Back for another edition of Casual Communication like we never left. As always, send your questions to Jeff Green's Dad and they will be sure to be answered.
You've got questions, I've got answers (via www.beccahuber.com)
I was looking at Chris Wright's Formspring and noticed he got a question about THE PHENOMENON. Did you see that? Jonathan, Philadelphia
I noticed the same thing when looking at Wright's Formspring, which is a site I can't recommend highly enough. Where else do you get to ask anonymous questions and get completely unfiltered answers? Only at Formspring. Now for the segment in question.
Q: what do you think of casualhoya.com? you read it? it's pretty funny, not gonna lie yo
A: dont read none of it...most of dem idiots neva touch a ball in they life
Damn Chris, that hurts, especially since you were our last chance to be friends with our backcourt considering our previous history with Austin Freeman. But, in most cases, The Wrecking Ball is right. Below is a detailed account of the PHENOMENON members' basketball history.
Hire Esherick: I was the manager of the girl's badminton team in high school. Last time I bounced a ball I knocked a tooth out.
Lordnick: I played soccer in high school.
Read more about the Casual Hoya staff's basketball talents after the JUMP
CasualHoya: I have a legendary and near lethal "hop-step jumpshot" that I modeled after boyhood hero John Starks. My basketball career spans 3 decades and is marked both by triumphant victories and crushing defeats in intramural tournaments in the gulf coast and east coast regions.
Jeff Green's Dad: My basketball career started out promising. I once received MVP of the Princeton University basketball camp and got the actual award from a young assistant named John Thompson III. The highlight I'll tell my kids about is that I was on an AAU team with Andrew Bynum. Unfortunately, our careers took divergent paths. He's now in the NBA, the last time I played was about a month ago, and after being thoroughly outclassed by one of my athletic friends, I was near tears and didn't talk to any of my friends for the next two hours.
itsallthatmatters: I started on the losingest first year Division I program in NCAA history. Varmint was my point guard. Had a year of Juco ball, turned down Hawaii, and started at Mercer until tearing my ACL. Lost by 62 at Duke. Five of the best years of my life.
So yes, all in all, Chris is spot on about our basketball talents. What is interesting is that he seems to know more about the staff than he lets on because he said "most of dem idiots neva touch a ball in they life", so he clearly knew itsallthatmatters played Division I basketball at Mercer and the rest of us suck.
Is my team better off without me? I thought I was the best player in the Big East? - Luke, South Bend
According to Len Elmore, you still are the best player in the Big East. What's remarkable is Luke Harangody will end up the leading scorer in Big East history and only went to two NCAA Tournaments, never getting past the second round. I don't know what to make of Luke, because his stats are astounding, but his team just beat Pittsburgh by 15 without him. And the entire game, Notre Dame fans were saying how much better off the team is without Harangody.
I still think Georgetown is better off not having Harangody on the floor Saturday just because we shut down three point reliant teams and Monroe will have a field day inside. Now watch us lose by 10.
Did I make the right decision to go pro when I did? How good would Georgetown have been if I stayed for my senior year? - Jeff, OKC
Yes, Jeff Green made the right decision for himself to go to the NBA when he did. He was a Top 5 pick coming off a Final Four appearance and was the Big East Player of the Year. He had a very solid rookie year, has gotten better each season, and is on the best young team in basketball. I don't think he has a single regret.
That said, as a Georgetown fan, it was brutal to see him go. I bought the UNC-Georgetown game DVD and watch it from time to time. That offense was brutally efficient with Jeff, Roy Hibbert, DaJuan Summers, Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace. I am 100% sure that with the addition of a freshman Austin Freeman coming off the bench, we would have absolutely won the National Championship had Jeff come back to school. It would have been the same starting 5, with Freeman, Patrick Ewing Jr., Chris Wright, Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers coming off the bench. If the Memphis-Kansas title game is considered one of the best in history, can you imagine what the Georgetown-Kansas game would have been like?
It's also interesting to wonder what would have happened with DaJuan had he had another year of following Jeff's every move. I don't think he would have been nearly as big of a prima donna had he had another year of tutelage under Jeff.
Should I be allowed to play against Syracuse - Corey, Philadelphia
I assume this is Corey Stokes trying to get into Casual Communication. Well, Corey, publicly urinating at 3:00 am two days before the biggest game of your season is less than intelligent. This Villanova team, between Stokes and Reggie Redding, has had its fair share of off-the-court incidents. If I were Jay Wright, I'd be concerned about four things:
1. What am I going to wear on Saturday night?
2. Will my gel get confiscated by airport authorities if I don't have it in a ziploc bag?
3. Is Corey Stokes mentally retarded?
4. Why was my entire team out at 3:00 am TWO DAYS BEFORE THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON?
I assume this is all Taylor King's fault, like everything else in the world, but if I were as handsome as Wright, I'd bench Stokes for two reasons - he isn't very good and he's more of a distraction at this point than anything else. Let Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns take his minutes.
Can you please rank your top 5 most hated non-Big East teams? Craig, Washington
5. Old Dominion: Those bastards have beaten us twice in the last four years at McDonough Gym, simple as that.
4. Wisconsin: I hate white people, their style of play, their maddening consistency, Bo Ryan's haircut, Brian Butch's nine years of college, and their inability to get past the Sweet 16.
3. Kentucky: This program is Pat Riley's alma mater, Rick Pitino's former employer, and John Calipari's current employer. They might as well call it The University of Greasy Scumbags. It's infuriating enough that Calipari still gets to coach considering he's had TWO Final Fours vacated for NCAA violations, and then he amasses the greatest collection of talent in one recruiting season at Kentucky and no one bats an eyelash? It's going to be a black eye on the NCAA when Kentucky wins the NCAA Tournament and then has to take it away because Calipari was paying Demarcus Cousins in Big Macs the entire season.
2. UNC: They get my #2 spot for three reasons. First, I irrationally hate Roy Williams and have since I was a little boy. I think he is full of crap, I hate that he cries so much, and I don't think he is a good coach. Second, Tyler Hansbrough was damn near impossible to like, my happiest moment was watching him cry after Georgetown beat them in the Elite Eight in 2007. Third, they STOLE Georgetown's 1982 championship from them with that Michael Jordan dude.
1. Duke: We had a whole week devoted to Duke hate last month on the PHENOMENON. That's just a layup.
Can you put yourself in the shoes that are completely unbiased and realistically assess Georgetown's chances in the tournament? Jason, Ann Arbor, MI
Good question. Clearly, I watch Georgetown and the Big East most, so I know the teams the best, but I've been able to watch a ton of other teams this year as well. I think there are three teams that are clearly better than Georgetown - Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse. Outside of that, I think we have as good a shot at getting to the Final Four as anyone if we play at the top of our game.
That said, the depth issues and lack of focus could absolutely result in a 2nd round defeat. Greg Monroe gets in foul trouble early, Chris Wright tries to be a hero, and we lose to Virginia Tech in the 2nd round.
If I were a betting man, I'd set the over/under at the Sweet 16. But, if we get to the Sweet 16 I could see us winning the whole thing because we play well in big games and the Georgetown offense is tremendously challenging to guard when clicking on all cylinders. I'm just not sure we actually get to the Sweet 16.
This is what the others think of my prognosis.
