The Casual Awards: Syracuse Is Closed

Your Fighting Hoyas of Georgetown demolished the hated Orange in the final Big East showdown for both teams on Saturday in what was undoubtedly, for so many Hoyas who had the pleasure of being in Verizon or watching from the comfort of their mother's basements, one of the most satisfying wins in the history of ever. As the Hoyas now head to New York City as the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament, we here at THE AWARD WINNING GLOBAL PHENOMENON are taking a look back at the game and handing out hardware to those most deserving. Away we go!

The Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:
Markel Starks. The buzz around this group of Hoyas surrounds Otto Porter and rightfully so, but Markel Starks was the engine during Saturday's rout, nailing 5 three pointers on his way to a team-high 19 points. On the defensive end Starks was a menace, playing aggressive on the ball defense that clearly rattled Michael Carter-Williams and prevented Syracuse from getting any sort of flow on offense. That Starks is only a junior makes me happy.

Speaking of Chris Wright Award:
Congrats to our Heart of a Champion on his call-up to the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks. Even though the Mavs are one of the more despicable teams in the league and Dirk Nowitzki needs a haircut badly, Wright could get some burn at the point for a Dallas team lacking depth at the position. Wright's call-up comes just one week after Henry Sims joined the New Orleans Hornets, and all of a sudden Georgetown is looking at putting three new jerseys on the wall in McDonough at next year's Midnight Madness, which has to be some sort of record since perhaps 1997. The third jersey will be the one revealed at the NBA Draft in June and will have the name PORTER on it.

The Tombs Award:
I started off my weekend with a casual Friday lunch at the Tombs, and I wasn't the only one, as soon John Thompson III and the rest of the staff entered along with Markel Starks, former Hoya Mark Tillmon and a few recruits including Isaac Copeland. I assume they enjoyed traditional Tombs fare which may or may not have included the buffalo chicken sandwich I enjoyed that is documented below. Later, JT3 and I were in the bathroom at the same time and exchanged pleasantries at the sink while washing our hands, and, well now this is just sounding weird so I'll move on, but before I do so I will say that it was pretty cool to share the bathroom at the Tombs with JT3 this weekend:

Bring Every Recruit to the Damn Tombs Award:
6'8" forward Isaac Copeland committed to Georgetown on Sunday, making him the 1st Hoyas commit in the Class of 2014 and giving the Hoyas a player who fits into the Otto Porter and Greg Whittington mold. Clearly the traditional Tombs fare motivated his decision since the game atmosphere on Saturday was kind of blah.

Blah My Ass Award:
I've been to my fair share of Hoyas games since having the fortune of setting foot on campus back in 1995-96. Though my memory is hazy AT BEST after a weekend of endless booze and merriment, I'm going to put this game at #2, right under the Duke game in 2006 and just ahead of a game against UConn in 1996 at USAir when Allen Iverson delivered a facial to the Huskies en route to the Hoyas dealing UConn one of their only losses of the season.

Georgetown Can't Possibly Win Without Otto Porter Scoring Award:
So much for that, pundits! Though he obviously impacted the game from everywhere on the court, Porter finished with 10 points and didn't have a field goal in the first half. What a great team victory this was. I love America.

Georgetown Doesn't Retire Jerseys Award:
Instead we brought out Patrick Ewing while the Hoyas were blowing the doors off of Syracuse and gave him a trophy to honor his selection as one of the NCAA's top 75 players of all-time as Alonzo Mourning and a host of other former Hoyas such as Michael Graham, Reggie Williams, Jason Clark, Jessie Sapp and Darrell Owens looked on. Meanwhile, in the upper corners of a cold and dark building in Syracuse, NY, a jersey of Carmelo Anthony's hangs to commemorate the day in which Georgetown closed the Carrier Dome.

Big Man U. Award:
All season long we have lamented Georgetown's lack of production at the center position, but both Mikael Hopkins and Moses Ayegba held down the fort nicely against the Orange, combining for 4 points and 9 rebounds in 31 minutes and playing sound, defensive basketball throughout. After a slow start that resulted in his being pulled from the game after just 2 minutes, Hopkins played much better in the 2nd half after Moses was sidelined in foul trouble and kept Rakeem Christmas and the rest of the Orange bigs off the glass where the Hoyas had a 29-24 edge.

Jay Bilas Award:
I was admittedly very worried what the ESPN Gameday set-up would look like with a huge fear being that they'd have a small set in the middle of an empty Verizon, but I think it turned out OK on television from that set in the corner like that with a healthy student section next to it and on the other end of the court. Best we can do and I think we pulled it off.

Next Generation Award:
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera played the most complete game of his young career against the Orange, combining with Markel Starks to provide Georgetown's offensive spark while the Orange smothered Porter in the 1st half, and defensively DSR was a hawk all game, diving after a number of loose balls and grabbing key rebounds. That DSR is a freshman makes me very happy.

Deal With It Award:
Courtesy of swordofbrunner, who by the way happened to get kicked out of BOTH The Iron Horse AND The Tombs on Saturday, pulling off an awesome doubleheader.

Top 5 Finish. Big East Champions.

What's the Deal with the Guy at Verizon Who Announces the Lineups Award:
I appreciate enthusiasm as much as the next guy, but there's a fine line between revving up the crowd during the lineup introductions and sounding like a guy who has had one too many. I'm not passing judgment on the latter part of that comment of course because by the time noon rolled around I definitely had one too many, but still, can't Father McFadden intro the guys as well? I think his slow-playing it in his casual monotone would be way more casual than screaming "NATE LUBICK KA KA KA KA KA LUBICK!" or whatever it is that he does to each player's name. Borderline embarrassing. But if anyone knows him we'll totally interview him for the blog.

Defense Wins Championships Award:
I'm not suggesting that this team will win a National Championship (MAYBE I AM), but I haven't seen a team play with this much consistent defensive intensity in a long time. Every shot for the Orange was contested and every possession was a battle, the rotations were crisp on the perimeter and our zone is balls tough to break.

Human Zone Buster Award:
It's so nice to have a player like Porter who can have his man chase him all over the floor, then flash to the free throw line, turn around and nail jumpers which hit nothing but net like sweet daggers into the eyes of the soulless Orange.

Manna From Heaven Award:
It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's a motherfucking burrito and it's falling from the sky! Here's the thing though, a dude I know caught one and inside was a t-shirt! What's up with that!

Jabril Trawick Says Goodbye to Syracuse Award:
So long, Syracuse.

Casual Extravaganza IV Award:
Can't thank those who put this shindig together enough. From SirHoya and WarmupEwing to Mr. Girard and his kegs of CasuALE, the whole thing was once again a smashing success. This is the 4th go-around at this event and each year I wake up the next day exactly the same: with a massive hangover and a big smile on my face. To those I had the pleasure of meeting over the course of the weekend, the GLOBAL PHENOMENON wouldn't be the same without you and thanks for faking our conversations enough to make me actually believe you dig what we're tossing up on this site.

Court Storming Award:
Perfectly stated by OverTheHilltop in the game recap:

In the end, the Georgetown students stormed the court. The gesture, so over-used in college basketball, seemed appropriate here. It was a not an expression of the miraculousness of the win, as Georgetown already had beaten Syracuse by double digits this year. Rather, the flood of fans to the floor was an overflowing of joy. That joy had many causes, including the release of anticipation that had been building since this year's schedule was announced, a decisive victory over an archrival in perhaps the teams' last meaningful game, a regular-season championship secured on the season's last day, and, in some ways, just having been there.

Court Storming II Award:
Perfectly stated by HireEsherick in his Morning After post:

First, an apology. I argued against students storming the court many times on this blog. I said that fans of a top five team should never step onto the court, and that if students wanted to have "fun" that they should instead close down 7th Street or go to the White House. I was wrong. Somewhere in my washed-up alum ivory tower, I equated storming the court to a reward for fans and concerned myself of the outside perception of the feat typically reserved for mediocre teams begging for attention. I completely forgot what it means for the players. Otto Porter, Markel Starks, DSR, John Caprio, ANYONE wearing a Georgetown jersey yesterday deserved to celebrate that victory with the gratitude and adoration of their fellow students. They deserved the hugs, high-fives, awkward jump-dancing, whatever. They deserved to know that what they have accomplished this season will not be forgotten. The season has been special and I am glad the players were able to celebrate the end of the regular season, the end of a rivalry, the end of a conference in a special way. And to the students, you deserved it as well. You all killed it yesterday. The atmosphere was incredible. Thank you for ending your Spring Break early to line up outside the Verizon Center 12 hours before a basketball game. Thank you for showing up hours before the game to waive, yell, scream for 60 minutes of pre-noon television. Just an incredible experience. HOYA F'IN SAXA. /Time for a Bloody Mary.

Manti Te'o Award:
Remember when Michael Carter-Williams said "We've always been better than them, always will be better than them," he said. "And we just want to go out on top." WELL, SORRY BRO.

The Father Award:
How great was John Thompson, Jr. on Saturday? From his Georgetown scarf waving to his "Kiss Syracuse Goodbye" in the postgame press conference, it was clear to see that Coach was fired up for this game and wasn't afraid to let everyone know it.

The Son Award:
What more can be said about the job that John Thompson III has done this season? The Hoyas finished the regular season at 24-5 (14-4) and won the damn Big East regular season championship. This is a team that lost its THREE leading scorers after last season, lost Greg Whittington at the outset of Big East play and has no damn seniors. JT3 has done an amazing job, we're lucky to have him at Georgetown, and he will finally get the recognition he deserves when he is named Big East Coach of the Year for the first time later today.

The Hoya Spirit Award:
The Stonewalls. If they could reward a group of students with Big East Fans of the Year Award I have no doubt that the Stonewalls would earn the nod, but unfortunately they don't so they'll just have to ne happy with these few sentences on a Georgetown blog on the internet. Big ups to all of you who have turned section 118 into a party and thanks again for making legions of Hoyas fans have to google the word 'tifo'.

Document Your End of the Rivalry Award:
Special thanks to anyone and everyone who sent in pics, from emails to text to the twitters and beyond:

The Jim Nantz Award for Casual In-Game Commentary:
Most of us were either in Verizon or too amped/bombed to even type, but major props to the fine soldiers who carried on and made it yet another entertaining thread:

This shit's gonna get unwieldy fast

This Comment Summed Everything Up Perfectly Award:

Finally got to watch the second half tonight

Gratuitous GIF of Kate Upton Doing Kate Upton Things Award:
Kate Upton.

The Georgetown Hoyas are a nationally ranked powerhouse.

The Big East Tournament is NeXt.

Syracuse is closed.

Hoya Saxa.