Georgetown's Greg Whittington Out for the Season

[swoopem]

The House of Thompson finds ways to win.

Not in the tournament where he is actually pretty terrible. Since he took over in 2004 he's made the tournament 6 times. He made the Final Four in 06/07 but that was with Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert who were players that he inherited.

Other than that he's been to the tourney 5 times and hasn't even made the second weekend. If I were a G'town fan I'd be pretty pissed about that and if it weren't for his old man he might have been fired by now.

Also, personally, I don't care about regular season success if it turns into an early trip home come March.

[Dawson Rental]

Even if G'town returned Otto Porter I'd feel we're the best team in this league, which is sweet.

Boy, I can't agree with you there.

[wadesworld]

Not in the tournament where he is actually pretty terrible. Since he took over in 2004 he's made the tournament 6 times. He made the Final Four in 06/07 but that was with Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert who were players that he inherited.

Other than that he's been to the tourney 5 times and hasn't even made the second weekend. If I were a G'town fan I'd be pretty pissed about that and if it weren't for his old man he might have been fired by now.

Also, personally, I don't care about regular season success if it turns into an early trip home come March.

Huh, for some reason I feel like I've heard this story in Marquette's basketball history.  Can't exactly put my finger on when or who the coach is, though...

[wadesworld]

I feel like we've joined the A-10.  I hate that we're the best team in this thing.  And yes I know Creighton returns Doug McDermott.

Yeah, I hate that the Big East became tainted in the last two years of the league.  Up until that point, it was the best basketball conference in the history of college basketball.  But with Marquette winning the Big East in the final year of the old Big East, it has become on par with the A-10.  And having taken 2nd the year before, it was like we were the Pac-12 that year.  What a bummer.

[hoyasincebirth]

Georgetown will be fine. We're still a tournament team and go from being the favorite to win the BE to being second to you guys. And yes we've struggled in the tournament as of late, but regular season success counts too. I'm quiet happy with our 3 BE regular season titles thank you very much and our Big East Tournament title.

I expect Josh Smith to play second semester no matter what. With smith, Starks, D'Vauntes-Smith Rivera, Jabril Trawick, and Nate Lubick as well as a number of top 100 recruits coming off the bench we'll be more than fine.

Georgetown has cleared house with Assistants and brought in new blood that I think will pay dividends in recruiting and on the court. It only takes one deep post season run to erase the last 5 years of post season frustration.

There are Georgetown fans who are upset with Thompson's results, but I can't imagine a better a coach we could get to lead us.

[keefe]

There are Georgetown fans who are upset with Thompson's results, but I can't imagine a better a coach we could get to lead us.

It's Georgetown! It's Georgetown!

[WarriorFan]

I look at it differently, instead of having to regularly play a few in conference "losers" because of a too large conference, MU now gets to schedule the right teams each year.  This can be for recruiting purposes, TV exposure, and to build the RPI.  Overall, it's a better situation than being in a conference that's not focused on hoops.

[Silkk the Shaka]

It's not just who you play, it's who you beat. The one NCAA team they beat all year was a 14 seed.
Memphis only beat one RPI top 50 team prior to the tournament.
I can pretty much guarantee you that Marquette will never go undefeated in conference without beating more than one top 50 team.

It's called arguing for argument's sake. Dude's a pro.

[ChicosBailBonds]

If MU goes 30-4, they will be higher than a #6 seed. I'd bet my house.

We agree.  My point was more if we go 15-3 in conference and a 3 seed apparently awaits us ("nearly every year"), I'm not so sure.  I said maybe...and for that the feathers are ruffled.  LOL

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

We agree.  My point was more if we go 15-3 in conference and a 3 seed apparently awaits us ("nearly every year"), I'm not so sure.  I said maybe...and for that the feathers are ruffled.  LOL

Well, people can be sensitive/defensive about the new conference, and, imho, Chico's 2.0 (since your hiatus) often plays devil's advocate because that role has been ingrained. Everybody says "A", Chico's says: "It might be 'B'", and we are off to the races with some sort of debate that devolves quickly into a dick joke, a bunch of weird comics from a Colonel, and then something about TC.

For this specific topic:
If MU wins enough games, they will get a high seed. Period. We don't need to get much more technical than that (at this point).

[Clam Crowder]

Villanova is still gonna be pretty good, Providence is definitely better than anyone is giving them credit for, Xavier missed its first tournament in a long while last year and we have a FRESHMAN PG or D-errick Wilsn with no O. I understand the optimism. I think our frontcourt is the best, I think we have 2 of the best players. I think we have the best recruiting class, but our backcourt has question marks at the 1 and the 2. I have faith this team will be very good but I dk if I am ready to declare us the best in this conference given the unknowns.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Yeah, I hate that the Big East became tainted in the last two years of the league.  Up until that point, it was the best basketball conference in the history of college basketball.  But with Marquette winning the Big East in the final year of the old Big East, it has become on par with the A-10.  And having taken 2nd the year before, it was like we were the Pac-12 that year.  What a bummer.

...uuummmmm no.

[Golden Avalanche]

Georgetown will be fine. We're still a tournament team and go from being the favorite to win the BE to being second to you guys. And yes we've struggled in the tournament as of late, but regular season success counts too. I'm quiet happy with our 3 BE regular season titles thank you very much and our Big East Tournament title.

I expect Josh Smith to play second semester no matter what. With smith, Starks, D'Vauntes-Smith Rivera, Jabril Trawick, and Nate Lubick as well as a number of top 100 recruits coming off the bench we'll be more than fine.

Georgetown has cleared house with Assistants and brought in new blood that I think will pay dividends in recruiting and on the court. It only takes one deep post season run to erase the last 5 years of post season frustration.

There are Georgetown fans who are upset with Thompson's results, but I can't imagine a better a coach we could get to lead us.

Do you, and the Hoya base as a whole, have high expectations for Smith? I've never seen the potential so many talk about and was always put off by his temperament (or lack-thereof) and ill discipline in Westwood. Course, change of scenery has done many a player well in the past.

I stand with those who feel GTown underwhelms in late March but you can't deny that JTIII has rebuilt the winning culture that Esh did such a good job of tearing down. What Thompson did in the middle of January to not only salvage the season but to excel and win a title was most impressive.

[hoyasincebirth]

Do you, and the Hoya base as a whole, have high expectations for Smith? I've never seen the potential so many talk about and was always put off by his temperament (or lack-thereof) and ill discipline in Westwood. Course, change of scenery has done many a player well in the past.

I stand with those who feel GTown underwhelms in late March but you can't deny that JTIII has rebuilt the winning culture that Esh did such a good job of tearing down. What Thompson did in the middle of January to not only salvage the season but to excel and win a title was most impressive.

I do have high expectations. His problem has always been conditioning and from reports he's already improved in that area. The potential is there: He was a 5 star recruit averaged 11pts 6 rebounds as a freshman at UCLA including 17pts and 13 rebounds @ Kansas, 15 pts vs #18 BYU, 17 pts vs #10 Arizona, 14 pts vs. Michigan St in the NCAA tournament, and 16 points vs. Florida in the NCAA tournament among 15 other double digit performances as a freshman, and 16 double digit performances as a sophomore including a career high 24pts against Washington. So it's not like he's never produced at the college level.

[Golden Avalanche]

I do have high expectations. His problem has always been conditioning and from reports he's already improved in that area. The potential is there: He was a 5 star recruit averaged 11pts 6 rebounds as a freshman at UCLA including 17pts and 13 rebounds @ Kansas, 15 pts vs #18 BYU, 17 pts vs #10 Arizona, 14 pts vs. Michigan St in the NCAA tournament, and 16 points vs. Florida in the NCAA tournament among 15 other double digit performances as a freshman, and 16 double digit performances as a sophomore including a career high 24pts against Washington. So it's not like he's never produced at the college level.

I didn't mean to imply he was all bust and gust of wind. I know Smith has had good performances that are evened out quite a bit with subpar performances prior to his departure. I just don't see Smith as that great of a weapon. He'll be a space eater and the Hoya system will allow him to cover up his flaws but he's got eight and seven written all over him in my eyes. A poor man's Kentrell Gransberry.

[hoyasincebirth]

I didn't mean to imply he was all bust and gust of wind. I know Smith has had good performances that are evened out quite a bit with subpar performances prior to his departure. I just don't see Smith as that great of a weapon. He'll be a space eater and the Hoya system will allow him to cover up his flaws but he's got eight and seven written all over him in my eyes. A poor man's Kentrell Gransberry.

I'm hoping for more like 13 and 7.

[brewcity77]

Georgetown should still be a tourney team. Butler should be fine. Creighton behind McDermott will be top-25 all year long. St. John's is going to be good. Xavier and Villanova could both be tournament teams.

We're not going to have a litany of 1s and 2s come Selection Sunday, but I do feel we could have 2-3 teams among the top 4 seed lines and this is a year we could get 6 in the Dance. I feel 4-5 is more likely, but this conference is going to be strong from day one. And Marquette could very well be a 1-seed if they go 16-2 in conference. This league will garner enough respect that anywhere in the 28-30 win range will have them on the top two seed lines.

And as far as Josh Smith...the only way I see him going for 13 and 7 is if we're counting his averages on Big Macs and Large Fries per McDonald's trip.

[hoyasincebirth]

Jon Rothstein ‏@jonrothstein 1h
JT3 on Josh Smith "People have forgotten him because of him. He's going to be one of the best big men in the country next year."

[brewcity77]

Jon Rothstein ‏@jonrothstein 1h
JT3 on Josh Smith "People have forgotten him because of him. He's going to be one of the best big men in the country next year."

The first part is just as important as the second. Smith was forgotten because he was lazy and overate. If he can overcome that, he could become a great big man, but so far he's shown more tendency toward dodging potential than achieving it.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This is not good news for our conference. This season will determine if we are a legitimate Big Six (Big Seven?) conference or just a rehash of the A10. Greg Whittington was Otto Porter lite and could have helped keep Georgetown in the top 15. This probably knocks them out of the top 25...but definitely still a tournament team

[Golden Avalanche]

This is not good news for our conference. This season will determine if we are a legitimate Big Six (Big Seven?) conference or just a rehash of the A10. Greg Whittington was Otto Porter lite and could have helped keep Georgetown in the top 15. This probably knocks them out of the top 25...but definitely still a tournament team

It was six months ago that Georgetown was headed for a nose dive when Whittington was suspended. All they did then was win the conference title.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It was six months ago that Georgetown was headed for a nose dive when Whittington was suspended. All they did then was win the conference title.

This is true. I have no doubt that Georgetown will still be in the running to win the conference this year. But the difference between this year and last year is significant. Georgetown got better after Whittington left because Porter no longer had to compete for the ball and they went to a traditionally sized offense rather than trying to start 4 players who were 6"8 or taller. They'll have a harder time this year replacing his production.