Guess what? Due to a setback at Providence on New Year’s Eve, Greg McDermott’s Bluejays are facing the prospects of starting Big East Conference play 0-2. The Jays try to steal a road split Saturday in Washington, D.C., when Creighton takes on No. 25 Georgetown.
To learn more about the Hoyas, we caught up with the Casual Hoya.
White & Blue Review: First, your thoughts on the white roadies the Hoyas wore at Cintas Center on New Year’s Eve?
Casual Hoya: Burn them with hot fire. I’m not sure why Georgetown likes these white uniforms, but if it were up to the fans we’d stick to our traditional grays at home and probably replace the navy blues with the dark gray/blacks that we wore against Indiana at MSG. Happy New Year, by the way.
WBR: No such thing as moral victories, sure, but how tantalizing were those close losses to Wisconsin and Kansas in the non-con?
CH: You know how you can go to strip club and there’s a really good-looking girl, you make some solid conversation, mutually fall in love, and then find out that the place only has table dances and not lap dances? That was the Wisconsin and Kansas games.
WBR: How has Josh Smith done so far this season?
CH: Pretty good. My answer would have contained a more ringing endorsement of the big fella prior to the Xavier game, but all in all he’s been everything we really could have hoped for. He’s a player opposing teams have to scheme for, has put out more of an effort on the floor this season, and is probably the most effective post player in the Big East. Having an inside presence like The Joshington Monument opens up lanes for the Georgetown offense and provides more open looks on the perimeter.
WBR: Speaking of big men, who is your favorite Hoya post player of all time? Why?
CH: I grew up in New Jersey and was a Knicks fan, so Ewing will always hold this spot in my cold, dark heart. The Final Four run in 2006-07 with Roy Hibbert in the middle was special, and he’s been a player that easy to root for. Four year player, loves Georgetown, dedicated to improving his game, and most important, a fun follow on twitter and instagram.
WBR: Who should Casual Jays Fan look out for on Saturday?
CH: I think the Hoyas are going to try to get out in transition in this game, so other than D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Josh Smith who all teams will need to plan for, I think the Jays are going to have to watch out for freshman L.J Peak and senior Aaron Bowen. Both are versatile wings that love the open floor and will attack the rim. I also see freshman forward Paul White, Georgetown’s Mr. Everything, having a bounceback game after a poor showing against the Musketeers.
WBR: You a fan of John Thompson III? Do you think he should go by a nickname or something, instead of riding his dad’s last name coattails?
CH: In the words of Marlo on The Wire, ‘My Name is My Name!’ and JT3 (which I suppose is his nickname) is a chip off the old Thompson block. Though it’s clear he got the gig due to his Thompson roots, he was more than qualified for the job at the time of his hire, and, in my opinion, is one of the better coaches and developers of talent in the Conference. Some disagree, however, and all you need to do is peruse the comments of this Xavier postgame recap to see the kinds of things we deal with after nearly every loss.
WBR: What’s Georgetown’s ceiling this year?
CH: Unlike Hoyas teams in recent years, this team is very talented and very deep. The Hoyas will use a 9-man rotation and have a legit 8 guys that can score double figures in any given game. Four of them (Peak, White, Isaac Copeland and Tre Campbell) are freshmen, so we’ll see how far this team can go with so much youth. I think this team is going to be a plucky 6 or 7 seed come March, and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen would be a reasonable expectation.
WBR: Score prediction for Saturday?
CH: I think (read: hope) the Hoyas come out angry after that New Year’s Eve crapfest. Call it, Hoyas 72 – Jays 61.
