It’s been a long time since so many questions surrounded opening day for the Georgetown Hoyas. But that’s the situation now with less than a week left before the Monday night opener against Jacksonville on November 17th. The Hoyas will probably finish somewhere between 3rd and 13th in the 16-team Big East Conference – that is about as much certainty as you can find before the games actually begin, which fortunately is right around the corner.

The Hoyas have an interesting blend of young relatively inexperienced players (from Greg Monroe to Chris Wright), young experienced players (like Austin Freeman) and Final Four tested upperclassmen (DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp). Even with all of the uncertainty, here are five things you can bank on – even in this economy.

John Thompson III is a good coach.

That’s so important with a group of players that has only three major contributors from a year ago. Over the past few seasons, the core group of players had been working together for years, which gave Coach an excellent safety net. Now, through graduation, transfers, and new arrivals, there is little on-the-court comfort level. This issue is a concern, but not a problem. Coach Thompson has always been able to make sure that the players all thoroughly understand and can execute within the system. If the Hoyas struggle this season, it won’t be because of poor team chemistry.

Every game is important.

Two years ago when Old Dominion beat Georgetown in November, it was an annoying but insignificant loss by tournament time. This year is different. If the Hoyas are a bubble team when the end of February arrives, they’ll need as many wins as possible, which means that no opponent can be taken for granted. There are a number of tricky teams on the Hoyas non-conference schedule: Drexel, Wichita State, and American for example. Teams that are looking for identity often slip up against cohesive teams early in the season. The Hoyas need to avoid those slip ups.

The Big East is a monster.

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino suggested that the Big East could earn 10 NCAA Tournament spots. I’m not one to argue with Coach Pitino, but that would be a ton. If the Big East gets 10 bids, you’ll see Georgetown in the big dance; if not, the Hoyas need to stay above .500 in conference. We’ll look more closely into the Hoyas’ conference schedule in a month or so, but the Hoyas have a tough start to conference play with a road game against UCONN followed by a home game vs. Pittsburgh and another road game at Notre Dame. Georgetown will have to come up with some quality conference wins early.

Things come in bunches.

There are a lot of risks with a young team, but there is a big upside too. If the Hoyas can start the season strong, then you can expect confidence to soar. The same momentum flow can have the opposite effect if the Hoyas struggle out of the gate. A great test for Georgetown will be in Orlando during Thanksgiving. The Old Spice Classic is a tournament with 8 solid teams and everybody gets three games, win or lose. If the Hoyas can run the table in Orlando it can be a spring board. There are very few meaningful November games in college basketball; for this particular Hoya team, these are three.

There will be a mystery bright spot.

Some player on the Hoyas will blossom and become a real hero for the Hoyas. It might be a freshman, it might be a veteran. The point is that for sure there will be one Hoya who rises above his teammates in terms of impact on the court. This player might not end up being the team MVP, but it will be somebody who breaks out and shows the competitiveness and leadership to lead his team forward. To find out who it is, stay tuned.