Nov. 10, 2008
Georgetown's Open Practice:
Last Friday afternoon, a substantial crowd of Hoya fans packed the center bleachers of McDonough for the annual Hoya Hoop Club-sponsored Open Practice, featuring Coach John Thompson III and the new look 2008-09 Georgetown Hoyas. As one who lived through the first Coach Thompson era, a Georgetown Open Practice is still a significant event for me. I remember when the first Coach Thompson not only closed and locked the doors to the gym floor for practice, but also taped the spaces between the doors to prevent any and all unwanted onlookers or intruders.
The first crack in the door of closed practices came, as I recall, during Coach Craig Esherick's second full season as Georgetown's Head Coach. I was serving as President of the Hoya Hoop Club at that time. Coach Esherick called me one Tuesday afternoon, knowing that the Hoop Club's Board was meeting that evening. He said, "Mike, I know that you are having a meeting tonight, and I just want to let you know that I'll be leaving one set of doors to the gym floor unlocked." So, that evening, after our meeting, a group of about 10 Hoop Club Board members, most of whom graduated before 1975, stood in the lobby and watched the Hoyas practice from the single open doorway vantage point. At that time, you would have thought that we had died and gone to heaven as we got to watch our beloved Hoyas practicing! In subsequent years, Coach Esherick agreed to open practices of the sort to which we have now become accustomed, including autograph signings, question and answer session with the coach, watching a portion of the practice, and a catered meal provided by the Hoop Club. They have always proven to be a most popular Hoop Club event. I will always credit Coach Esherick for opening up the Hoya program more to the fans.
Under Coach John Thompson III, Open Practice has become a staple of the pre-season for Hoya Hoop Club members and their families. Midnight Madness is primarily for the students and affords them their first glimpse of the Hoyas. But the Open Practice is for Hoop Club members who are primarily alumni and non-student friends of the program. Open Practice has evolved under Coach Thompson from the first season, when there were autographs and photo sessions for the Junior Hoya Hoop Club members but, as I recall, no questions asked on the Coach and a limited viewing of warm-ups and drills before the fans were invited to leave. At this year's Open Practice, I was struck by how invisible the fans became once Coach Thompson finished the question and answer period and begin to run his practice. Thus, the fans were allowed to remain for significantly longer periods of time and even to watch scrimmaging among the players.
Another feature of this year's Open Practice was the presence of legendary collegiate Coaches Pete Carrill and John Thompson, Jr. at the practice. How extraordinary for the current players (and future recruits) to know that, in addition to playing for the finest coach in college basketball today, that your practices would at times be visited by such Hall of Fame luminaries in the coaching profession!! Attendees at the Open Practice also received color photographs of the team standing on the stairs leading to the President's office on Second Healy!
Coach Thompson began his question and answer period by thanking the fans for coming out and apologizing for the Friday afternoon time slot. He explained that the calendar only provided three possible weekends for the session and that the last two weekends, including this past weekend, involved closed scrimmages with Virginia Tech and George Mason, respectively. The question and answer session was rather uneventful with the usual queries being asked of the coach. (e.g., Are you having fun yet? Yes. Who will be the starting team? I don't know yet. How does the Big East stack up this year? Ten teams could make the NCAA tournament.)
Only one question involved the election of President-elect Barack Obama, and Coach said that he was pleased with the outcome. (I heard on Coach's father's radio program last Wednesday that Coach JT III and his wife Monica were among the crowd gathered at the White House to celebrate the election results.) Given that the President-elect plays basketball for exercise, I thought of asking Coach if he was going to invite President Obama to run with the Hoyas some time or to come to some Hoya games, but the question session ended before I could inquire. To me, it is only natural that the number one college basketball fan in DC would want to see the number one team in the area! I hope that, if the pair does not already have some type of relationship, that Coach JT III and President Obama forge a relationship during the period of Obama's presidency!! I strongly believe that it would benefit both of them!!
After watching practice for about 45 minutes, I walked out to the McDonough lobby to share the Hoop Club's repast catered by Mama Lucia's with the Hoya faithful. The meal included several types of pasta and salad, together with sodas. Together with my daughter Meredith, C '07, I spoke and shared the meal with, among others, the good doctors and my former housemates (Bill Licamele, C '68, M '72, and Frank Palumbo, C '68, M '72) and undergraduate classmate and former freshman Hoya hoopster Bob Beagan, C '72. It was a terrific time and I am glad that I had some part in helping to open up the process several years back.
In closing, I thank Coach Thompson for his participation in this annual event. I also want to extend hearty congratulations to Al Bozzo, B '85, President of the Hoya Hoop Club and to Mara Vandlik, C '07, Associate Director of Hoyas Unlimited, for their roles in organizing and running this seamlessly smooth-running event. I hope to see you many of you at the Hoya games this season beginning in one week against Jacksonville! More about that game in a subsequent blog!!
WE ARE GEORGETOWN!!
Respectfully submitted,
Michael E. Karam, F '72, L '76, L '82
Proud Member of Generation Laughna
