Laura's Prominent Play

Tonight it begins for the Hoyas … the journey to a first Big East title since 2007.  It won’t be easy but it starts with the team that all Hoya fans should have rooted for last night:  the Doug McDermott-less Creighton.  (Where is Doug now?)  This is the team that the Hoyas handled easily in the regular season, twice, at home and in Omaha (“somewhere in middle America”, Counting Crows).  So far the script is being written in the Hoyas’ favor, as they had struggled to put away DePaul on both occasions, the team that Creighton put away easily last night, 78-63, to advance to face the Hoyas.

The Hoyas should be playing loose.  Ending the season on a high note on Senior Day, with the emotional boost of Tyler Adams, who will be there as always on the sideline as trusted coach tonight, and a victory without their “star”, DSR, the Hoyas should not play with the weight of the world on their shoulders.  I say that only because when the Hoyas play loose and with confidence, they can ball with the best in the land.  This is the team that one commentator suggested could mess with Kentucky in the Big Dance.  The team that many say could surprise in the ultimate tournament.

However, we Hoya fans know not to buy into any of that.  There is one thing that this team has to buy into, and that is to beat Creighton at the Garden tonight.  There is no looking to the semifinals of the BIG EAST, or to Selection Sunday.  It’s all about beating Creighton for a third time this season and doing it with confidence, without errors, while making free throws and having fun in the process.

This is my theory after watching this team go down in the post-season too many times in the past 8 years:  From the perspective of a fan who has missed very few home games over the past decade/the JTIII Era and has watched nearly every away game on TV (if not in person), the Hoyas must play loose, think less and have fun.  A very simple formula and easy for me to say, right?  This team is led by a cerebral man, a Princeton grad who is by all objective signs serious, kind, low key, right?  A great leader and builder of men.  However, there are times when I feel these teams are sometimes too deep in thought (cerebral), too serious and often feeling that Weight of Being a Hoya.  Sticking to the topic of basketball only, that is, there is a very significant past and the highest standard that I am certain these players feel they must uphold.  Add to that a group of Georgetown student-athletes and all the seriousness that goes with that, Jesuit values, men and women for others etc!  So much to handle!  However, it really is about the Here & Now, the 2015 BIG EAST Tournament, a team of individuals working on a  dream. (Springsteen) The team of course should draw from tradition but sometimes it seems that the great Tradition of Georgetown Basketball can drag guys down.  I think the last time I remember seeing a Hoya team, with great talent of course, living in the moment, having fun and playing off the charts was the 2007 team–and look what happened.  We went all the way to Atlanta!  They played loose, didn’t think too much and had a lot of fun.  Yes, smiles are more abundant in victory than in defeat but there was a magic in 2006 and 2007 that I think this current team can experience by following these

3 Simple Principles:  Play Loose, Think Less and Have Fun!

All the preparation has been done.  They have played Creighton twice and disposed of them easily, 76-61 at Verizon Center on January 3rd, and 67-40 in Omaha on January 31st.  Tonight won’t be as easy.  The stakes are higher.  However, I’m a believer in these  Veterans and the Freshmen.  Play your game, Hoyas, and then move on.

LPP

Final Tribute to the Seniors:

TYLER ADAMS Georgetown 2015 (on left)

Tyler, I am sorry that we were unable to see you play after your diagnosis of arrhythmia as a freshman, but am oh so pleased that your heart issue was timely discovered so that you may live a full and productive life.

We already know that you would make an exceptional coach, because you have been coaching from the sidelines ever since you were forced to sit out.  At the same time, if your Georgetown education sends you in another direction, we know you will succeed at that as well.  No doubt your coaches and teammates will be touched as will the entire Verizon Center when you start today’s game in uniform after all of this time.  I already view that as the highlight of the game and whatever occurs afterwards is icing on the cake. (A victory would be nice as well)

I hope you enjoy it as much as we will, as we will always wonder what could have been, but that is useless when health is at issue and you have long ago moved on from the hoops dream– as a player.

How beautiful that Coach JTIII surprised you and your teammates after practice Thursday when he started by telling you that he didn’t believe in the standard tradition of starting seniors in their final home game. Then, as reported by The Washington Post, Coach JTIII paused and turned to you. “But we’re going to make an exception for Tyler,” … You’re starting.”  According to the report and not surprisingly, your teammates were thrilled for you and supportive of the decision, including Josh Smith, who will give you his starting spot.

While you have been sidelined for almost your entire Georgetown career by this heart condition, after only 4 games into your freshman season, you have made an impact that many would not know unless they are an insider or avid reader of the sports columns and Hoya blogs.  Thanks to Georgetown and the oft beleaguered NCAA for allowing you to remain a part of this team on a medical hardship waiver. Georgetown took a further recent step of obtaining an NCAA waiver for you to appear in today’s game against Seton Hall, apparently a process that Coach Thompson began 16 months ago.

As Coach stated, “Coming in, he was going to be the next Georgetown center. … It hurt him. It hurt us. But he’s someone that has not pouted. He’s someone that has found a way to help this team, to make his teammates better in a totally different way than what any of us envisioned. We just wanted to give him a chance to get back out there.”

We love you for many reasons, not the least of which was coming to the Hilltop instead of Duke.  It seems that your decision has worked out well for you, aside from the unfortunate health condition, you have been a significant assistant coach and cheerleader for your teammates and friends.  We are grateful that you decided to stay at Georgetown when many schools would have cleared you to play for them.

For your leadership, exceptional attitude, your significance to this team for 4 years through today against Seton Hall and into the post-season, we thank you for being a Hoya.  #H4L #TylerAdams #GreatSpirit #NothingWillStopHim

Enjoy your start, take a three point shot!

LPP

The 4th of 5 Senior Tributes by LPP before Senior Day starting Saturday at 11:40 belongs to Hoya stalwart, Ironman, Philly Tough Jabril Trawick.  His reputation precedes him, and I’m not sure how much more there is to say about him but this blogger will try.

JABRIL TRAWICK GEORGETOWN 2015:

When I think of Jabril, the above  image comes to mind.  Remember when the Eastern Michigan football team tried and had difficulty breaking through a brick wall with sledgehammers to open their 2014 season?  Well, Jabril Trawick, you could have done so singlehandedly, without a sledgehammer, just with a ball and a drive to the basket.  It is said that John Thompson Jr. stated that you are the only played on this year’s team that is tough enough to have played on his great championship and 3 Final Four teams in the 1980s.  That just about says it all.  No surprise you list Allen Iverson as your favorite player and the 76ers as your team (www.guhoyas.com).  They could use your help right now!

Your senior leadership and your ability to do it all, handle the ball, shoot it, dish it off, rebound, play D and steal it, earns you my nickname Ja-Bril of All Trades.  Need someone to score the first nine points of a critical game (last week at Butler), Call Jabril.  Need someone to make a late-game decision to drive and dish off the ball to a hungry freshman ready to make his mark (Isaac Copeland) for a victory, Call Jabril.  Need someone to scrap on the ground for a loose ball and call a timeout to save the game, Call Jabril.  Need someone to knock down 3s even when he isn’t technically the long range shooter on the team, Call Jabril.

Since you stepped foot on the Hilltop with the class that included the long gone Otto Porter (to the Wizards) and Greg Whittington (where did he go?), players with a ton of talent, you have been the Ironman for the Hoyas and even suffered a broken jaw in the process last season against Providence.

Arriving at the Hilltop from Abington Friends in Philly, you were named First Team All-State as a senior and were a McDonald’s All-American nominee.   In your freshman campaign (2011-12), you made an impact immediately, appearing in all 33 games and averaging Averaged 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game.  You shot 40% from the field and hit 78% of your free throws.  You stepped it up in your sophomore season (2012-13), appearing in all 32 games and starting the final 20 games of the season.  You  became a key cog for your team, averaging 5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals and played 26.6 mpg.  You scored in double figures five times, consistently pulled down boards and handed out assists.  You scored 14 points against Western Carolina and grabbed 8 boards in the win over Louisville.

Last season, as a junior (2013-14), you stepped up your game, appearing in 28 and starting 21 of them, having missed times five games after breaking your jaw against Providence.  You finished the season averaging 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and shot 52% from the field, 31.3% from the arc and 70% from the free throw line.  A big game player whose Game continued to grow, you scored in double figures 11 times and scored 16 points, (6-of-7 from the field), with three rebounds against Big 12 competition Kansas State, scored 16 points, with six rebounds, at Marquette and had 15 points and seven rebounds in a win over The “Doug McDermott Creighton”.

What more to say about how important your leadership, grit and determination is to this team?  A player who keeps improving when others may falter, never puts his head down and has the heart and body language of a champion.  You are second this season in minutes per game to only DSR (27 mpg to DSR’s 34 mpg), second in field goal percentage (50%) to only big man Josh Smith (64%), shooting a team best 42% from the arc, your talent, judgment and determination on the court will lead you to greatness in your chosen field, whether that’s pro hoops, politics (Senator Trawick from the great state of Pennsylvania?) or whatever you decide after graduation from Georgetown.

In the meantime, there is a lot of hoops left to play, and if anyone has anything to say about the Hoyas chances after today–another must win game–in the BET or NCAA tournaments, that would be senior leader Jabril.  Thank you for the great 4 years.  You and the team have suffered some disappointments but there is much more hoops to play!  In any case, you have carved a place in Hoya hoops history and more importantly, in the hears of fans, alumni, students.  #Ironman #Ja-BrilofAllTrades #H4L #BeatSetonHall

LPP

The third Senior Tribute, to the Human Highlight Reel, exceptional athlete and Hoya versatile forward, Aaron Bowen, technically a Fifth Year Senior and part of this significant tribute.  A player who unfortunately started his career injured, Aaron has bounced back to become a very important part of this Hoya team, so important, I suggest, that if the Hoyas advance in the BET and NCAA, Aaron will be a critical part of it.

AARON BOWEN:  GEORGETOWN 2015

Mr. Bowen, Fifth Year Senior, what were you studying this year?  Whatever it was, it has also improved your hoops game.  Starting last season I noticed a Hoya alum and female  fan who started yelling in the initial minutes of each game, “Put in Bowen, Aaron Bowen, AB!”  This fan had very good insight as each time you step on the court you demonstrate why you are so valuable to this team.

Some fans get excited  by the promise of the freshmen.  Sure, I see the promise and they dazzle at times. But no current Hoya, Mr. Bowen, dazzles as you do on the hardwood.  Your former teammate and accomplished point guard, Markel Starks, understood your talent when he said, after the January 26, 2013 Louisville game, in which your heroics upset the Cards, ”I tell l him all the time that he’s probably one of the most athletic people on this planet, and when the shot went up, he just came out of nowhere. … And he just, I don’t know, he just … it was unbelievable.”  Coach JTIII may have rolled his eyes when Markel said that but I drink from that very same Kool Aid as Markel.

You arrived on the Hilltop in the 2010-11 season from Jacksonville, FL.  You stated that you chose Georgetown for the the education and basketball program.  Is everyone expected to say that?  🙂   After attending Wolfson High School, where you averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 57% from the floor, you played a year of prep ball at QEA in North Carolina and helped lead them to a national title, averaging 17.5 points, six rebounds and four assists.  So we knew you could score!  Then you arrived on the Hilltop only to experience an injury early in your freshman year (2010-11) so we could only guess about your true talent until you appeared in 14 games in your sophomore season (2011-12), averaging 3.8 minutes per game and then we still knew so little about your ability.

Finally, in your Junior season (2012-13), you appeared in 24 games off the bench, doubling your minutes from the prior season, averaging 7.0 minutes per game.  What you will be remembered for that season was your spectacular acrobatic game-winner against Louisville in which the entire packed Verizon Center took note of your talent in one two-point score, your only points of the game.  Then, while the entire team floundered against the Team We Would So Like to Forget, FGCU (call it what you will) in the first round of the NCAA tournament, you tied your career high with 8 points and had 5 rebounds against Florida Gulf Coast when everyone else on your team looked flustered and ready to pack their bags and study for their next Theology exam.

Last season (2013-14), we saw you in all 33 games. You started showing us your stuff, your Special Bowen Sauce, and yet I felt I saw something that your coaching staff did not see.  You finished the season averaging 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in very few game minutes, and scored in double figures four times, including 11 points and five rebounds in a win at Butler and 13 points against Villanova with 10 points in the final NIT game against Florida State. I looked forward to seeing much more of you this season when you decided to return for your “fifth year”, that lost season.

I’m a fan first and also a critic and I am disappointed not to see more playing time for you.  However, when you are called on by your Coach, you go out there and get the job done, whether it’s to stop the opposing team’s finest player, to grab boards or to get to the hoop for much needed points.  Your high arching shot amazes me as it seems to fall in more often than not, though quite unorthodox coming from a player your height.  Whether you start or are a sixth man (or 7th), you are a spark plug on the court.  You energize this team similarly to one Pat Ewing Jr. did for the 2006-07 Final Four team when he was the best Sixth Man in the league if not the nation.  And you have a greater ability to score.

We know you can score and you also have a great shooting percentage, 55% from the field for the year and 35% from the 3-point line.  You scored 22 in the win against Indiana at the Garden earlier this season, another quality team.  Highlights:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otGqoXSxwMM

And remember that female fan I mentioned earlier who starts loudly cheering early in the game, “Put in Bowen, Aaron Bowen, AB!” Admission:  that fan is me.

LPP

(The second LPP Tribute during Senior Week, to Mikael Hopkins)

This is the face I’ll remember most.  The determined, focused player, serious, no nonsense, with work to do every game.  This season, when needed, you have come through.  And you have been needed a lot, mostly on the defensive end and as star shot blocker but also to contribute points when your team was struggling.  And we’ll forget that one outing at the free throw line.  Who doesn’t have a bad game at the line?  (The only one who doesn’t on this year’s team is DSR.)

There is nothing more I enjoy than watching you swat shots away.  It’s the hallmark of any Hoya successful big and fearless leader.  Out of legendary DeMatha where you led your team to championships.  What would you be doing at Big Man U if you weren’t blocking shots and pulling down boards (6 rpg).  And you do both aplenty.  In fact, a team leading 47 times blocks so far this season.

Some get on you for lack of offense.  I couldn’t do that.  It isn’t your primary role and yet you have come through many times on offense, and have a nice hook that I’d love to see more.   Sure, I’d rather see you dunk–that’s more exciting.  But when you can get as close to the hoop as you can, at your height and with your skill, why not knock it down, or dish it off.

It’s been such a pleasure following your career growth, it’s tough to believe Saturday will be the last day.  You have earned the start.  Sometimes these upstart freshmen move in because they are improving and will start next season and deserve the time, but it isn’t until you are in the game that I feel that the Hoyas have the team on the court that will win.  And you have won, especially this year, sitting at 19-9, with the hope and expectation that you will win #20 on Saturday against longtime rival Seton Hall then take your game into the post-season, first at the Garden in the BET then wherever fate will have it in the NCAA tournament.  This is your and your teammates chance to script a different ending to the season.

I recall your sophomore year outing at the Garden when you played one of your finest games against Syracuse in the BIG EAST Tournament, with 15 points and 8 rebounds.  It may not have been a victory but this year it could be, against Villanova, St. John’s or Providence.  Go grab it!

I believe that you will go out strong and with pride this senior campaign deep into the post-season, and continue those stat lines, 6-10 points, 10-14 boards, a few blocks, assists and steals.  The versatile and athletic big man who makes free throws when they count.

You will be missed, but we Hoya fans will follow you as deep into March as you’d like to lead your team, and Beyond.  Whatever you do in life, from hoops to non-hoops dreams, you will be formidable.  We expect more thrills, no doubt about it.  Thanks for four great years. You are and will be an #H4L #BeatSetonHall, #WinTheBigEast, #HoyaMadness! 

LPP