Dec. 18, 2010
And the Bulldog will out Race the Greyhound!!
For those of a more recent generation, the idea of a Georgetown v. Loyola of Maryland athletic match-up conjures up thoughts of a top-tier men's lacrosse game. But there was a time when Loyola was a mainstay on the Hoyas' annual men's basketball schedule. Indeed, the Georgetown v. Loyola game was often the opening game of the season for the Hoyas. A review of hoyasaxa.com shows that the Hoyas have played this Loyola 42 times over its 104-year history of collegiate basketball, holding a 35-7 edge in the series. Even during my senior year (1971-72 season), when the Hoyas finished 3-23, the Hoyas trounced the Greyhounds by a score of 82-66, its most lopsided victory of that otherwise forgettable season. Interestingly, the two-Jesuit schools teams have not met on the hardwood since the 1974-75 season, a gap of 36 years, giving meaning to our fight song's opening line - - It's been so long since last we met! To give some more perspective, the stalwarts of that Hoya team were Coach John Thompson, Jr.'s initial class of recruits - - Merlin Wilson, Jonathan Smith, Greg Brooks, and Bill Lynn, who were juniors. That team also featured a fine quintet of freshmen recruits, including Derrick Jackson, Mike Riley, Craig Esherick, Ed Hopkins, and Felix Yeoman. That team was the first of Coach Thompson's team to reach the NCAA tournament, following its defeat of West Virginia in Morgantown on Derrick Jackson's last-second shot to secure the Eastern College Athletic Conference South NCAA bid. The rest, as they say, is history!
Despite not having met the Hoyas on the basketball floor in many years, the Greyhounds have been featured this season in a sponsor's ad on the rotating Georgetown sponsor board at the Verizon Center! I am curious to see if the ad is shown during Saturday's game! At all events, I want to thank Loyola for their support of the Georgetown's men's basketball program!
This year's game, which is a hated exam game, features our No. 15-ranked Hoyas with a record of 9-1 against Loyola with a record of 3-4. The Greyhounds are coached by Jimmy Patsos, a former long-time Assistant to Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams in College Park. He is in his seventh year of coaching Loyola. The Greyhounds most-recent outing was a 65-42 drubbing of their long-time rival Mount St. Mary's, coached by former Hoya staffers, Robert Burke and Matt Henry! The Greyhounds are led by senior Jamal Barney and Maryland transfer junior Shane Walker. Loyola likes to push the tempo, but it is questionable whether they will be able to do so against the versatile, quick and deep Hoyas. To date, this year's Hoyas have featured a broad array of positive skills and talents, including an outstanding three-headed backcourt of Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Freeman, ably backed up by Vee Sanford and Markel Starks, and a rotating band of front court players led by Julian Vaughn, Hollis Thompson, and the ever-improving Henry Sims, with significant support from Jerrelle Benimon, and freshmen Nate Lubick and newly eligible Moses Ayegba. In all, despite this being an exam game, I look for the Hoyas to renew the rivalry with a solid victory over the Greyhounds and to be able to again use its entire bench in the process. Thus, the projection is that our bulldog will outrun the greyhound!
As this is my final blog for 2010, I want to extend Christmas and Holiday wishes to Coach Thompson, his staff and players and to all of you who support our Georgetown Hoyas basketball program! Beat Loyola and I will see you in the New Year!!
WE ARE GEORGETOWN!!
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Karam, F'72, L'76, L'82
Proud Member of Generation Laughna!
