What's The Deal With Georgetown's Coaching Staff?

The Memorial Day weekend holiday is over and with June rapidly approaching on the calendar, most college basketball coaching staffs are beginning to gather and formulate their recruiting plans ahead of the beginning of the "live recruiting period" on July 10th. With Georgetown still having one scholarship to fill in 2013 and possibly looking at an overhaul of the majority of the roster in 2014 and 2015, these are very important times for the Hoyas on the recruiting trail. John Thompson III's staff, however, has some holes to fill.

Last month, Associate Head Coach Mike Brennan was named the Head Coach at American University, becoming the fifth member of John Thompson III's coaching tree to land a head coaching job (Kevin Broadus (Binghamton), Sydney Johnson (Princeton), Robert Burke and Matt Henry (both Mount St. Mary's)). Scott Greenman, Georgetown's Director of Basketball Operations and a former Princeton player and assistant, joined Brennan at American as an assistant coach. The exodus of Brennan and Greenman have left Georgetown without an Associate Head Coach and a Director of Basketball Operations.

Though it's not that big of a deal that Georgetown has two openings at this late stage, undoubtedly JT3 wants to fill these spots so that Georgetown can be as effective as possible on the recruiting trail this summer and beyond, with (at least the perception of) a strong, unified staff.

Let's take a look at the staff as it stands now:

Typically, teams have three assistants and a Director of Basketball Operations. The last couple of seasons, Georgetown also has had one or more additional assistants, either as an assistant DOBO, a "special assistant" to JT3, or both. Under NCAA rules, only the three principal assistants can hit the recruiting trail for the program, while the remaining staff can help manage program the day-to-day but cannot recruit off campus.

One current Georgetown assistant is Kevin Broadus. Broadus returned to Georgetown's bench in 2011 after an eventful stint as Binghamton's head coach. There, he led the Bearcats to an America East title and an NCAA bid only to have the program come under attack when a few of his players committed various crimes and a hit-piece on the program by douchelord Pete Thamel ultimately resulted in his resignation. Broadus' strength is undoubtedly his ability to recruit, and he has strong ties to high school and AAU coaches throughout the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Upon his return to the Hilltop, Broadus served a one-year stint as JT3's "special assistant," raising the possibility that he might eventually be elevated to full-time assistant and paired with supreme-recruiter Robert Kirby, forming a whopping 1-2 recruiting punch that would span from the DMV though the South. However, Kirby left Georgetown for LSU before last season, and Broadus now fills the role as lead-recruiter for the Hoyas and has been the lead on most big name recruits that the Hoyas target.

Kenya Hunter is another Georgetown assistant, a role he has occupied since 2007. Hunter is currently JT3's longest-tenured assistant and has been a valuable member of the bench and has strong Xs and Os and recruiting abilities. Though often overshadowed by Broadus, Hunter is a gym rat and has done a very good job of making sure target recruits see Georgetown's presence at their games.

Rounding out the current coaching staff is NBA veteran Othella Harrington, who took over as Assistant DOBO in 2011. Othella brings a lot to the Georgetown bench, namely his reputation as one of Georgetown's best big men and the respect that comes with a 13-year NBA career.

So who should Georgetown pick to fill the vacancies?

As a former Hoyas assistant with head coaching experience, Broadus could easily slide into the Associate Head Coach role vacated by Brennan. He has proven himself as a bench coach and obviously has the recruiting chops to be a productive member of the staff for a long time. But still just a few years removed from the Binghamton situation, would Broadus be the best choice as the face of Georgetown's assistant staff and the likely 'next-in-line' for a head coaching gig somewhere? Does his body of work merit going from out of work to special assistant to associate head coach in a span of three years?

Moreover, would it make sense or be fair for Broadus to leapfrog Kenya Hunter who has loyal to the Georgetown program since 2007 in the process? Though Hunter is likely less of an Xs and Os mind than Brennan was and doesn't have any Princeton ties, he is arguably the one guy on the staff who has a good balance of Xs and Os and recruiting ability. Should Broadus be elevated to Associate over Hunter, it wouldn't surprise me if Hunter began to at least explore other opportunities at other programs, since if he isn't going to be considered for upward mobility on the Georgetown staff which he's been a part of for the better part of a decade, he's going to have to go elsewhere to do so.

Would JT3 perhaps bring in someone else with a fresh, non-Princeton mind to provide Georgetown with a few new looks both on offense on defense? As Georgetown's March failures of late have shown, often the system's failure to adapt to a more athletic, up-tempo opponent has doomed what otherwise have been very successful seasons. And whether or not some hardcore Hoya fans would like to admit it, Georgetown's NCAA exits have tainted the program a bit and have given Georgetown a reputation of an early Dance flameout. Would former St. Johns assistant and recent Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap be interested in being JT3's #1 assistant? Would former Hoya legend Patrick Ewing consider joining the staff? Is there a young basketball mind out there that JT3 could pluck from another school?

Ultimately, my guess is that JT3 elevates Broadus to Associate Head Coach and that Hunter remains a loyal soldier for this upcoming season in the #2 assistant position. It would make sense for Othella to be elevated to the #3 assistant spot from his current role so Georgetown can take advantage of having a former NBA guy meet with recruits, especially as Georgetown has focused on big men Elbert Robinson in the Class of 2014 and Diamond Stone in the Class of 2015. While the DOBO spot isn't as "important" to game scheming, I would love for a former Hoya floor general like Jonathan Wallace to join the staff. Wallace would continue the legacy of JT3 having someone with Princeton ties on the bench and as a recent Georgetown player with Final Four experience, Wallace would command the respect of visiting recruits as well as be a valuable resource for Markel Starks, Jabril Trawick and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera to turn to during the season.

Casual sources have revealed that JT3 is in the process of interviewing candidates to fill these vacancies, though which specific candidates for which specific vacancies remain under the shroud of secrecy that Georgetown is famous for. Expect a public announcement regarding the coaching staff within the next couple of weeks, and we'll likely bring you the news in the form of a nice "Breaking News" bar on the front page since we have nothing better to do.

Hoya Saxa.