The narrative against Georgetown had reached a near boiling point in recent years. You know, how the Hoyas were frauds, and couldn’t win in the NCAA Tournament.
While their win over Eastern Washington in the first round of last season’s Big Dance certainly helped keep that narrative from growing even louder, John Thompson III’s team still failed to reach the Sweet 16.
Thompson and his program sure could use a deep run into late March next season to silence the naysayers, but they’ll need to lean on their talented, but young, core to do so. Our Recruit and Reload series moves on to the cobblestone streets of Georgetown.
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Key Losses: Joshua Smith (graduation), Jabril Trawick (graduation)
Possible Losses: No announcements made
Key Returners: D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, L.J. Peak, Isaac Copeland, Paul White
Key Newcomers: Jessie Govan (four-star, center), Marcus Derrickson (four-star, power forward)
Breakdown: The Hoyas’ outlook for next season took a sizeable hit when Smith-Rivera announced he was leaving school to pursue a professional career. However, he changed his mind just a few weeks later before signing with an agent, opening the door for him to finish his career in the nation’s capitol. Alongside him will be a trio of talented sophomores in Peak, Copeland and White. By adding Govan and Derrickson to those three, the Hoyes have a legitimate argument for having the best frontcourt in the Big East. John Thompson III still must find a secondary perimeter scorer to go alongside Smith-Rivera, but he will have as much versatility at the forward spots as he’s had since Otto Porter was in town–and it may actually be longer than that.
