Hoops Banquet: A Tribute to the Seniors, in Poems

A Tribute to the Seniors

Georgetown Men's Basketball Banquet - April 30, 2015

Joshua Smith:

When we first met Joshua Smith

It was November 2012, the date was the twentieth

Back then, he was on the wrong team, playing for UCLA

After looking up at the scoreboard that night in Brooklyn, he said "I gotta get away"

And so, after several months of living in Cali and manning the post

Big Joshua got on a plane and headed for the better coast

Once he came to the Hilltop, he was an immediate force down low

Even during practice sessions, he was pushing Nate Lubick around like he was his little bro

Day after day, the big man worked his butt off to stay in shape

Until the fall of 2013, when he regained his eligibility and was asked to put on his cape

Unlike his days out west, he managed to get up and down the court with relative ease

And when he was isolated under the basket, every Hoya fan in America was saying, "dunk it please"

Because of some issues with his grades, he wasn't on the court all the time, much to the staff's dismay

And even though academics come first at Georgetown, let's be honest, we all just wanted to see the big fella play

So with one final year to go, Big Josh put in the work and emerged from his shell

How many of you actually knew that his middle name was LaTrell?

In his senior year, he averaged over ten points and five boards per game

At times, he was such a force down low that he even received a casual nickname

He would constantly bully his way to the basket and knock little defenders to the ground

He would gracefully dunk over smaller players, without even making a sound

Of course, he would rarely get the benefit of whistles, much to his astonishment,

But that's alright, because in our book, he'll forever be the Joshington Monument

He came to the Hilltop as a young man from Washington State; watching him play has been such a joya

In just a few weeks, he will graduate as a Georgetown Hoya

Tyler Adams:

Tyler Adams came to the Hilltop hoping to become the next great Hoya big man

And for the first few months, many of us thought "Yup, he really can"

Unfortunately, a heart condition derailed him for quite awhile

But through it all, Tyler kept his spirit, never giving up hope, never losing that smile

He loved his teammates and his teammates loved him

Even if his chances of playing looked increasingly slim

And so his role at Georgetown changed almost as soon as it began

He became a coach, a manager, a cheerleader and the biggest Hoya fan

At Georgetown games, sitting on that bench, you'd often find no better dresser

Except maybe JTIII himself, at a post-game presser

Tyler's not the type of guy to get down on himself or pout

In fact, he's usually the first guy to hug a teammate, or to get up and shout

On one fine Saturday in March last season, Tyler finally got his first career start

And after four years at Georgetown, it's tough to find a guy who's got more heart

Tyler's dunk against Seton Hall was the singular moment of the season, the best on Senior Day

After years of watching him be the first guy off the bench, there's not a single one among us who wouldn't want him to stay

He came to the Hilltop as a young man from Mississippi; watching him develop has been such a joya

In just a few weeks, he will graduate as a Georgetown Hoya

Aaron Bowen:

Aaron Bowen first came to DC as a skinny shooter from Florida in the Class of 2010

He leaves DC as a grizzled veteran, a guy you can always count on to defend

In his time on the Hilltop, Aaron was a sparkplug, a guy who always brought energy

It was hard for anyone else to slow him down or to try to match his intensity

For years, few could emulate AB's athleticism or hustle

And when things got chippy, including in China, he would never back down from a tussle

In January 2013, his game-winning, acrobatic tip-in against Louisville was a real thing of beauty

And even though it was his only basket of the game, who cares?  He did his duty

Against Indiana, he willed his way to a career-high 22 points

Whenever we needed a player to bring the team back to life, Aaron would never disappoint

AB brought incredible passion and his motor every single night

It was tough to find a guy with more fire, someone who was always ready for a fight

In five years, we've known him as a high-flying wing who's always eager to do battle

He's so athletic and long that some of us think of him as a pterodactyl

For those who have come to know Aaron, you'd agree that it's hard to find a nicer guy

And we all loved watching his earth-shattering dunks; seriously, I think the dude can fly

He came to the Hilltop as a young man from Jacksonville; watching him develop has been such a joya

In just a few weeks, he will graduate as a Georgetown Hoya

Mikael Hopkins:

Mikael came to Georgetown as an athletic wing who really liked to shoot

He leaves Georgetown as a polished and well-rounded big man, for whom we all really liked to root

In the last four years, Mikael played more minutes than any other Hoya; his body often took a pounding

But when it came to playing down low, no one was better at defense or rebounding

He has always been one of the hardest working guys on the team

He always played with a lot of passion; he'd guard and defend with a full head of steam

Against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament, he had one of the best games of his career

He would then be our stalwart in the middle, a guy who would always persevere

Hop was a real defensive presence in the paint

When it came to banging down low, he certainly was no saint

Some people call him The Comrade; under the basket, he was a rock

There was never a finer moment than celebrating one of his infamous communist blocks

He improved his game tremendously every season, in case you didn't know

There's no better example than when he ended the season perfectly, by making each of his last eight free throws

He came to the Hilltop as a young man from Hyattsville; watching him develop has been such a joya

In just a few weeks, he will graduate as a Georgetown Hoya

Jabril Trawick:

Four years ago, as a raw talent from Philly, we wondered how Jabril would fit into JTIII's scheme

Four years later, he's polished his shot, improved his passing, and turned into one of the most complete players on the team

You could always count on Jabril to bring his "A" game every night

And of course you always knew that he would never back down from a fight

He's the tough guy, the one who locks you down and plays hard-nosed defense

And if he happens to elbow you or step on your foot or mess up your hair, you should know that he never, ever repents

When discussing his game, you'd rarely hear opposing coaches use the word "finesse"

But that shouldn't fool you, because he would constantly give these same coaches lots and lots of stress

Against Villanova, he led his Hoyas to a Monday night thrashing we will not soon forget

His step-back three just before the half was never in doubt; it was always going in, no sweat

Off the court, he would rap like Shaq Diesel and often act silly

On the court, he was all business; he was Broad Street Brilly

We always enjoyed when Jabril got that fire in his belly, when his eye displayed that special kind of gleam

It made it pretty clear that, above everything else, Jabril really loved playing for this team

Jabril's a warrior, a guy who fights for his guys and always looks gritty

And even when he looked rough around the edges, who cares?  No one expects bulldogs to be pretty

His dunk against Eastern Washington was an exclamation point to a memorable Georgetown display

It came with a little message: the Hoyas aren't losing in the first round again; maybe not ever, and certainly not today

On Senior Day, Jabril broke down, cried a few tears, and got all emotional

We all got a little teary-eyed too; if asked, we'd say we forgot to take advantage of the latest Chik Fil-A promotional

When I think of Jabril, I'll always remember a bulldog who played tough and wasn't afraid to scream

The best compliment you can give him is that he could have played on Pops's team

He came to the Hilltop as a young man from Philly; watching him develop has been such a joya

In just a few weeks, he will graduate as a Georgetown Hoya