It hasn’t been the greatest season for Coach Thompson, and I’m sure he’s been having a much more difficult time during it than we have. With that said, Happy Birthday, Coach. And let’s hope that next year will be better.

• Cincinnati freshman Cashmere Wright will miss the entire season with a torn ACL suffered in practice. Wright was a highly-touted point guard who was expected to play a major part in the Bearcats’ team this season.
• Arizona’s coach of 25 years, Lute Olson retired this past week after missing last season for personal reasons. The University of Arizona has named Russ Pennell as the interim head coach, after associate head coach Mike Dunlap turned down an offer.
• Today is Jaren Jackson’s birthday. Jaren is currently the head coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA Development League.

So HoyaHoops.com is a year and a day old. (Yup, on our official first birthday, we had some trouble with the site and it was down for most of the day). Happy Birthday us!

We’re going to continue to do our best to provide you with all you need to know about Georgetown basketball, and now that the season is just a little over a month away, it’s time for us to kick it up a notch. We’re going to be providing you with daily updates from now until the end of the season with new content and new goodies to sate your Hoya appetite.

Feel free to post any suggestions you have to improve the site in the comments. We may be a year old (which is something like 20 in blog years) but we’re still just getting the hang of this and could use all the help we can get.

Today is Ben Gillery’s birthday. Last year, I wrote an article on who would take the jump ball for the Hoyas after Jeff Green’s departure, and I mentioned Big Ben’s expertise in that area. Another big man gone, and it’s time for the guessing to begin yet again. Who do you think will take the jump for Georgetown this year? Your guess is as good as mine. I’m going with Jason Clark.

Okay, so your guess is probably a little better than mine.

• On Friday, Patrick Ewing, Jr.was traded from the Houston Rockets to the New York Knicks for French international Frederic Weis. Patrick is the 16th man under contract with the Knicks, and with only 15 players per team, Pat will have to earn his spot on the roster. If he does make the team, though, big Pat has said that the Knicks should take #33 down from the rafters.
• Today is Coach John Thompson, Jr.’s birthday. Let’ see what happens if Smokin’ Al Koken forgets to wish him a Happy Birthday on his show this afternoon.
• Patrick Ewing will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this Thursday, and in honor of his accomplishment, we at Hoya Hoops will be paying tribute to Big Pat throughout the week. Be sure to check out what we have to offer.

Many Happy Returns of Patrick Ewing’s Birthday

The original Big Fella turns 46 today. Big Pat’s got a lot on his plate these days: he’s still an assistant Coach for the Orlando Magic, his son is looking to get picked up by an NBA team, and in a month or so he has to go all the way to Massachusetts to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. We’ll have a much nicer tribute to Patrick when we get closer to Hall of Fame weekend, but for now, just think back on your favorite Ewing-Georgetown moment and if you have a drink sometime today, lift your glass to Patrick Aloysius Ewing, Sr. And since it’s for him, lift your glass up a lot higher than usual.
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#55 turns 55 today. Not really, he’s only 42 today. But it does seem like the 1991 Georgetown Graduate has been around a long time, and he started his career a little older than most NCAA Players. During his time at Georgetown he really took a while getting adjusted to the college game. He was pretty raw during his first season (when he was a sophomore), and didn’t even get that much playing time. Even though at that time he was a work in progress, because of both a language barrier and a limited basketball background, the raw ability was undeniable. Anyone who saw Mutombo during that 1989 season could tell he was going to be a defensive force at the next level, even if there was still some polishing to do.
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Today is Alonzo Mourning’s 38th birthday. We talked with some knowledgeable folks a few months ago when he suffered his season ending (and possibly career ending) injury, but today we wanted to wish him well and send him many happy returns. It would be the happiest return of all if he could play in the league again, but if not he’s still a hero. There are few pros in any sport that have shown the determination, strength, and perseverance that Alonzo has shown throughout his career. If there’s any player who can make one last unlikely and remarkable comeback it’s him. Good Luck, Zo.

If you see Roy Hibbert at the Tombs or Chadwick’s, buy him a drink. It’s okay to do so now since today is Big Roy’s 21st birthday. Even if you don’t see him, next time you’re out on the town, have a drink in his honor.

Today is a good day to reflect on Roy’s great gift to Georgetown by returning to play one more year with the Hoyas.

And speaking of gifts, what do you think would be a nice present for Roy for his birthday? We think he could use a fancy new tie - he can wear it next summer during the NBA Draft.

I know a lot of you out there don’t think very much of Craig Esherick. You’re all entitled to your opinion, but seeing that today is his 51st birthday, I felt that a little defense was in order. Esherick got a bit of a raw deal as head coach of the Hoyas. His final season as the Hoyas coach was a catastrophic disaster. There’s no denying that. However, help was on the way. Esherick recruited Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert. We’ll never know if he would’ve taken that group of players to the Final Four, but he probably deserved one season with those key players he brought in. No matter what people thought of him as a Coach, his reign is over, and it’s time to let go of the hate. Plus, there are a lot of good things about him that everybody can agree on.
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