Reggie Williams: “In My Opinion We Need To Make a Change.”

Former Hoya greats Reggie Williams and Michael Graham sat down together for Williams’ “Fire and Ice” radio show on the WBGR Network and discussed the current state of the Hoyas program.

Their comments on Georgetown, which begin at the 42 minute mark, are particularly disheartening for any alum of the school and fan of the program. Williams mentioned that he is “not a big JT3 supporter” after his son Riyan, who played for Thompson, was “miserable for four years” and the two shared some interesting information as to how the school treats its former players.

Check it out below:

Listen to the entire dialogue when you have the opportunity, but for those who are not in an audio-friendly environment during the day, here are some excerpts from the exchange where they examine many of the same elements that fans and media have been discussing.

Graham: It's a mess up there right now. It's gonna be hard to fix. [Nobody knows] what's going on and we're not going to know until the time comes when they're read to release whatever they want to say of what they want to do. You know, I feel bad because we helped build that program and John is a great guy—I like him—but I guess sometimes, right now, the recruiting's not as good as it used to be. Because from what I'm hearing—and like I said, it's hearsay—people don't wanna play in that offense.

Williams: That's true. A lot of scouts [are] saying it's a hard system to judge players, judge talent, and it's even hard for me to watch it at times.

Team Management:

Williams: We're not getting that type of players [needed to execute the offense] and in my opinion we need to make a change. We need some fresh air up on that Hilltop.

Graham: I think so too because if you're not winning, and you've been up there for 13-14 years, it might be time for a change. Because it's not working out. My personal opinion is, I figure they could have won more games this season.

Recruiting:

Graham: If you're going to run that offense, you got to get the people that can do it.

Williams: The right personnel. [...] But the [blue chip recruits] don't want to play that offense.

Williams: It's just a bad situation. It's horrible to me. We had chances to get a lot of...the DMV has a lof talent in this area. We missed out on players like Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, Frank Howard. [...] They're coming into this area and pulling players out of here.

The program’s reputation:

Williams: Georgetown is supposed to be the beast of the East, not Villanova. You cannot be the 9th place team in a 10-team league.

Graham: Not only that, if you look at it since they started the New Big East, Villanova has been on top, with six or seven more teams before Georgetown. It can't be that way.

Williams: We're not an elite program. People look at us and laugh while they're whooping our butts.

Current expectations:

Williams: These days, I can't expect anything. I don't even know if we're going to win. I mean, we haven't won in the last two years. It's not Georgetown-like to lose 18 games two years in a row.

Graham: I went to a few games this year but I never wanted to go all the time, because when I watch them they lose and I physically get sick. And my wife always says that's not good. And it wasn't, because that's not what we're known for.

Isolation:

Graham: Sometimes I think they’re running too much of a business...

Williams: Instead of letting it be a team.

Graham: That’s the way they do things. Hell, we never know what goes on because they’re so secretive. Even though we put our blood, sweat and tears in it, they still won’t tell us anything, or what’s going on even if we ask.

Williams: They don’t want us to be involved. They don’t want former players—back in the day former players, the ‘80s and early ‘90s—they don’t want us to be part of it. They kind of push us away.

Riyan Williams:

Williams: He had the best time of his life [at grad school in Delaware]. Four years at Georgetown, he was miserable but he wanted to stay there because of me. I told him, “Don’t stay.” I didn’t want him to go through that. I wanted my son to have a good experience.

Graham: It’s supposed to be the best four years of your life.

Williams: Not to be miserable. Or go to practice and don’t shoot the ball for two weeks. So I’m not a big JTIII supporter. And I just didn’t like it. I don’t like what’s going on up there on the hilltop. I think it can get better, but the people—the higher people—gotta make a decision. I hope they make the right decision.