It’s been almost eight months, but Georgetown’s men’s basketball team is finally getting an opportunity to move on. When the Hoyas tip off at Tulane on Friday, last season’s disappointing 16-15 campaign can finally be relegated to the past.
All the Hoyas are eager to begin the new season, but one player has reason to be particularly excited about travelling to face the Green Wave. Sophomore center Greg Monroe, who is from New Orleans, will receive a homecoming of sorts.
“I’m definitely going to be excited to go home, definitely looking forward to that,” Monroe said. “But you know once the ball’s tossed up, it’s going to be game time. It’s going to be time to focus. It’s going to be a chance to get our first win.”
Friday night in New Orleans will offer a chance for the Hoyas to show fans and critics how far they have come. With seven returning players, the team’s added experience should be a catalyst for change.
“It definitely feels a lot different,” Monroe said of being a sophomore. “This year things are going to be a lot better for me coming in knowing what’s going on.”
Despite his inexperience, Monroe was a centerpiece for Georgetown last season. The key on Friday will be whether his supporting cast can take on a larger role. At least one of his teammates is ready to rise to the challenge.
“I think I feel more confident coming in this year,” sophomore guard Jason Clark said. “Last year I wasn’t very confident. I didn’t know what to expect. Now I know what to expect, I know where I need to be at.”
Clark, who was one of the first Hoyas off the bench last season, will have to assume a larger role in Georgetown’s backcourt rotation. He’s a potential candidate to assume one of the two vacant spots in the starting lineup.
Hoya fans likely won’t know who the new starting five will be until Friday night. Speaking last week, head coach John Thompson III remained coy about his lineup.
“It’ll probably be Greg [Monroe], Chris [Wright], Austin [Freeman], and a couple other guys,” Thompson said.
Those three are unquestionably the focal points of this Hoya squad. Against Tulane, though, the spotlight will likely be placed on Wright, as he must match up with the Green Wave’s best player, senior point guard Kevin Sims.
Sims is the kind of leader that Wright aspires to be this season. Although he is only 5-foot-10, the guard is not limited by his diminutive stature, leading Tulane in both scoring and assists last season. Sims was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.
In addition to Sims, the Green Wave return two other starters and nine letterwinners total from a team that went 14-17 last season. In a preseason media poll, Tulane was picked to finish eighth out of twelve teams in Conference USA.
While the Green Wave are not of the same caliber as the Big East foes Georgetown will face later this season, it would not be wise for the Hoyas to sleep on their first opponent, especially since they are playing on the road.
Thompson said that even after weeks of practice, his team would need all the time it had to get ready for Tulane. But he also expects his squad to show the Green Wave that this is a different team from last year.
“The energy, the chemistry, the feel is different every year,” Thompson said. “This group is working very hard, and it’s definitely noticeable.”
Their coach may have already noticed, but the public will finally be able to see the product of the Hoyas’ hard work Friday night.
Let’s Go Hoyas, Let’s Goooooo!!!