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Your Fighting Hoyas of Georgetown head to the Windy City to take on the DePaul Blue Demons tonight 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 dish on DePaul is @StacDemon of WeAreDepaul.com. Let's do this!
A lot has changed since we last met on New Year's Eve. What's your assessment of the DePaul season to date?
Well, DePaul appeared to be moving in the right direction with back-to-back victories at Butler and vs. St. Johns after losing the first three games of the Big East season. Then they lost two in a row to very good teams in Villanova and Xavier, which was to some degree excusable. Now the wheels may be coming off again, especially in light of leading scorer Cleveland Melvin being suspended, our frosh sensation Billy Garrett Jr. succumbing to an illness and the teams' best defender Charles McKinney out with an ankle injury. All told, the team is on a four-game losing streak and once again, morale is low and a another losing season seems inevitable.
Georgetown has had its share of injuries and suspensions and so has DePaul. What's going on with the Blue Demons and who can the Hoyas expect to face in DePaul's starting lineup tonight?
As previously mentioned, DePaul has been without three starters (Melvin, Garrett Jr. and McKinney) for the last two games and the latest reports had them likely sitting out the Georgetown game as well. Some replacements have stepped up, especially freshman guard R.J. Curington (who had scored all of 10 points prior to the last two games) who has averaged 18.5 points in the last two games. Curington, who comes from the Oak Hill Academy factory, was known as a scorer coming into the program, but he was buried on the bench. With DePaul undermanned, he has been quite the revelation, providing a nice spark and his heroics (22 points) were almost enough to knock off Providence on Saturday. As for the starters, look for Brandon Young, Durrell McDonald and Tommy Hamilton to be definites. Coach Oliver Purnell may then plug in the last two spots with some of the hot hands. Considering how well Curington is playing (who was coming off the bench), he may get the start on Monday and from there he may go big with either Sandi Marcius, Greg Sequele or Forrest Robinson.
What's your take on the new Big East so far? Good things?
I love it. It's all schools with the same mindset and there is competitive balance. While not on the same level with BCS schools, the Big East is as good as it gets from a basketball standpoint. This should be a conference that gets 4-5 schools to the big dance every year.
What is the best movie you have seen in the last year and why?
I'm easily entertained, as I like watching a lot of goofy comedies or crappy horror movies, but I must say I enjoyed seeing "Gravity." It was at the very least visually stunning and definitely made you think.
I noticed in your bio you seem to have an interest in NY-based sports, specifically the Mets and Knicks. Two part question here. First, is there any doubt in your mind that the Knicks would be better off without the putrid stench of Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony? Second, I am a Mets fan as well, are we idiots?
As for Anthony (and I can appreciate your hatred for him given your Hoya fandom), he is the ONLY offense the Knicks have and they would be crippled without him. They have to assess if he really wants to stay or not (he can opt out at the end of the year). If they think they have no shot of re-signing him, they should trade him and blow up the team and start from scratch. That said, they do play in the rotten Eastern Conference where mediocrity is rewarded. So a shot at the playoffs, and heck a No. 4 seed (winning the abysmal Atlantic Division) is well within reach. BTW, fans of Knicks everywhere appreciate the gift that was Patrick Ewing, so there's that, right?
As for the Mets, well there's hope. Sure, that's what we say every year, right? However, I think there is some merit to that hope. While the loss of Matt Harvey stings for the short term, things could be set in motion for a major breakthrough in 2015. When you have Harvey and the other promising hurlers we have in Zach Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard (top 10 prospect in the minors) along with some great back-end pitching (Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and eventually another solid minor-league arm in Raphael Montero) things could be bright in a few years. We have been waiting this long, what's a few more years?
Let's say you and I are hanging out at a bar. What's your drink order?
I consider myself low-maintenance when it comes to drinking, so any beer will do. If I feel like spending the bucks though, I do like myself Red Bull and vodkas. Gin and tonics will do as well.
What is your solution to get the DePaul program back on track and into the NCAA Tournament?
It all starts with recruiting, especially in Chicago, and DePaul is starting to do a little better job of securing better recruits. They got Cliff Alexander (top 10 recruit) to take a long, hard look, but he did what we all expected and picked a blue-chip program in Kansas. But tackling Chicago and getting players who fit into Purnell's (who most of our fans don't have faith in) system is paramount. The allure of a new arena, set to open in 2016, will certainly help.
Final score prediction?
Prior to these suspensions, injuries and illnesses combined with Georgetown's recent slide had some of us hopeful for a DePaul upset. But now that it appears DePaul will still be undermanned and with Georgetown reversing course and beating Michigan State on Saturday, I'm not so optimistic. With the Hoyas traveling on short rest, I can see DePaul sticking around for a while, but in the end the Hoyas will outlast the Demons and win 72-61.
