This is especially true for Hoya NBA fans. I’m pretty sure I come across a little older than I actually am. The more I read my own articles about the days gone by of Hoyas in the NBA, the more I find that I sound like I grew up watching John Thompson play for the Celtics instead of cheering for Patrick and the Knicks. At any rate, I’ve mentioned before my thoughts about Jeff Green being the first step in a long line of future Hoyas in the league, and now on to step two - number 55.

Looks like Roy Hibbert is not going to be a lottery pick. At least that’s the impression you get from looking at many if not all of the mock NBA Drafts that are out there. But don’t expect Hibbert to be a non-factor in the league; expect him to be a force - in a little while. Basically, he’ll probably be a little bit out of his element at the start and gradually develop into a player who commands respect and authority. Sounds a little like his time at Georgetown.

Whoever signs Roy will have a player totally dedicated to hard work and self-improvement. In the NBA now there are fewer post players making an impact. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal are waning, and athleticism and explosiveness are taking their place. Hibbert has already been classified as a sort of throwback player, and it will be interesting to see what happens in a couple of seasons when Roy has truly found his feet in the league.

I don’t think Roy Hibbert will ever be a superstar in the league. But he doesn’t have to be. During the Reign of Glory of Hoyas in the NBA, there was one player who was not a superstar, not even an all-star, but he made his mark as a consummate professional - Don Reid. Don Reid played in the league for almost 10 years, and during his time he earned the respect of players, coaches, and general managers around the league. He made a lot of money during his career, and everybody will remember him as a very solid player and an excellent professional.

Patrick Ewing is Patrick Ewing: NBA’s 50 Greatest, first-ballot Hall of Fame, best New York Knick ever, etc. Behind Patrick, there are NBA Champions like Alonzo Mourning and Jaren Jackson, an MVP in Allen Iverson, a playoff record holder (probably forever) in Sleepy Floyd, and an NBA All-star and potential record breaker for oldest human to block a shot in Dikembe Mutombo. But, it’s important to note that like Don Reid and potentially Roy Hibbert, you don’t have to be a superstar to make a real impact in the league, or to be a source of pride for Georgetown fans.

One year ago, Hoya fans waited with bated breath to see if the two biggest pieces in their final four run would return to school. Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert held a joint press conference to make public their decisions. Jeff Green, the Big East’s Most Outstanding Player, decided to forgo his senior year and join the NBA, while teammate Roy Hibbert chose to remain in school. It was sad to see Jeff go, since he had meant so much to the team. But, the return of Big Roy left the Georgetown faithful hopeful, and Roy made clear his ambitions of a national title.

Here we are, one year later, and while Roy did not accomplish his loftiest goal, he did bring home the Big East Regular Season Title for the second season in a row, an accomplishment that no other Hoya has ever achieved. In the coming days, it will be Roy’s turn to get drafted. And while it was sad to see Jeff go, it will be a little bit sadder to say goodbye to Roy. His transformation into a masterful player mirrored the transformation of the program back into a national powerhouse. Both Roy and the program will continue to improve, but there will be times in the next season where fans think back about Roy, and will miss his calming presence, his charming smile, his polished post moves.

Yesterday was a big day in basketball for another reason, too. The Boston Celtics won the NBA Title in emphatic fashion, thrashing the Lakers 131-92. That victory marks the end of competitive men’s basketball for the next few months. And, as weeks go by, with no basketball on television, slowly but surely minds will wander to the upcoming season, where the Hoyas will face new challenges without Roy. These thoughts will dominate the minds of Hoya fans until the Summer Olympics in Beijing begin in August to distract us. By then, I think we will all be suffering from some withdrawal.

Once upon a time, the teams in the NBA Draft were ranked in inverse order of their place. This means that the team with the worst record received the first pick, the second-worst record the second pick, and so on. However, in an effort to prevent teams with no playoff chances from losing games to gain a higher draft position, the NBA instituted the lottery.

The lottery has gone through some changes since its inception - in the 1985 draft, each of the non-playoff teams had an equal chance of being the top pick - but this is how it stands now: The worst team in the NBA has a 25% chance of getting the top pick, the second-worst team has about a 20% chance, all the way down to the fourteenth worst team, i.e. the team that was closest to the playoffs, which has a .5% chance. Also, the lottery only selects the top three teams, with the rest falling in the order mentioned above, meaning a team cannot get a pick more than three lower than their rank.

The NBA has clearly put a lot of thought into this system, as it has evolved over the years to what we have now. However, I think that there is a flaw in the system. Based on the probabilities, there is a 75% chance that the team with the worst record does not get the first pick. I know that the odds of the second-worst team missing out on the first pick is higher, and I know that the point of the lottery is to keep the worst team from being guaranteed the top pick. However, it seems to me that there should be a reassessment of the probabilities.

So, what should be done? I am not sure. One possible solution is to correlate the probability of winning the top pick with the team’s record more directly. That is, a last place team with a record of 5-77 should have a higher probability of getting the top pick than a last place team who went 20-62. Or, perhaps only let the bottom five teams compete for the number one pick, which at least prevents the better teams from getting such a large advantage. I do not know the solution. But, the worst teams are not getting the best players, and that means that there is a problem.

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.

We have seen Iverson take over when playoff time rolls around, and this year is no exception. Iverson was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week this past week, his third time this year, and looking at his numbers it is not surprising. In his last five games, AI is averaging over 28 points, eight assists and three steals. Even more impressive than those numbers is the fact that he is shooting a scorching 49% from the field during that span. He has proved himself to be the leader of this young Denver side, and has also showed that he still has the ability to carry a team, much as he did back in his years in Philadelphia.

However, unlike his glory days with the Sixers, Iverson is not without help. On the season, there are four players averaging double figures in points in addition to Iverson, with Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 25.8. Back when Iverson led the Sixers to the NBA finals in 2001, there were only two other players with double digits in points, led by Dikembe Mutumbo with only 11.7. But, not only is Iverson getting more offensive support this season, his teammates are also stepping up at the right time.

Obviously Carmelo is a great player to have on the court in the clutch, but the Nugget who is stepping it up the most late in the season is JR Smith. He is averaging over 17 points as a substitute in his past three games, five points above his season average, and seems to be ready to provide a spark from the bench in the post-season.

In the playoffs, it often happens that one player will carry his team to victory. Last year’s incredible performance by LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals is the most recent example of such heroics. If the past few weeks are any indication, Allen Iverson is still capable of fireworks of his own, and don’t be surprised if he posts some big numbers. But, fortunately for the Nuggets, if he doesn’t, his team might still be able to pull out a win.

*Declared academically ineligible for first semester of 2001 season.

When you look at what the Hoyas lost in returning production it’s no wonder they struggled as much as they did during these years. While no player left Georgetown after the 1999 season, that was the year that Coach John Thompson resigned. Also, in 2000 even though no one transferred from school, Lee Scruggs was forced to miss the entire first semester for failing to keep his grades in order. Let’s hope the only players not returning for the Hoyas next season will be Roy, Jon, Pat, and Tyler.

Having lost their games on Thursday, Ewing and Wallace’s teams were set to meet in the consolation game on Friday afternoon, and they were playing their game while I was stuck in traffic leaving DC. As it turned out, Wallace’s team, Norfolk Sports Club, eked out a close victory, 89-88, to Ewing’s Cherry, Bekaert & Holland team. Patrick did not get as much playing time as Georgetown fans would have hoped because after an impressive first round game where he picked up 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, he injured his ankle in his game against Wallace.

When I showed up to Churchland High School on Saturday afternoon to see Patrick and Jonathan play in the bottom two consolation matches, I wasn’t sure if Ewing would even be there. He was, but he was not shooting around with the team; he was under the basket with headphones on. Even though he was wearing Georgetown warmups instead of a suit and tie, I recognized what he was doing as it was eerily similar to his role for the Hoyas two years ago - grabbing rebounds and cheering on his eligible teammates, while he knew he was to be resigned to the bench.

When they announced the rosters for the two teams, just like at Georgetown, he was the first out on the court, high-fiving and low-fiving the starters and trying to pump up the team. Even though Cherry, Bekaert & Holland had two injured players, Pat was the only one on who sat on the bench with the team, knowing he still had a job to do. Either that, or he just wanted to stay to see Wallace play in the next game, and those seats were as good as any.

After the game, Patrick limped to the locker room with his team, promising his young fans that he would sign their autographs after listening to his coaches’ last words. When he came out, he signed a few t-shirts and loose papers and then headed to the basket on the other end of the court. As Jonathan Wallace was preparing to take a practice three-pointer, Patrick swatted at it, just missing Jon’s signature high-arching shot. They talked for a little bit, and then Pat let Wallace finish getting ready for his last organized college game.

Unlike the first game, in which Patrick played a similar role to one he had filled at Georgetown, the second game that afternoon was a completely disorienting spectacle. To start out, Wallace was on the bench. At first, I had thought they had made a mistake, announcing his name before the starters. Jonathan Wallace doesn’t start on the bench. But apparently, he did.

When Wallace finally headed over to the scorers’ table to check in after five minutes of action, he looked slightly ridiculous. He took off his gray Georgetown warmup to reveal his white Norfolk Sports Club jersey. The whole team looked a little silly with their reversible white jerseys and red shorts, reminding the fans of elementary school basketball when shirts and shorts didn’t have to match. But Wallace took his clashing shirt and shorts to another extreme, wearing navy blue Under Armour beneath his jersey. And somehow that wasn’t even the strangest part of Wallace’s uniform. As Wallace pulled off his Georgetown warmup to enter the game, he revealed the a red #3.

When Norfolk Sports Club lost in overtime in the Consolation Championship, it was too late for me to be surprised. He had come off the bench, worn a strange number; why wouldn’t he lose in overtime for the first time since his freshman year?

But don’t let me confuse you into thinking it was all Bizzaro World. There were a few things that won’t change. Like Wallace’s determination, playing the entire overtime session with high pressure defense and precise offense. Like his team first mentality, dishing out eight assists and always looking to pick out an open teammate instead of forcing a shot. And like his Georgetown support system, playing in front of a crowd that included not only Patrick Ewing, Jr. but also fellow teammates Vernon Macklin and Jessie Sapp.

When you look back at what I refer to as “The Dark Ages” of Georgetown Basketball, you see a startling trend of key players leaving Georgetown. “The Dark Ages” began when Allen Iverson entered the NBA Draft after the 1996 season and ended with John Thompson III’s second season as Hoya head coach. That’s a period of nine years during which the Hoyas only made the NCAA Tournament twice.

In Georgetown’s case, there were three notable players who left school early to enter the NBA Draft - Allen Iverson, Victor Page, and Mike Sweetney. But just like with transfers, it’s the responsibility of the coaches either to keep the good players at school or to be prepared to replace them. Georgetown did a poor job on both of those fronts. Transfers are inevitable, but when players left Georgetown during this time, it wasn’t reserves at the end of the bench who were leaving; it was key players. There were also two coaching changes, and the program lacked the consistency that makes success possible. Without consistency and with unexpected departures of key players, it is impossible to build on the accomplishments from the previous season. Every November, the team in many ways was starting from scratch, which is why they started behind the rest of the teams around the country. It’s also why they had so much trouble keeping up.

Since taking over on the hilltop, John Thompson III has not had any major impact player transfer. Also, even though the recent season was ultimately disappointing, the team and program was far from devastated by the departure of Jeff Green to the NBA. Look around the nation, and every contending team has players leaving school early for the NBA, but the top programs remain among the nation’s elite, and that’s what JTIII did this year.

Next season the Hoyas will have a lot of talented players returning, including three starters. Three key reserves will be eager to see their minutes increase in 2009, and there are some very talented freshmen coming in as well. There was a lot to be proud of and a lot was accomplished in the 2007-08 season for the Hoyas, and as long as none of the players who were in the regular rotation leave school, expect Georgetown to continue to be a force, both in the Big East and nationally.

Even though it’s not the beginning of a calendar year, the end of the basketball season usually coincides nicely with Mother Nature’s schedule. The weather in the nation’s capital is a little colder than it should be these days, but spring is in the air. Nothing fills people with natural hope and optimism than the first few days of spring - the cherry blossoms are out, the days are getting longer, and the cute co-eds are sunbathing on Healy lawn. Life is good.

So as joy, love, hope, and thoughts of summer vacation are beginning to fill our heads, let’s try to apply these excellent sensations to what to expect from the Hoyas in 2008-09. Here goes:

Three-Point Shooting

The Hoyas did a good job from long range this season, but surely the presence of Hibbert in the low post gave Georgetown a lot of good looks from downtown. Next season it seems like Georgetown might be better off working outside-in instead of the other way around. The three returning starters (Jessie Sapp, DaJuan Summers, and Austin Freeman) will be the guys in charge of leading the offense, and even though they all get to the hoop pretty well, their three-point shooting will be weapon number one. Basically, there will be lots of green lights for the shooters, which lends to fun and exciting basketball.

Fresh Man

In case you haven’t heard, his name is Greg Monroe. He’s an incoming freshman. And he’s good. He’s the biggest high school senior to sign with the Hoyas since Othella Harrington. It’s hard to know how much of the hype to believe, and if you only see him in college all-star games than you’d think the reputation is absurd. But we know that all-star games are not for everybody, as superstar guards are not thinking about running the offense or feeding the post in those run and gun games. At any rate, Monroe is a very good player, who could possibly be a better shot-blocker than Hibbert right now. His defense will help immediately, and with the structured system in the offense, there won’t be much pressure on him to put up big numbers right away.

Ex Factor

As in Ex-perience. The key returning players are champions. They won back-to-back Big East regular season titles, the 2007 Big East Tournament, and the 2007 East Regional. The departed players were not the only reason for the recent success, and the returning players know exactly how and why the Hoyas have been at the top of the Big East for two years. Some players blossom when they finally get their chance to be the main player in the spotlight, and based on their personalities and ability to shine in crunch time, Sapp and Summers are two such players.

Six months from now things will truly get started for the 2008-09 season, but until then, appreciate the accomplishments of the guys that will graduate next month, but don’t think that the success of the program leaves campus with them. Their departure shouldn’t be considered holes that need to be filled, but challenges that need to be accepted. We can expect more fun times next year as the new leaders answer that call.

In his first dunk, Patrick didn’t come out prepared, as he tried to recruit Joyce Ekworomadu from the women’s three-point contest to throw him an alley-oop. Say what you will about women’s vs. men’s basketball in terms of skills or shooting ability, but there is one thing that is noticeably absent in the women’s game, and that is the alley-oop. It was quite possibly the first time that Ekworomadu had thrown for an alley-oop, and as a result, it wasn’t the best dunk contest material. Pat received low marks, and ended the first round in next to last place.

In the second round, everyone had already written him out, and Georgetown fans were just hoping he wouldn’t embarrass himself. He started pumping his arms at the crowd, and then he set towards the basket. I’ll let you see what happened next:

A behind-the-back slam dunk that had the judges on their feet, the commentators calling him a magician, and the rest of the contestants dancing behind him as he pranced around the court, is what I would call a Patrick Ewing, Jr. moment.

It was one of only two perfect scores on the night, and Patrick’s truly was the more special because his dunk was something that hadn’t been seen before. Will Bullard earned a 50 on his first dunk by jumping over a 6′9” friend of his, but we’ve seen players jump over people before, and even if we hadn’t, he went on to repeat it in the next two rounds as well (adding people to the end of the line, of course).

But Ewing’s performance wasn’t great because he had a nice dunk. It was great because he didn’t let anyone down. His first dunk was poor, to be sure, but for one, it wasn’t entirely his fault, and secondly, he went on to do better with his second. Much better. And despite his perfect 50, Patrick didn’t earn enough points to move to the second round, so he didn’t have to try to one up himself in the later rounds.

After Patrick’s dunk, the next three contestants went on to miss every attempt, and they ended their respective contests with a shot clock violation. The two who went on to the finals, Bullard, and Sonny Weems, each had fine outings, and Weems probably deserved the title after his four solid dunks, including one from the foul line. But the best moment was definitely Ewing’s creative bit of showmanship that had judge Emmitt Smith looking around incredulously. Since Patrick didn’t move on to the second round, the last the audience saw of #33 was him dancing around with his newly acquired entourage as ESPN kept showing replay after replay. And next to a National Championship, that has to be the perfect way for Patrick Ewing, Jr. to end his career in a Georgetown uniform.