Wake up campers! The oh nine-aught ten championship run starts tonight! Your beloved Hoyas begin with a trip to New Orleans-Greg Monroe‘s homeland-to face the mighty Tulane Green Wave. No TV for this one, but you can catch on the radio it at 9 pm EST, 8 pm CST, with 60 minutes following the game, except on the West coast.
The Green Wave already opened its season earlier this week exhibition-style, mustering what Syracuse couldn’t (!!!) by besting an inferior cross-town foe. Tulane returns three starters from a team that finished 14-17 overall and 7-9 in-conference. This alone is an impressive achievement for fifth-year head coach Dave Dickerson, given the state of the program post-Katrina.
For the unfamiliar, Tulane has contributed a respectable number of NBA players over the years, including one-time semi-star John “Hot Rod” Williams, whose peak can be measured to exactly 1989 by his amazing flattop-moustache combination and the fact that he didn’t automatically get some dopey nickname like “J-will.” The Hot Rod’s time at Tulane ended with an unfortunate (ahem) splash when he and several teammates were accused of participating in a point-shaving/cocaine-distribution/recruit-payment scheme, which set some sort of unofficial record for NCAA rules violated. Hot Rod was eventually acquitted, but others involved pled guilty. The story broke in April 1985, a particularly sad time for Hoyas fans as well — check out the SI cover from that week.
As for this year’s edition, the Green Wave is (are?) predicted to finish in the middle of the Conference USA pack, making them an interesting first opponent for the Blue and Gray. From the scouting reports and the early returns, Tulane will be led by the guard tandem of 6’5″ junior Kris Richard and 5’10″ senior Kevin Sims, each of whom packs a long-range scoring punch. In the opener, Richard dropped 27, including all 5 of his shots from three-point range, while Sims chipped in 17. The starting line-up will be rounded out by Aaron Holmes, a 6’5″ junior transfer, David Booker, a 6’7″ junior, and Asim McQueen, a 6’7″ senior. Bird-McHale-Parish they are not — no front-court player scored more than seven points or logged more than twenty minutes in the opener. Still, beware the deep ball when Tulane is on offense, and don’t be surprised to see a tightly packed zone when Georgetown has the ball, in an effort to negate Georgetown’s size advantage.
The Hoyas will face both a road opener and an anxious fan base brimming with questions. What of the sort-of frosh Hollis Thompson–has his early arrival on campus prepared him for serious contributions on the wing? Will junior guard Austin Freeman bounce back from a difficult sophomore season? Can junior point Chris Wright live up to his talent and take leadership over a relatively inexperienced bunch? Have Henry Sims and Julian Vauhgn become capable flanks to returning Big East Rookie of the Year Monroe, a.k.a. Moose Juice? Does Jason Clark really have an his eleventy-foot wing span? Have last year’s all-too-obvious chemistry issues been resolved? Was last year’s collapse an aberration? Was 2007′s Final Four run? Is the truth somewhere in between?
Georgetown’s biggest advantage should be inside. Tulane has just two players taller than 6’7″, and those two combined for nine minutes against Loyola. Still, Georgetown at times has played a bit small over the past few years. JTIII was reportedly a tad salty when asked this preseason about the Hoyas’ boxing-out drills, but for any fan who has witnessed Georgetown-Pitt game in the last few years, seeing is believing when it comes to rebounding.
On the wings, the Hoyas’ experience should cancel out Tulane’s strengths there. Clark will get an early chance to prove his mettle as a lock-down defender, and Wright and Freeman’s offensive prowess should keep Tulane busy on the other end of the floor. Keep an eye (or an ear) out for a renewed three-point stroke from Freeman, improved contributions from Clark, and a first glimpse at Hollis.
Prediction: The tea leaves show us strong openers from Monroe, Wright, and Freeman, occasional brilliance from Clark and Sims, and hints from Hollis, mixed with long stretches of working out the kinks. The Hoyas pull off a sometimes sloppy, sometimes encouraging victory, 74-60.
Links: Check out other previews of tonight’s game:
We’ll follow up with a recap over the weekend, and belated player previews over the coming weeks.
Until then, Go Hoyas!
