Oct. 12, 2007
Complete JTIII Quotes in PDF Format
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Player Quotes in PDF Format
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Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University Head Men's Basketball Coach John Thompson III and the Hoya men's basketball team met with members of the media on Thursday as part of 2007-08 Media Day. Thompson and the team met with members of the D.C. Metro media one day prior to Midnight Madness, which will be held in McDonough Arena.
Thompson and members of the team conducted interview with television crews in McDonough Arena before meeting with the print media and local radio stations.
"You have to get lucky to make it as far as we did last year," Thompson said. "You have to be even more lucky to win two more games. The confidence our guys had in each other continued to grow and the understanding grew as the year went on. That's not an accident, that's by design.
"At the end of the year last year, there wasn't any situation where we didn't feel confident in how we were going to win. That's what happens with good groups. Hopefully this year, we'll go through that same progression. Starting Saturday, we'll starting piecing together and learning how this group is going to have some success. If we keep improving by the end of the year, I think we have a chance to be pretty good and hopefully, we've put ourselves in a position where we can get lucky."
The Hoyas return four starters and eight lettermen from last year's team, which went 30-7 last season, advanced to the Final Four and won the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships.
Georgetown will officially tip-off the start of the 2007-08 men's and women's basketball seasons at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 12 in McDonough Arena with its annual Midnight Madness celebrations. A national audience will view in, as the ESPN networks will cover the event live. College basketball personalities Bill Raftery and Lou Canellis will handle the on-site coverage.
The event will begin with outdoor festivities in front of McDonough Arena before moving inside at approximately 8:45 p.m. Outdoor activities will include a replay of the 2007 NCAA East Regional Final win over North Carolina, free burgers from the Georgetown University Grilling Society (GUGS), ESPNU give-away items, interactive games, AOL Rival Rants Station, EA Sports March Madness Basketball on Xbox 360, music by WPGC 95.5-FM and much, much more. Students in attendance will receive official free Nike 2007 Georgetown Basketball t-shirts to commemorate the event.
Events inside of McDonough Arena will include performances by the GU pep band and cheerleaders, Groove Theory, Georgetown Dance Team, player drills and official student Yell Practice. The highlight of the evening festivities include player introductions for both the men's and women's teams and the unveiling of the 2007 Final Four Banner, as well as speeches from Head Men's Basketball Coach John Thompson III and Head Women's Basketball Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. Also, for Hoya fans who are unable to attend the event, complete coverage of the festivities will air on ESPNU from 11 p.m. to midnight on Friday, October 12.
Admission to the event will be free of charge for current Georgetown students. Tickets -- for students only -- to the inside of McDonough Arena will be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 6:45 p.m. the day of the event. Students are encouraged to begin lining up for tickets no earlier than 5 p.m. on Friday, October 12.
