Casual Hoya

Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims Drafted?

2012-05-17T14:13:43Z

Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims Drafted?

The latest Draft Express Mock Draft has both former Hoyas being selected in the 2nd round.

Hump Day Open Thread: Jeff Green to Graduate, Roy Hibbert Beats LeBron James, Where The Hell is Devonta Pollard and Here Comes Laurie Fine!

2012-05-16T13:58:41Z

Welcome to yet another Casual Wednesday here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON. Lots to discuss today so let's get right to it.

Laurie Fine is the face of Syracuse Basketball via cache.deadspin.com

Former Hoya Jeff Green will graduate on Saturday.
Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat to tie the series at 1-1 heading back to Indy.
Devonta Pollard remains unsigned.
Laurie Fine is holding a press conference this morning where she reportedly will announce she is suing ESPN for libel. Awesome.
I still can't believe Donald Trump fired Aubrey O'Day in The Celebrity Apprentice

"I know I want this more than anyone else. I have been working for this since Day 1. I am going...

2012-05-15T19:46:06Z

"I know I want this more than anyone else. I have been working for this since Day 1. I am going to do whatever a team needs me to do, on and off the court. I will bring everything I have every day to make myself and my team better."

NBA Draft Blog Interview with Hollis Thompson

Report: Kentucky to Play Georgetown at the Verizon Center

2012-05-14T13:44:58Z

Andy Katz is reporting that Kentucky and Georgetown are likely to meet this upcoming season as part of the Big East-SEC Challenge. He states:

The Big East still has to decide if 14 schools will participate in the Big East-SEC Challenge instead of 12. Based on conversations with multiple sources, the highest-profile game that could occur is Kentucky at Georgetown. I wouldn't be surprised to see Louisville at Florida, Marquette at Missouri, and Tennessee at Notre Dame. But those last four appear to be more speculation at this point. The most likely matchup is UK-GU.

After the San Diego State / Midway Carrier debacle, I am hesitant to get too excited about a supposed game. Georgetown gets last dibs on prime Verizon Center spots after the Wizards, Capitals, and Jonas Brothers. But since there is nothing else to write about, I shall indeed throw caution to the wind and pretend like this game has been etched in stone.

This is huge news on many levels:

We finally got the marquee OOC home game we were lacking last year.
This year's schedule is shaping up to be a doozy, in typical JT3 style. We have a confirmed matchup against Texas in the Jimmy V Classic, as well as games against two teams from Legends Classic host squad which includes Indiana, UCLA, and Georgia.
The last time we played the defending national champion was this past season when we whupped Connecticut 58-44. Just sayin'.
The last time we played against a John Calipari led team we won (Memphis in '08-'09).
Some business about some player named Nerlens Noel.
There will be a pie-throwing booth seated by our best friend Pete Thamel at halftime (working out the details).

For those out-of-town casualties, make plans to head back to DC for this one because there are rumors out there that Kentucky travels well... And if the game doesn't happen, I am sure we can all get seats together for Pokemon on Ice, or whatever the hell got preference over Georgetown.

Poll

Who would you like to see dunk on Nerlens Noel?

Casual Friday Open Thread!

2012-05-11T13:27:52Z

Cheers to the Freakin' Weekend!

Come on in! via www.dylanratigan.com

To recap what has been an oddly busy mid-May week here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON:

We vanquished Pete Thamel, Georgetown signed Bradley Hayes, Louisville wants out of the Big East, Stephen Domingo's final four includes Georgetown, and another underwhelming champion was crowned on The Voice.

So what's on your mind today? Big weekend plans? Movie or dining recommendations? Any new additions to the Middle Finger Project? Tiger Woods struggling once again? Your thoughts on how awful "Natitude" is? Perhaps you'd like to lament about what the hell is taking Devonta Pollard so long to make a college decision?

We're here for you.

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich told the Big East board of directors that the Cardinals...

2012-05-10T21:07:16Z

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich told the Big East board of directors that the Cardinals want to be in the Big 12 or the ACC, opting for transparency by making members aware of his school's true intentions.

Report: Louisville wants out of the Big East

Class of 2012 Center Bradley Hayes Commits to Georgetown

2012-05-09T18:39:56Z

Class of 2012 center Bradley Hayes (Jacksonville, FL) has signed a letter of intent to join the Georgetown Hoyas. The 6'10" Hayes, who visted campus just last week, became a priority for the Georgetown staff after Nerlens Noel got a bad haircut in April.

Welcome to Georgetown. via sports.cbsimg.net

According to a report from Adam Zagoria, Hayes toured the Verizon Center during his visit and "really connected with Coach [John] Thompson [III] and the entire staff. My teammates made me feel that I was really a part of the Hoya family. And the real work starts now."

More after The Jump:

Though Hayes is relatively raw, he has a high ceiling, and under the tutelage of Georgetown's staff he will have all the tools necessary to develop into an excellent big man.

"The kid can run like a deer, has soft hands and has finally embraced his size and gifts," Todd Washington, a Hayes family friend and founder of the Puerto Rico Playmakers, told SNY.tv. "He didn't always take basketball seriously but he is focused and prepared."

"He has a chance to be a pro," Antwan Tennell, Hayes' AAU coach with the Dwight Howard Warriors, told SNY.tv. "He actually grew seven inches in like five months a year and a half ago. He has finally caught up to his size. He moves like a guard. He runs the floor rim-to-rim."

Hayes joins 6'3" combo guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and 6'10" power forward Brandon Bolden in Georgetown's Class of 2012 recruiting class.

Kudos to JT3 and the staff and welcome Bradley Hayes to the Georgetown family.

Hoya Saxa.

A "Fair and Balanced" Look from the Syracuse Perspective: Pete Thamel on the NCAA's Inquiry Into Nerlens Noel's Recruitment

2012-05-09T13:46:05Z

Remember that time that investigative reporting used to report the results of thorough and unbiased investigations? Yeah, me neither. Take the works of one Pete Thamel, a national college sports reporter for The New York Times and a graduate of Syracuse University. It seems that Thamel is incapable of publishing anything that can ever be deemed fair and balanced.

In March 2012, Thamel penned a piece on the top basketball recruit in the Class of 2012, Nerlens Noel. At the time Noel was deciding between attending Syracuse, Kentucky, Georgetown, North Carolina, and Connecticut. In this 4,500+ word composition, Thamel suggested improprieties surrounding the recruitment of Noel. The piece was extensive and covered all corners. He wrote about how Providence College hired Chris Driscoll, a "handler" that was close to Noel as an assistant coach. He linked Kentucky coach John Calipari to a "low-level agent" vying for Noel's professional business. He even revealed Noel's favorite snack: Cheez-Its; EGAD! Yet when it came to one name, Errol Randolph, Thamel failed to go beyond describing the man as just "an unassigned teacher" at Noel's high school. Odd.

More after The Jump:

Two months later, after Noel had announced his decision to attend The University of Kentucky, Thamel published another piece. Thamel spoke of supposed NCAA inquiries surrounding the recruitment of Noel. He again went into depth about Chris Driscoll, the former Providence assistant coach that had known Noel in high school. This time, however, Thamel decided to dedicate a few more words to Errol Randolph. In the first article, Randolph was just an "unassigned teacher," whatever the hell that means. Now Randolph was linked to a "sports agency run by the prominent basketball agent Andy Miller." That's it; nothing more on Randolph, who in a matter of months went from an ambiguously-defined teacher to supposed sports runner. Again, odd.

Thamel spent so much time researching the backgrounds of the people surrounding Noel in his first piece, how could he overlook Randolph's affiliations? I mean, the national college sports reporter for The New York Times revealed all possible improprieties surrounding Noel's recruitment, how could he forget a mere Internet search of an "unassigned teacher?"

Here's why: Errol Randolph is a Syracuse fan. That person formerly described as merely an "unassigned teacher" and later a possible affiliate of a major sports agency lists Syracuse University, one of the final suitors for Nerlens Noel, as his one and only favorite sports team.

So what I take from this is that Pete Thamel, a national college sports reporter for The New York Times, is either incompetent or biased in his reporting. He is either incapable of writing a complete story or unwilling to draw more negative attention to his alma matter. Either way, he casts a very large doubt over the impartiality of everything he writes.