Casual Awards

The Casual Awards - Playa Hatin' vs Creighton

By NYHoya and SwordOfBrunner Jan 5, 2015, 11:22am EST

The Casual Awards – Welcome to 2015! (Spoiler Alert: It’s Much Better than 2014)

While you were drafting long lists of things that you will NEVER do in 2015, and celebrating the elimination of Alabama and Florida State from that despicable money-generating machine also known as college football, we continue to move heaven and earth during this rapidly-approaching awards season to bring you the most important awards of all. In advance of the Hoyas’ first encounter with Coach Wojo, we once again celebrate and vilify all of those most deserving. Away we go….

Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:

Tre Campbell!

For the first time all season, the YOUNG MAN emerged out of his freshman shell to give us the presence at the point that we so desperately needed. In a season-high 26 minutes, Tre poured in a career-high 13 points (on 5 of 7 shooting), including three daggers from deep and only one turnover (on that bizarre walk forty feet from the basket).

For weeks we have all been waiting for Tre to show us a little something, maybe ten points or a three-pointer every once in a while; against Creighton, Tre did more than that. He was the player of the game. With DSR struggling from the floor (only five points) and the Hoyas struggling to put things together on offense, Tre was the biggest star of all. All I wanted for Christmas was a performance like this from the YOUNG MAN. If he can fill in at the point, mix in a little penetration with his perimeter shooting, he’ll add a dimension to this team that has been sorely lacking. Love Tre. And now I’m really excited for the rest of the season.

Toyota Peak Performer Award:

L.J. Peak. Obvi. Not to be outdone by Campbell, Peak played in a game-high 35 minutes and performed admirably. As the lone rock on the floor for the Hoyas, L.J. had a cool 14 points (on 5 of 7 shooting), 4 rebounds and 3 steals. He was everywhere on Saturday. He knocked down a three, slashed his way to the basket with ease, and most importantly, hit all three of his free throws. As the season progresses, Peak continues to demonstrate why he is one of the more indispensable players on our roster.

The Cynical Delusional Award:

Us.

We got blown out by Xavier and looked HORRIBLE in the process. Worst game of the season. But settle down, all you pessimists. It was our first true road game, against a team playing at home on NYE, in a traditionally hostile environment at the Cintas Center. And although Xavier had an up and down non-conference performance, it was still favored to win this game and was projected to finish third in the conference. So really, everybody settle down. Would’ve been nice to win, but we didn’t. Move on. Stop being so cynical.

We crushed Creighton. And Tre Campbell and the rest of our freshmen played really well. DSR only had five points, Mikael had zero and we still won by 15! We’re going to the Final Four! Again, everybody settle down and relax. Creighton, in a rebuilding mode this year, will likely finish towards the bottom of the conference. We were playing at home and we definitely have the better team. A loss would’ve been devastating. A win was expected. Be happy, but now is not the time to be insanely delusional. Had we played Villanova, it would be a different story.

Let’s just stay even-keeled and get ready for Marquette.

The Wreckx-N-Effect Award for Rump Shaking:

Austin Chatman. Despite only connecting on 1 of 8 field goals, Creighton’s star guard went to the line four times against the Hoyas and connected on 6 of 8 free throws. His form from the line was interesting, to say the least. Before each and every free throw, Chatman would contort his body, jiggle his butt and then let the ball fly. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the guy’s ass.

I’ll take "creepy things to say about a 21 year old" for $500, please, Alex.

[SwordOfBrunner note: This is the most uncomfortable I have ever been editing one of these]

The Goose Egg Award for Putting up a Goose Egg:

Mikael Hopkins. In a combined 44 minutes against Xavier and Creighton, Comrade had zero points. Granted, he only took a total of three shots, but he missed all of them. He also missed all three of his free throws. To be fair, when Hop isn’t in foul trouble, he rebounds well and is our best interior defender. And I’m pretty happy that he’s not trying to force his shot; if it’s not there, he doesn’t take it. That said, when Hop and Smith are on the floor at the same time, our offense tends to struggle. Without a guy at the four or five position that can stretch the defense by knocking down perimeter shots, we don’t look so good.

(We can go on and on about this problem, but suffice it to say that we should consider playing Hop and Smith at different times. When either of them is at the top of the key, defenses can cheat away from the perimeter and clog the middle. When both are in the game at the same time, we’re not as fluid in the passing game and our offense has become a bit too predictable.)

The Chiang Kai-shek Award for Best Mildly Racist Taiwanese NFL Pre-Game Video Award:

This:

The Mike Brey Award for Mind-Boggling Fashion Statements Award:

Steve Lavin. I mean, I never expected anyone to dethrone Mike Brey, the most celebrated coach and dresser in Big East history, but Lavin continues to astound. During the Johnnies’ game at Seton Hall, Lavin wore a thin black jump suit (?) (with a light blue border) underneath his blazer. He told Raftery that his outfit was effective at controlling perspiration. While that may be true, the outfit was also effective at making my eyes bleed. For such a suave, well-spoken operator, Lavin could use a few tips from Tim Gunn.

The Steve Lavin Award for Mind-Boggling Fashion Statements Award:

Chris Christie. It’s bad enough that Governor Christie felt the need to schmooze with Jerry Jones in the owner’s box during the Cowboys’ big win over Detroit. But did he need to wear an ORANGE sweater (on top of a collared shirt)?

Why orange? Was he trying to remain color neutral, even though everyone knows he’s a diehard Cowboys fan? He’s already ostracized all of the Giants fans in the Great State of New Jersey. And he has zero chance of stealing Texas from Jeb Bush. Rooting for the Cowboys on national television probably dimmed his chances of picking up Michigan voters. But most importantly, wearing such an offensive orange color has put him in the dog house of every deep-pocketed Hoyas fan in the world.

The Round Mound of Rebound Award:

Joshua Smith. Although he’s still collecting too many fouls, the big fella did a nice job of imposing his will against Creighton. In just 20 minutes, Sir Joshington had a cool 16 points (on 5 of 6 shooting) and connected on 6 of 8 free throws. We could’ve done without those four turnovers, but for the most part, he dominated down low. When he was on the court, our offense ran through him. He’s still the only true center in the conference. FEED THE BEAST.

The Fox Sports 1 Award for Excellence in Basketball Entertainment:

Fox Sports 1.

Look, I know this whole Big East coverage thing is still a work in progress. The production quality is kind of blah, the mobile app is a piece of crap, and some of the announcers are bush league, but I still kind of like the job Fox Sports 1 is doing so far. As much as I hated playing at 10pm on New Year’s Eve and also hated our loss to Xavier, I loved the Big East NYE marathon. I watched most of the games. It was fun. I enjoyed the pre-game interviews, the cartoons of players and coaches, and the in-game look at certain teams. I love how JTIII said before the Xavier game that this is a grown man’s game and a grown man’s conference. I love that Bill Raftery made fun of Steve Lavin’s ridiculous outfit to his face on national television. And I love Bill Raftery and Gus Johnson. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the coverage.

The Ryan Seacrest Award for Impressive New Year’s Eve Resolutions:

Joshua Smith. Prior to our loss to Xavier, Joshua Smith said that his New Year’s resolution was to be on the basketball court in January. I laughed at his self-awareness. And then I realized that we are still a week away from receiving first semester grades. Please let our players be eligible. Please let our players be eligible. OMG, PLEASE LET OUR PLAYERS BE ELIGIBLE.

The Burn Those White Jerseys to the Ground Award:

Please burn those white jerseys. Remove them from our jersey rotation. When I saw us wearing them against Xavier, I almost punched myself in the face. No good can come from those jerseys. None. Give me the grays as often as possible. If you want to throw in the baby blues or the blacks, fine by me. Even an occasional Hoya navy blue is acceptable. But not the whites. Throw them into a dumpster and light it on fire. This is not meant to be a sarcastic award. I’m serious.

The Riddle Me This Award:

Pop quiz, intrepid young Hoya reporters. Your Georgetown University Fighting Bulldogs have now had THREE games in which at least five players have scored in double figures. When was the last time Georgetown had three such performances in one season?

The Patrick Ewing Jr. Award for Amazing Pre-Game Handshakes Award:

Aaron Bowen. We’ve already talked about the patdown of Jabril and the adjusting of Josh Smith’s imaginary tie. They’re both awesome. I also like the new "bird" gesture that AB does with DSR. It’s pretty. It’s like DSR is Jenny from Forrest Gump when she’s hiding from her abusive father. "Dear G-d, make me a bird, so I can fly, fly far, far away from here…."

I like birds.

[SwordOfBrunner note: Jenny is a terrible person and I'm glad she's dead]

The Bull Durham Award for Lollygagging:

Your Georgetown Hoyas. Surprise surprise. Creighton hit four of its first eight threes against us to take an early lead in the first half. Same old storyline for your Fighting Bulldogs, right? Wrong. After JTIII scolded the team for "lollygagging" (it’s true, take a look at the postgame reports), your Hoyas completely shut down Creighton from the perimeter. Finally.

This team has looked fairly impressive on offense, but rarely has it looked like an elite team on defense. The second half of the Creighton game was the first sign of the nasty Georgetown defense that we have come to love over the last few decades. For the game, we held Creighton to 30% shooting. The only reason Creighton stayed in the game is that we kept fouling (they hit 24 of 29 free throws). Our defense finally looked pretty good. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting better.

The Kiddie Pool Award for Shallow and Urine-Soaked Bench Play Award:

Butler narrowly defeated St. John’s on Saturday (the Johnnies were playing without Rysheed Jordan). The two teams combined for zero bench points. That’s impressive.

The Same Old Beast Award:

The Big East conference is going to finish the season with the nation’s second best conference RPI (behind only the Big 12). And that’s the good news. With such strong numbers, the Big East has a legitimate chance of getting six or seven teams into the Tourney.

The bad news is that DePaul had a typically DePaul-like showing early in the season and it finished with an RPI in the mid-200s (for reference, there are only four or five schools from major conferences with RPIs that low). This means that every time we or another Big East squad plays DePaul, it’s equivalent to playing Radford. And this means that as long as DePaul keeps winning in the conference (they’re 2-0!), they will decrease the likelihood that the Big East will receive more bids.

So as much as I like upsets, I don’t really like when DePaul botches things up for the Big East. And yeah, maybe in the long run it will be better for Georgetown, but my affection for our Big East brethren has never been higher and I really want this conference to shine come March. Given non-conference performances, DePaul, Marquette and Creighton have the lowest chances to make the Tourney. I’m fine with those teams losing games. Let’s put seven in the Dance.

The Diabetes Award for Weekend Gluttony:

I went to IHOP and Popeye’s on New Year’s Day because I don’t believe in a low carb lifestyle. A few days later, I enjoyed a gigantic baked egg omelet with cheddar, mushrooms, tomatoes and broccoli and THREE PANCAKES and hash browns at the Original Pancake House. Zero documentation because I don’t know how to use a computer.

Jim Nantz Award for In-Game Commentary:

Here are a few casual nuggets from the last game thread. Upset that your witty posts didn’t make the cut? Write something funny or insightful next time, jerks.

wait, is seton hall actually good?

Casually.

by CasualHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 12:24 PM

Lots of bald coaches in the Big East … hmmm

Hoya Saxa Forever

by hoyaben on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:26 PM

#Feed the Beast

Feed ’ em

by preEwingHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:38 PM

I love watching Brilly get the pat down during introductions.

Not in my house. Not today.

by Peggy's Special on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:40 PM

just found out my wife is reading this thread from the other couch

HI BABE!

by thejerseytornado on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:56 PM

ugh get a room

I unabashedly have a man-crush on John Klingberg

Adrian Beltre HOF Class of 2022

by TexaHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:57 PM

what is she wearing

Casually.

by CasualHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 4:57 PM

ooooo time for the Tre Campbell experience

I unabashedly have a man-crush on John Klingberg

Adrian Beltre HOF Class of 2022

by TexaHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:03 PM

bradley hayes looks like he's so excited to be holding the ball...

…that he just stands still and rubs it for awhile

by jayz66 on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:21 PM

It would be awesome if this is the real Tre

and we now have a point guard

Hoya Saxa Forever

by hoyaben on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:29 PM

When we were down 5 I was all like "we should fire JT3!!1!"

And then Isaac Copeland made that shot and I was like "OK JT3 can stay", but then LJ Peak missed that buzzer beater and I was like "I’m not trying to bash JT3 but he sucks and we should fire him at halftime". Now I’ve had some time to cool down, so I’ll reserve judgment until I see the first possession of the 2nd half.

by Otto's AAU Squad on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:37 PM

just overheard here at bar

‘DePaul is 2-0? What the fuck!’

Casually.

by CasualHoya on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:38 PM

... Did LJ borrow Jason Clark's arms for that layup?

I believed in Nikita Mescheriakov's jump shot.

by SnowpocalypseNow on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:54 PM

this is the game I fall in love with the whole freshman class

by HooahSaxa on Jan 3, 2015 | 5:55 PM

TRE HIT THAT FROM ANACOSTIA

I unabashedly have a man-crush on John Klingberg