The dog days of summer are almost over. It's been a long four and a half months since the mighty Georgetown Hoyas lost to the not-so-mighty Ohio Bobcats. But fear not loyal reader, soon enough, basketball will start again and you will stop having to document your lunches. In an unrelated note, if you aren't watching HBO's Hard Knocks on the New York Jets, you aren't watching TV. Rex Ryan has captivated me like no man since The Situation. He is spellbounding, hilarious, fat, jolly, angry and America. You must watch this show.
Anyways, this is as subjective a list as they come. These rankings come with an absurd amount of operating assumptions for next year as well. Without these assumptions, my top 5 would be the 2007 Final Four team, considering the current batch of Hoyas have two combined tournament wins amongst all 12 players. Also, players that weren't freshmen with JT3 are excluded, which eliminates Ashanti Cook, Brandon Bowman and Kenny Izzo, among others.
After The Jump, see my full list.
5. Greg Monroe
Positives: Best passer in JT3's tenure. 3rd Team All American. #7 pick in the NBA Draft.
Negatives: Didn't win a postseason game. Left after two years. Kind of a pansy.
Commentary: It was a tough decision to choose Monroe over the beloved Jonathan Wallace, but the reality is that Monroe is going to have a very successful professional career, and will be mentioned along with Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Green and Hibbert among Georgetown's long line of successful big men. His best comparable is Mutombo because neither had an enormous amount of collegiate success compared to what they should have had, and their professional careers will always outshadow their time on the Hilltop. Both are intelligent big men focused on giving back to their homes. Only one said the line "Who Wants to Sex Mutombo?" in the Tombs though.
4. Chris Wright
Positives: Four year contributor. 1st Team All Big East (assumed). 3rd Team All American (assumed). Integral Member of Final Four Team (assumed).
Negatives: Fought Jessie Sapp, helping submarine 2008-2009. Has almost given me a heart attack on multiple occasions.
Commentary: Clearly some big assumptions go into Chris' ranking, but I think all his hard work this summer will pay huge dividends next year. He has been the heart of three straight Hoya teams, for better or worse, and will be a tri-captain next year. He almost single-handedly carried us to a Big East Tournament Championship last year and is poised to be one of the best point guards in the country next year. Also has best nickname of any JT3 Hoya (The Wrecking Ball) until Markel Starks starts getting called "Starktopus".
3. Roy Hibbert
Positives: Four year starter. 1st Team All Big East. Integral Member of Final Four Team. 1st Round Draft Pick. Big East Champion (2x).
Negatives: Kind of awkward. Lost in 2nd Round to Davidson when he was senior team leader.
Commentary: Hibbert was the ultimate second fiddle on the 2007 Georgetown Final Four team. He put Georgetown centers back on the map and is living proof of JT3's ability to develop big men. He outplayed Greg Oden in the National Semifinals, and we probably would have won the game had he been able to stay out of foul trouble. He also gets major props for turning down the NBA after his junior year to try to win a championship for Georgetown. Unfortunately, he ran into the buzzsaw that was Stephen Curry. I've got nothing but love for Roy though.
Positives: Four year starter. 1st Team All Big East (assumed). Big East Player of the Year (assumed). Leader of Final Four Team (assumed). Leading scorer in JT3's tenure (assumed).
Negatives: Terrible sophomore year due to conditioning. Has won one tournament game thus far. Four of his five positives are made up in my head.
Commentary: Clearly, the assumptions are enormous for Austin, but we just lost Rakeem Christmas to Syracuse, and I need some damn optimism. Freeman was one of the most efficient guards in the country last year, and battled back from diabetes valiantly. He put on some of the most spectacular individual performances in Georgetown history (UConn, Louisville, etc) and that was with an undiagnosed diabetes condition. I know he is going to have an absolutely incredible senior year.
1. Jeff Green
Positives: Three year starter. 1st Team All Big East. Big East Player of the Year. Leader of Final Four Team. #5 pick in NBA Draft.
Negatives: Took 5 shots in Final Four loss. Didn't come back to win National Championship Senior Year.
Commentary: Essentially Green has the exact resume that I am wildly assuming Freeman will have, except for Jeff has actually done it. He was a top 5 draft pick, hit the game winning shot against Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16, put Georgetown back on the map, and inspired my blog handle. This one is a no-brainer, as opposed to the rest of my choices, which prove that I have no brain.
Questions/comments/concerns? This is going to be really tough to re-read if we flame out in the first round again next year. I'm going to start preparing myself now.