Qasual Questions: Media Roundup Part Two

We last visited with these fine gentlemen who cover the Hoyas just as the Hoyas were set to begin Big East play.  Seven conference games later, we're back for more.  If you aren't yet following these guys on twitter, do it and do it now.

The QQs:

How has this past weekend altered your expectations for the Hoyas moving forward?

First LJ Peak, then Paul White, and now Isaac Copeland.  Which of these freshmen has impressed you the most this season?

To court-storm or not to court-storm, that is the question. What's your take?

Prediction time: What will Georgetown's seed be in the NCAA Tournament and why?

What is your go-to order at a diner?

Michael Bohlin, @Hoyas247:

1) How has this past weekend altered your expectations for the Hoyas moving forward?

Not one bit. I had a pretty optimistic outlook on the Hoyas chances within the Big East this year during the initial round of questioning and avenging the loss to Butler in Atlantis followed by a convincing win over the No. 4 team in the country has kept me from having to pray that Georgetown wins out for my 15-3 prediction to be correct. We'll see how far off of that number the Blue and Gray finish this season but I think the Hoyas have proven that they're capable of handling this best that this conference has to offer.

2) First LJ Peak, then Paul White, and now Isaac Copeland. Which of these freshmen has impressed you the most this season?

Is it wrong for me to say they are who I thought they were? Coming out of high school all three were considered to be top-65 players in the, sorry for the shameless plug, 247Sports Composite rankings and, to this point, each has filled the role I figured they would as freshmen. Peak is seemingly able to get to the rim at will while Copeland and White have provided athleticism and skill to the front court as both are capable of playing either the 3 or the 4.

If I was forced to pick one of the three, I would go with Paul White. From seeing the way he was used in high school and on the EYBL circuit you knew that he would be able to come in and make an impact right away against a zone defense with his ability to dribble, pass and shoot. As we've seen this season, White is much more than a player that can be effective against a zone as a freshman.

3) To court-storm or not to court-storm, that is the question. What's your take?

A lot more has been made of this than I anticipated as I clutched my laptop on Monday night while students ran past security and onto the floor after Georgetown beat Villanova. On one hand, the students showed up early, were loud throughout the game and the unranked Hoyas had just knocked off a top-five opponent to move into first place in the Big East standings. On the other hand, it was a mid-January game that the Blue and Gray won by 20 points against a program that you, now, hold a 43-31 advantage over all-time.

The only reason to be against it, in my opinion, is because it could potentially put the players and students in harms way as I don't take much stock in the argument that it is giving Villanova too much credit. The next time these two teams meet I can guarantee you that Villanova will be motivated much more by the 20-point drubbing they took than the fact that the students rushed the court at the end of the game.

Verdict: Storm the court - Outside of the people who made it onto the floor remembering it for a lifetime, this will be forgotten about sooner rather than later.

4) Prediction time: What will Georgetown's seed be in the NCAA Tournament and why?

I will go ahead and say a 4 seed in the East Regional.

Now that I've taken the time to check and see where Lunardi had the Hoyas in his last update this past Monday, a 7 seed in the East Regional, it seems pretty clear that Georgetown is set to jump up at least one line after beating Villanova. As long as the Hoyas finish in the top two of the conference there is little reason to believe that they can't land somewhere on the 4 or 5 line.

5) What is your go-to order at a diner?

If I am going to a diner then I am more than likely grabbing breakfast. I have always been a fan of the omelette and, more times than not, that is where I will look first. If I can't create my own, which is something you should be able to do anywhere that serves breakfast but that's a different conversation altogether, I normally go with a western omelette with home fries and wheat toast.

Ben Standig, @BenStandig:

) How has this past weekend altered your expectations for the Hoyas moving forward?

Last time you asked us questions came right the Indiana win. That victory positively altered my expectations a smidge. Therefore hard to think clearly after the just concluded thriller and the blowout. However, I'm not changing my tune much, I don't believe. Love some of the pieces. DSR rocks with understated panache. The freshmen are coming on (Isaac Copeland, onions!!!!). Joshua Smith is staying on the court in more ways than one. Overall team defense looks tight. That said, still not sure they win away from the Verizon Center against good teams that play zone or when opponent doesn't want to run. Had them going 12-6 in the Big East. Sticking with that for now.

2) First LJ Peak, then Paul White, and now Isaac Copeland. Which of these freshmen has impressed you the most this season?

Don't forget Tre Campbell! Honestly, all. Love how Peak can get to the rim, free throw line whenever he wants. Paul "The Natural" White looked like he belonged from the start. Kind of surprised Campbell's minutes have dipped since his strong outing vs. Creighton. But Copeland might, might be the new x-factor. Can shoot from all over, rebounder, better athlete than White and obviously received injection of ice water into veins at some point. I'll let recency bias kick and go Copeland.

3) To court-storm or not to court-storm, that is the question. What's your take?

If I say no then people accuse me of being an old man. Look, it's just not my thing. Rutgers fans want to do this after beating Wisconsin, go for it. You're Rutgers. Georgetown, nah, especially when this team probably gets ranked next week. You know who liked that court storm? Villanova fans. Why? Made them feel superior. You know it did even with 1985 on their side. Ultimately, this is more about where society is headed. We're in a selfie/social media/look-at-me era. Back to the old man thing. When I hear that term in general, it infers at one point you were cool with "X" and then you got old and now say suck it losers. The thing is fans were rather judicious with court storms back in the day. Like JT3, once today's kids saw others do it on TV, they wanted in. Have at it, but stay the %@#! away from me and my laptop if you do.

4) Prediction time: What will Georgetown's seed be in the NCAA Tournament and why?

Ugh, no idea. The interest in the brackets in November, December and January drives me crazy. We see all the time how teams improve or sink in the seed game over the last week or two before NCAA Tourney time. That said, I'll go 6th seed. Doesn't look like non-conference slate will help much.

5) What is your go-to order at a diner?

Daytime when I'm feeling fat: Egg white omelet with veggies. Daytime when I don't care: Corned Beef on rye. 2 am: All the eggs, all the pancakes. Hung over: Some sort of burger, stat!

Bobby Bancroft, @BobbyBancroft:

1) How has this past weekend altered your expectations for the Hoyas moving forward?

My expectations have changed after this weekend but I still think my 12-6 record is about right. Does that make sense? They are still going to drop some games because the conference is really good but in my opinion their ceiling is now higher with the emergence of Copeland.

For the first time in awhile JT3 has a lot of pieces to work and while he's still tinkering with lineups and substitution patterns, it seems to be moving in a positive direction. Before the first game of the season he told the media that he felt that this group would be very good at some point. Even if we see another Providence like clunker somewhere along the way, I think he's right.

I promise it comes up next on the schedule but I think the trip to Marquette will say a lot about where this team is right now. Historically Milwaukee has been a house of horrors for the Hoyas and the first time through the Golden Eagles really bothered Georgetown with their different zone. Let's see how much they have grown since Jan. 6.

2) First LJ Peak, then Paul White, and now Isaac Copeland. Which of these freshmen has impressed you the most this season?

Hey let's not forget that Tre Campbell also had his hero game just a few weeks ago against Creighton! In fact Campbell and now Copeland (2x) are the only freshman to have podium games due to the "first semester no talk" rule.

OK, but back to the original question, I think White is still the most impressive freshman because he seemed the most well rounded from day one. Now that being said, it's hard to ignore Copeland right now. If you take out the Butler game in the Bahamas it's almost like he is a mid season transfer that just became eligible so I can't vault him past White just yet but that might change in a few weeks.

3) To court-storm or not to court-storm, that is the question. What's your take?

First of all, I thought the students did a great job the past two games. I'm never afraid to tweet out when they don't show up so I need to put that out there. I was most impressed with the group behind the Villanova basket. What they did on free throws in the second half was well choreographed stuff.

Now that being said, it didn't feel like a court-storm game to me. I think the only other two times its happened were appropriate - No. 1 Duke in 2006 (the precise moment that the program was back) and against Syracuse in 2013 (Bye Felicia).

Beating No. 4 Villanova by 20 in January doesn't seem to warrant a court storming if you really think about it but see that's the thing. The kids that ran on the court weren't thinking about anything other than wanting to be part of a moment that they have seen on ESPN a million times growing up. And guess what? It made Sportscenter and whatever the show on Fox Sports 1 is called. We live in a highlight world whether its players only wanted to dunk and shoot 3-pointers or fans wanting to storm the court. I say who cares, have fun.

On a personal note I'm just glad I noticed it coming this time. Back in 2013 I almost lost my laptop to the court storming Gods as Ben Standig and I were nearly washed away in a sea of Grey. (I may or may not have screamed as a WWF style steel chair landed on my foot and then students ran over said chair.) This time I realized what was about to happen with a minute or so left and suggested to Patrick Stevens that we evacuate the area before getting trampled. It worked. Oh and just to be clear, I could hear students arguing about whether they should storm the court or not so it wasn't a unanimous decision. And by arguing I of course mean screaming at each other.

4) Prediction time: What will Georgetown's seed be in the NCAA Tournament and why?

I swear we keep getting these Qasual Questions when I'm the most optimistic as the first batch came after the Indiana win. I would have said an 8 seed before the Villanova game but now I like them as a 4 seed.

Why? Well JT3 is doing a lot of the things that I think this team needs to do in order to be successful. He's not playing Hopkins and Smith together much more than the first 3 or so minutes of the game and we finally got a look at what Copeland and White can do on the court at the same time. I'm starting to get misty eyed thinking of Otto and Greg 2.0 and what might be. It's almost like he saved some stuff for last night.

Also, Jabril is playing incredible basketball. He's the heart and soul of this team and he's playing smart. During the current 3 game winning streak he's committed just 2 fouls in 88 minutes. In the first 15 games he committed at least three fouls 12 times, limiting his time on the court in some instances - particularly in the Bahamas against Wisconsin and Butler.

5) What is your go-to order at a diner?

This isn't something I do a lot but I'm going with some sort of an omelette and bacon. Yeah, hash browns too. Great it's 1am and now I'm hungry.