Jan. 15, 2010
WASHINGTON -
Greg Monroe has a sense of history.
A native of New Orleans, he's aware of some of the players from his hometown who had success at Georgetown, like Dwayne Bryant, Duane Spencer and Jaren Jackson.
A 6-11, 247-pound center, he knows the names of the some of the great big men to have played at Georgetown and their accomplishments (Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo).
A sophomore who was named the 2009 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, he knows the names of some of the other Georgetown players who won that award and what they did during their careers (Ewing, Mourning, Allen Iverson, Jeff Green).
But if you ask Monroe, he's not ready yet to put himself in the same sentence with those names.
Still, Monroe made a big impact during his first year on the Hilltop, finishing second on the team in scoring (12.7 points per game), led the team in rebounding (6.5), blocked shots (1.45) and steals (1.8) while finishing among the top-10 in the league in field goal percentage.
He has continued that this season, ranking third on the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game and leading the team with 9.7 rebounds per game, a figure that ranks third in the BIG EAST Conference. Monroe has also registered five double-doubles and seven games with at least 10 rebounds.
"It makes me feel good being in company with those players, but they all left a legacy here," Monroe said. "They have real legacies. They went on to be great players in the League, so I'm just trying to do the things they did. Jeff Green went to a Final Four. I'm trying to do that. Whatever happens after that, we'll see, but I'm trying to win like they did when they were here."
Monroe came in with high expectations after being rated of the top players in the country as a scholastic senior at Helen Cox High School just outside of New Orleans. The comfort level he felt on his official visit reminded him of his home and that made his decision to come to Georgetown that much easier.
"It's a very tight-knit city and a lot of people in the area are my family," he said of his hometown. "Everyone knows everyone. Most of my family live in the area. It definitely translated into Georgetown.
"One of the things that is great about Georgetown is that it's a small campus. The people here are kind of tight-knit and I like that a lot. The familiarity...you get a chance to be comfortable with people and get to know people on campus and fit in."
As a freshman last year, Monroe was a starter for every game, but he still wasn't much different from classmates like Jason Clark or Henry Sims, having to make an adjustment.
"Coming in and being able to play (as a freshman), I was definitely nervous," Monroe said. "This program has a long history. There's no need to say any names. Coming in and being able to play in the same gym and wear the jersey they wore, it definitely made me nervous. I couldn't shake the comparison (to Ewing, etc.), so that made me even more nervous. It was fun, but I guarantee any other freshman in my situation would have been nervous."
The nerves did not show too much. In his first game, he scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots against Jacksonville. He helped guide the Hoyas to a 10-1 start, including a big win to open BIG EAST play at Connecticut.
The remainder of the season did not go as he and his teammates planned, but after a summer of hard work - including a chance to work out with Alonzo Mourning when the Georgetown Hall of Famer was on campus, and playing in the Kenner League with NBA stars such as Green, Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley - Monroe is ready to start again.
"Coming in this year, knowing the system, knowing how to handle things off the court, I'm definitely more prepared," he said. "Last year we didn't have as good a season as we wanted, but we need to learn from our mistakes and know what we have to do to win some games, to close out games and get big stops."
Monroe has helped the Hoyas do that this year. He scored the game-winning basket against Temple - scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds in that game - and has come up big in some of the pre-conference tests. Against Butler during the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, he scored 24 points and grabbed a then-career-high 15 rebounds. He followed that up with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals against Washington at the John Wooden Classic.
"Using everything from last year, everyone was itching to play this season," Monroe said. "We've put that season behind us and we want to make this one of the best years in Georgetown history."
By Mike "Mex" Carey
Sports Information Director
