, yet intimidating. His favorite movie is Forrest Gump because like him, Forrest is a simple man that achieves wonderful things throughout his life. His deepest fear is fear itself. We've actually never talked about his biggest pet peeve, but judging from his Tweets, I'm going to assume it revolves around A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.
Where would Craig Esherick's mustache rank in top mustaches of all time? Craig, Mom's Basement
1. My dad
via www.hofstra.edu
2. Tom Selleck
via content.artofmanliness.com
3. Rollie Fingers
4. Mark "The Shark" Titus (Club Trillion)
via www.collegehoopsjournal.com
5. Craig Esherick
After watching Scottie Reynolds tear Louisville up with 36 points on 10 field goals, I have to believe he is the best point guard in the Big East. Please rank the top 5 point guards. ICEBERG PA
That performance was absolutely ridiculous. I am terrified of Villanova's guards.
1. Scottie Reynolds, Villanova. That sucks to admit. But right now, he's the best point guard in the league. He is playing great basketball on both sides of the ball and Villanova is ranked #4 in the country. I can't not make him #1. Ugh.
2. Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh. He's increased his scoring by 13 points from his freshman to sophomore year and Pitt is 4-0 in the Big East. I don't understand where Jamie Dixon finds these dudes, but for Pitt to be 4-0 in the Big East after losing DeJuan Blair, Sam Young and Levance Fields is remarkable.
3. Chris Wright, Georgetown. Please Chris, outplay Scottie on Sunday so I can take him out of the #1 position. I hope you are reading this and it's motivating you.
4. Kemba Walker, Connecticut. I thought he'd have a much better sophomore year after a pretty solid freshman year. He needs to learn how to shoot the ball before he becomes an elite point guard.
5. Preston Knowles, Louisville. I still think they are dangerous with Knowles, Edgar Sosa and Samardo Samuels. Knowles has played pretty terribly in his matchups against John Wall and Scottie Reynolds, but there just aren't that many good point guards in this league, and I think he'll regain his shooting touch. Or he won't and I'll laugh.
Mr. Green -
Gonna give you a couple to choose from, because I figure that will increase the likelihood of getting posted to the GLOBAL PHENOMENON that is known as CASUAL HOYA:
If you had to choose one coach from the history of basketball (college, professional, fictional) to coach one game - who would it be and why?
Will you come to McFaddens Bar in Philadelphia on January 22nd to meet Sammie "Sweetheart" and Ronnie with me?
What is taking College football so long to switch to the Playoff Format?
Will Colt McCoy ever play Quarterback again?
Wedding Crashers or The Hangover?
Thanks for your time Mr. Green, and good luck to young Jeffrey and his OK City Thunder
-Mario The Magnificent Dragon -Drexel University, PA
Mario, I'm sure this is a thrill for you. I am going to answer all of your questions to the best of my ability.
If I had to choose one coach from the history of professional basketball to coach one game it'd be Gregg Popovich. He fits all three of my criteria for my ideal coach - he is intelligent, knows how to coach defense, and sort of looks like a serial killer. As for college and fictional it'd be Tom Izzo and Norman Dale. I don't think I need to explain myself for either.
Yes, I will come to Mcfadden's with you on January 22, as long as you promise to bring up Sammi's Fred Flintstone toe.
As for the BCS, P Diddy taught me something a long time ago - it's all about the benjamins.
Yes, Colt McCoy will play quarterback again, he has the accurate arm that thrives in the NFL. He also just proposed to his smoking hot girlfriend, many props Colt.
Wedding Crashers made me laugh harder, but sucked for the last 30 minutes. The Hangover annoyed me because I'm not a huge fan of Bradley Cooper - I know he's a Georgetown alum - but he rubs me the wrong way. Probably because he was so convincing as Sack in Wedding Crashers. So, ultimately, I'll go with Wedding Crashers.
Aside from the fact that I'm an avid reader of this blog, give me 5 reason why I should abandon my Penn Quakers, the 1920 and 1921 pre-tournament era college basketball champs, and start drinking out of my Georgetown shot glass. Hayley, Bayport, NY
1. They are 1-11
2. Philadelphia is a pit stop between DC and New York
3. More people show up for math league competitions than basketball games at Penn
4. Wharton is douchey
5. They are 1-11
J Woww, what is to be said about those New Yorkers who have bought the 5-ticket packages for the Gtown games compared to those DC'ers that get the same 5 ticket package? Are we less faithful than the New Yorkers or is it that we understand the Curse of the Bambino...nix that...Curse of the Big Ticket, Jivers and Nikita (ok not Nikita) will doom this season and the next 86? I mean it feels like DaJuan Summers just took a football and threw it right through the Hoyas' BE Championship aspirations.
Also, can I get a shoutout to the Hoyas working at SRA both young and old out at SRA in Arlington.
Corporate Michael, Arlington, VA
This is the first I'm hearing about this five ticket package, I accidentally never moved my Georgetown email to gmail, so my ability to stay in the loop has been severely hindered. But yes, you are clearly are less faithful. If I lived in DC, I would take every advantage of the Young Alumni deal. You get seats in the 100s, might randomly sit near Hire Esherick, and get to see your favorite basketball team play around 15 times a year. I don't get it, why would you not do that?
As for the curse of the transfers, I think you are overreacting. Sure, we had a rough go at it in 2008-2009 when Vernon and Jeremiah transferred, but that had nothing to do with them. If I've learned anything from watching Indiana and Florida this year, it's that both of those dudes are not good at basketball. The only thing we miss from them is Vernon's hilariously outsized ego and a bunch of empty bottles of Soul Glo to style Jeremiah's Lionel Richie-esque jheri curl.
Big ups to SRA.
Why is Villanova so much better than Georgetown? How does one still enjoy sporting events after they have stopped drinking? Can you compare the G-Town team to Harry Potter characters? I'll be your groupie if you shout me a holla on your blog. That's more a statement than a question. Your loving brother, Ardmore, PA
Aww it's family day here at Casual Communications. Yes, my younger brother continues to be my dumb younger brother by going to Georgetown's dumb younger brother - Villanova.
For your first question, I think you may have selective memory. I go by results. Results say Georgetown has won the last five games in this series. And sure, you can point to 1985 or the fact that Nova went to the Final Four last year and is higher ranked right now, but that'd be silly. Also, how'd it turn out when you applied to Georgetown?
For your second question, I think it is simple, just watch the game dude. Without drinking at games you will remember more and not do things like toss water bottles at Shelden Williams' head, although that was awesome.
For your third question, no I can't. I'm exhausted and its 1:00 am.
Also I'm only through the first book, and you know this.
For your fourth question, thanks man, you're my best friend not named Austin.