:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26473169/casualswtewale.0.jpg)
Your Fighting Hoyas are back in action tonight against old Big East rival Providence and as usual we here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON are bringing you everything you need to know about Georgetown's next opponent. Here with us to shed light on all things Friars is @TheWarriorFriar, your go to source for whenever you have that pressing Providence need. Let's do this!
I had Providence as a fringe NCAA team this season and a surprise in the Big East. As of today, the Friars are making me look like an idiot. Am I an idiot for believing in this team?
In September/October? No way, you were certainly not an idiot. Hell we had all the makings of a dark horse (or is it dark knight? I'm gonna go with dark knight.) in the Big East. Then we lose our McDonald's AA point guard and our two freshman (one who could've been ROTY) because of [REDACTED]. So, given the new circumstances, I'd say you're not an idiot.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this Friars team?
Strengths: We still have a team.
Weaknesses: Let's see...we have no point guard, we have no depth, our scoring seems to have fallen off, one of our seniors isn't playing up to par (Kadeem Batts), we got no food, no jobs, our pets heads are falling off...I could go on.
Who are some of the players that Georgetown needs to be aware of?
Bryce "Ice" Cotton. He's playing with an injured knee and he's still killing it. He gets streaky at times but he's a clutch shooter who can score in bunches when the Friars really need a boost.
What are your thoughts on the new Big East so far and which teams do you think make the NCAAs?
I love the new Big East, but I'm a little disappointed that certain teams are letting me down at times (specifically Marquette and St. John's) but then other teams are surprising me (Villanova). It's going to take some time to get going, but it has all the makings of an exciting basketball league. Now that the Football whatever's are all done I think viewership will pick up, but it may take a few seasons. I think Creighton, Marquette, Villanova will all be NCAA locks by the end of the season, with a push going to Georgetown, Xavier, and Butler. If SJU can play together they can be scary good, but that hasn't happened yet. Seton Hall, DePaul, and *sigh* Providence may have to be patient.
Tell us something interesting about Providence (the school) that we don't know.
A lot of people don't know this but a lot of the old buildings were hospital wards. An all girls dorm (Dore Hall) was a former asylum for the insane, and St. Joes (where I lived my sophomore year) was a safehouse for girls who had to run away from home for whatever reason (probably cause they got knocked up or something). On the first day the dorm was described to us as "a former home for wayward girls...and on weekend nights it still is." so that was petty funny. What's interesting though is that these buildings are all connected with underground tunnels that run through campus, and you'd occasionally here the urban legend ("there are still insane people down there" or "that's where they put the people who died of a contagious terminal illness") or school myth about these tunnels ("a former president had his beer delivered via the underground tunnels!" and "there's still football equipment down there").
Let's talk about Ed Cooley for a minute. He's gotten a ton of praise for getting some fairly big recruits at Providence, but, injuries aside, it hasn't translated into wins yet due to a number of guys having off the court issues. Seems like he's getting a pass for now, but at what point does he get some of the blame for bringing in kids who can't play?
For me I honestly would give it until year five. Some people aren't as patient and think year four, some already think it should've happened. I think that with Ledo you knew what you were getting into, so when Ledo didn't qualify it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. A disappointment sure, but not a surprise. Then you have Kiwi Gardner who never played because of...something. NCAA ruled him ineligible I think. Not sure why, but whatever. Then you have Sidiki Johnson who, again, was a high risk kid and didn't work out but more likely than not because of personal issues he had. Fine, so far I'm still okay with it. Then you get to more recent times with Brandon Austin and Rodney Bullock. Here's the thing about that: I've heard so many different rumors and been told so many different stories that I can't even form an honest opinion on the matter because I have no clue what to believe. You've got everything from treachery to conspiracy and, quite frankly, there's so much BS out there that I don't know if I can blame Cooley for what happened or not. He promised to clean up this program. He's done a great job for the most part, and I think there's work to do. I know there's work to do. There's evidence of that all over the place, and that's why I'm willing to let these incidents slide in my perspective of him and this program. That said I've kind of reached my limit here. Individually you can find a way to excuse every one, but compounded you just get a pile of issues. I don't think it outweighs the good he's done for the program because there's been far more good on and off the court, but it can't be a constant trade off. The bad needs to lessen while the good continues to grow. At some point something's got to give with these incidents. I don't know what, but I know that I'm not going to be patient forever.
All that said though I recognize how difficult externally and internally Providence College can be when it comes to recruiting and just generally running a program. Cooley has a fantastic grasp on that, so now I just want to see that pay off.
Which team wins the Super Bowl and why?
Patriots because I said so.
If you walk into a bar on a Saturday night with some of your buddies, what drink are you ordering?
Depends on if the Friars played that afternoon or not. If it's a casual Saturday maybe some sort of craft IPA on draft. If the Friars did play I'm more likely than not assaulting the whiskey bottle.
Final score prediction?
Georgetown 72, Providence 66.
