Congratulations to Jeff Green on being named to the NBA Rookie First Team. I still think that Jeff would’ve been better off playing at Georgetown this past season, but that ship has sailed. Anyway, according to the most knowledgeable people in the league, Jeff was one of the Top 5 first year players. That’s great for him, and even better for Georgetown University - maybe.

The Golden Age of Georgetown Hoyas in the NBA is over. This was the period when for nearly two straight decades there was at least one Hoya in every NBA All-Star game. The time when Floyd, Ewing, Wingate, R. Williams, Mutombo, Mourning, Reid, Harrington, J. Williams, and Iverson were all big time players who either were the best in the league, made NBA playoff history, or established themselves as the best role players in the business. It was a wonderful time to be a Hoya fan, and although A.I. and Mutombo are still making an impact in the league, they are both a little past their prime. Enter Jeff Green.

Green had a nice rookie season. Does that mean he will have a long and successful NBA career? No. He probably will, but one season doesn’t mean very much in terms of career status. But, if Jeff continues to improve and develop, which he will, then he could be a trailblazer (not the Portland kind) for Hoyas in the NBA.

Many years ago, Patrick Ewing was the prize jewel of the NBA Draft - so much so that the league invented the draft lottery so that teams wouldn’t want to have the worst record in the league. Ewing’s success helped his Hoya brothers when they got to the NBA. I’m not saying that David Wingate or Reggie Williams owe everything to Patrick, but certainly when your big brother is the best in the business, people are willing to give you benefit of the doubt. Of course, it also helped that Patrick used to always work out in the summers with the guys at McDonough.

So, back to Jeff Green. He’s done a good job so far in the NBA. His game is as good as people thought when he was drafted with the #5 pick last spring, and his attitude and professionalism were just as impressive. Green could be laying the foundation for another era of Hoyas in the NBA. There’s really no way that the future Hoyas in the league could equal the individual and collective success of the Hoyas in the league back in the mid to late 1990s, but with names sure to be called on future NBA Draft nights like Hibbert, Freeman, and Monroe, the chances of another major influx of Hoyas in the league are pretty good.