NEW-LOOK HOYAS

What do you get when you combine deliberate with tenacious? The answer can be found in the nation’s capital where John Thompson III and new-look Georgetown have quietly positioned themselves for an NCAA birth, something the Hoya faithful haven’t seen since 2001.

Georgetown, which enters Wednesday’s game at Notre Dame alone in third place in the Big East (8-3, 16-6), has done it with an approach that is not all that common to power conference basketball.

Thompson has implemented a hybrid of the Princeton style offense, which he learned under Pete Carril. Variations of Carril’s offense are commonplace at the mid-major level, where the system works because less talented players buy into it. But this is the Big East.

Perhaps the timing is right. Georgetown hasn’t enjoyed much success in recent years, which tends to lend itself to being open to a new style of play. And when you win, the kids keep buying. It also helps to have a guy like Jeff Green.

The key to the Princeton style is having an active big man in the high post. You need someone who can make the back cut passes. But Green is a lot more than just a nice passer. The 6-foot-8 freshman, who should be a lock for Big East rookie of the year, is a multi-talented player who can score. Opposing defenses can’t sag off to protect against the cuts or Green will go to town.

Like Thompson’s teams at Princeton, the Hoyas are doing a great job of controlling tempo and creating easy opportunities. So many teams live and die with perimeter shooting, but the Hoyas don’t have to rip the twine from long range to be successful.

Thompson, the system and Green might be the pre-game lead-ins, but there is much more to this story. Darrell Owens, a three-year starter, has excelled in his new role, coming off the bench. Brandon Bowman, who might be the most underrated player in the Big East, has provided some offensive punch. 7-footer Roy Hibbert continues to improve. Shooting guard Ashanti Cook is an explosive scorer and point guard Jonathan Wallace, who was ticketed for Princeton, does a real nice job of running the offense.

Along with the supporting cast, what a lot of people overlook with the Hoyas is their ability to defend, something Thompson learned very well from his father. What often hurts teams, which run a Princeton style offense, is the inability to overcome deficits. Such is not the case with the Hoyas who will press you in the full court and play hard in the halfcourt. This team is keyed by its’ great defense.

Because of the Big East Conference’s three-tier system, which was designed to get the best-projected teams on television more, the Hoyas haven’t gotten a lot of national television time. In many respects this team is still a great unknown. But that shouldn’t detract from the job that Thompson has done, bringing along this group so quickly.

With five games remaining, Georgetown should have little difficulty hitting the 10-win mark in conference, which should be more than enough to punch a ticket to the dance. It’s all about matchups in March so it’s difficult to project, but the Hoyas could be a potential sleeper.

They key will be a continued patience on the offensive end. This is still a young group, but the combination of deliberate offense and tenacious defense could prove difficult for opponents in March. Regardless, Thompson should be, hands down, the Big East Coach of the Year.


ON THE MOVE?

Unfortunately bubble-talk isn’t the only thing that begins to swirl around at this time of year. Soon roll call will begin and the names of coaches on the hot seat will be thrown about. Since I wouldn’t like the idea of people speculating about my future, I won’t dive into the mud pit. There are already too many people slopping around anyway. But it’s as certain as me not being invited to a Siena booster party that there will be coaching changes. So here are five guys who I can’t believe have not already gotten big-time jobs.

Brad Brownell (UNC-Wilmington): This is just his third season at UNCW, but it’s been a pretty impressive run to date. Brownell already has an NCAA tournament appearance to his credit and a second postseason bid should be in the cards (at worst NIT). Last season he guided a young and inexperienced team to a 15-15 mark. Sure he’s relatively new on the job, but it’s pretty clear that Brownell can coach. He is more than just a little deserving of a shot at the big-time.

Don Harnum (Rider): There hasn’t been a so-called “down-year” at Rider under Harnum. In each of his eight seasons the Broncs have been among the top four or five in the MAAC. He’s averaged ten conference wins a season and has won 122 and counting. That’s more than just a little impressive for a program that most people don’t know the location of (that would be New Jersey).

Bob Marlin (Sam Houston): This story has been told more than once on CI, but it’s worth a quick summary again. Inheriting a program that had not finished higher than sixth in the league and posted only two double digit victory seasons in more than a decade, Marlin directed Sam Houston to a 22-7 record in 2000, a 16-13 mark in 2001, a 14-14 slate in 2002, a 23-7 record in 2003, and a 13-15 record in 2004. Another winning season is all but guaranteed. A two-time Southland Coach of the Year, Marlin was also the National Coach of the Year in 1993, after leading Pensacola to the JUCO National Championship.

Gregg Marshall (Winthrop): It’s mind-boggling why Marshall is still in the Big South. In seven-plus seasons he has taken his program to four NCAA tournaments. He has averaged 20 wins a season. Think about that. 20 wins a season. He has already hit the 20-win mark this season and another NCAA berth, although not certain, seems pretty likely. All that’s really nice, but here is the clincher. His record at Winthrop is 135-69. The guy is 66 games above .500 and he is still in the Big South. No disrespect to the league, but Marshall should be coaching elsewhere.

Bruce Pearl (Wisconsin-Milwaukee): The Panthers are one win away from clinching a second straight Horizon League regular season title. In four-plus seasons Pearl has racked up nearly 80 wins, including a school-record 24 in 2003. A third straight postseason bid is a lock (NCAA in 2003, NIT in 2004) and that’s all on the heels of an incredible run at Southern Indiana. In nine seasons he won 231 games and nobody in the history of the game ever reached the 200-win plateau, at one school, quicker than Pearl. In those nine seasons he went to nine Division II tournaments and posted nine 20-win seasons. What more does a guy have to do?


BULLISH

Fans in Western New York want to know why Buffalo isn’t ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25. It’s a valid question. The Bulls won their third straight on Tuesday, improving to 16-7 and 9-6 in the highly competitive Mid-American Conference.

Last season Reggie Witherspoon’s club cracked the Top 25 for the first time ever. With a strong group of returning players, Buffalo began the season at No. 18. Just as they did last season, the Bulls hit a little mid-season lull, but they have picked it up lately. In fact, along with Miami, Buffalo might be playing the best basketball of anyone in the league.

Senior Turner Battle is a dynamic guard who should be a lock for first-team All-MAC. The backcourt duo of Battle and Calvin Cage will make the Bulls a tough team to deal with in the MAC tourney. And remember the name Yassin Idbihi. The 6-foot-10 sophomore from Morocco is loaded with talent.


CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

CI’s Matt Drake touched on this a few weeks ago, but it’s worth updating. With the Red Sox and Patriots reigning World Champions, life for the Boston sports fan has been pretty good and that includes college basketball.

Heading into Wednesday’s action, Boston College, Boston University, Holy Cross and Northeastern are a combined 72-19. If you had UMass to the equation you still have a pretty impressive 85-28 mark.