Before last season, Tony warned about expectations diminishing accomplishments. He said, “Expectations are created by fans and media based on what they think a team should accomplish during a season.” Based on this idea, people might say last year’s team “underachieved,” despite the fact that they were the first Georgetown team ever to defend a Big East Regular season title. But, when a team is pinned as a championship-caliber team, anything less can seem disappointing. So, it is important to balance these expectations. One the one hand, one should keep from having too lofty expectations. Otherwise one will always be left unsatisfied. However, one cannot be too complacent about the team’s position, or one runs the risk of settling for mediocrity. With this in mind, what should our expectations for this Georgetown team be?

Looking at this team compared to last year, the Hoyas have lost a lot of pieces. Four seniors graduated, and everyone knows what a great group of players they were. Their leadership, teamwork, and attitude helped lead the Hoyas to success just as much as their ability. Added to this loss, two underclassmen transferred out during the offseason. So, looking at Georgetown from a sheer statistical point of view, the Hoyas have lost 37 points per game, or over 50% of their scoring. Even ignoring the leadership lost, this is a huge hole to fill.

From a positive standpoint, the team does return three starters, who bring with them post-season experience as well as a desire to prove that last year’s NCAA tournament performance was merely an aberration. Also joining this core group are some highly touted freshman, the most prominent being Greg Monroe. He will be given a chance to prove his worth right away, as DaJuan Summers is the only true frontcourt player returning to the Hoyas this year. If he is as good as some expect, Georgetown will have one more name to add to the long list of dominant big men.

So what does it all mean in terms of the Hoyas’ chances this year? As Coach Thompson will tell you, the team and the coaching staff will treat the season one game at a time. However, the fans and the media are permitted to look ahead. Secretly, I am hopelessly optimistic when it comes to the Hoyas and always expect the team to compete for the NCAA crown. However, realistically, I see this season as follows. I expect the team to compete for one of the conference tournament first round byes, which means a top four finish in the Big East. This would make the Hoyas a lock for the NCAA tournament regardless of how well they fare in the Big East Tournament, and I expect the team to make it to the Sweet 16. Honestly, anything better than that, for a team that has lost six players from the previous season, would exceed expectations.