The Inquisition: Getting Casually Reacquainted With Georgetown

With YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles preparing to swoop on the Verizon Center tomorrow for a battle with our friends in the faith from Georgetown, it's time to renew acquaintances with the dopest bunch of Georgetown bloggers in the universe, the crew masterminding THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON that is Casual Hoya.

In case I'm not laying on the bro-love thick enough: if you take the feeling of Badger Hate Week, invert it, and draw a bunch of pink hearts around it, you've summarized my feelings for Casual Hoya. Bloggers want to be them, and women want to be with them wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in public with them.

As is our custom, we traded questions in anticipation of tomorrow's matchup. (Our answers to Casual questions here.) Let's hit the Qs and the As, then:

Anonymous Eagle: I missed you.

Casual Hoya: When you breathe I want to be the air for you.

AE: The highly-publicized brawl that occurred during Georgetown's tour of China over the summer was my favorite international incident since Rocky single-handedly brought down the Soviet government in Rocky IV. What are the odds that there's a similar, Hoya-fueled revolution in the People's Republic?

CH: I'm not sure the Hoyas will cause an "If I can change and you can change, we all can change" moment, but I do think that there was a decent amount of backlash against that Chinese military team after they were exposed for their dirty play in previous international scrimmages. The thing is, I kind of like having China as a sworn enemy. It makes me feel victorious that I can saunter into any Chinese restaurant here and get a nice hot and sour soup and kung po chicken lunch special and then get a fortune cookie for my efforts. Does this make me a bad person? [Rubie sez: if that's wrong, I don't wanna be right.]

AE: Finish the sentence: this is the most fun I've had following a Georgetown team since ...

CH: This is an interesting question. I think most Hoya fans would suggest 2006 -- the year that Georgetown re-emerged on the national scene with a program-defining victory over the then undefeated and globally hated Duke Blue Devils on January 21, 2006. That team was fun to watch because, much like this one, there weren't any expectations heading into the season and every win over a higher ranked team was like a "hey, maybe we are pretty good!" moment. The 2007 team that made the Final Four was obviously tremendous, but this season has most resembled the 2006 year. Probably worth noting that, just as in 2006, this team has zero McDonald's All-Americans.

AE: Congratulations on your admittance to the "WE DON'T REBUILD, WE RELOAD" society. I didn't even realize you guys had put in an application. But here's the question: most everybody I read had Georgetown pegged in the "they'll be OK, but they won't be great" range this offseason. I'm sure one of the Casualties went out on a limb and predicted that the Hoyas would surge to national prominence this year. So: who's the smartypants?

CH: I assume that by asking this question you happened to miss my appearance on Letterman this summer where I boldly declared that Georgetown would win the National Championship which was accompanied by a high five from Anne Hathaway and a nice musical tune from Paul Shaffer and the CBS orchestra. I have it on DVR and can burn an mp3 CD-ROM VHS if you'd like, just may take me a while to hunt it down. Other than me, I'm pretty sure NO ONE saw this coming.

AE: How wildly have expectations changed for the Hoyas since the beginning of the season? What qualifies the season as a success now, in terms of (a) where Georgetown finishes in the Big East, and (b) what Georgetown does in the Dance?

CH: Preseason expectations were that this was going to be a down year for Georgetown and that an NCAA berth would be a huge success. At this point, however, expectations have obviously changed. Most Hoya fans probably would like to see 11+ wins in the Big East for this group which given Georgetown's OOC record will likely translate into a top 5 seed in the NCAA. Given that, anything less than one win in the Dance or an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen might be viewed as a disappointment. The worst possible outcome for Georgetown would be another first round loss in the Tournament. That would be a major stinky.

AE: Austin Freeman was probably Georgetown's best player last year, but Chris Wright was the straw that stirred the drink. Who has taken over as the heart and soul of this year's Georgetown team? And who's the best player now (unless it's the same guy)?

CH: Hollis Thompson is Georgetown's best player in that he will likely be the guy that could get drafted in the next year or so, but the biggest gamechanger thus far has been freshman Otto Porter. Porter isn't a flashy player, but he does everything right, makes great decisions with the ball, and has probably been the best 6th man in the conference. Though he doesn't start, he plays starter minutes and Hoya fans actually look forward to the under 16 timeout when he first enters the game.

AE: Can we borrow Henry Sims? Just for a month or so.

CH: No, but if you'd like to borrow this bizarre rash I seem to be developing on my inner thighs, feel free.

AE: The death of the Big East (at least in its current form) will mean the end of the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry. No team will ever replace the Orange in the Hate Pantheon, of course, but who's taking the mantle as Georgetown's biggest rival? 'Nova? UConn?

CH: Nova is more of a natural fit because it resembles Georgetown in size, but UConn is definitely going to be #1 on the Shit List for as long as Jim Calhoun keeps paying players to steal laptops from students.

AE: People have stopped questioning whether John Thompson III is the right man for the Georgetown job now, right? No one's wondering whether he peaked as a coach in his first couple years at the helm anymore, yes?

CH: The JT3 Haters generally hibernate during November through February but come out salivating in March. The first round exits in the Dance over the past few years made their banter at least entertaining to listen to, but any suggestion that JT3 isn't the right guy for Georgetown after the job he has done this season is downright silly. The bigger issue for Georgetown might be hanging on to JT3 when his contract expires at the end of next season. To that end the University has embarked on a plan to upgrade the facilities since Georgetown's are piss poor.

AE: The last time we talked, during the Sweet Sixteen run, you asked whether Marquette would rather stay home than spend the weekend in Newark, New Jersey. I didn't know how to answer at the time, but now I do: I hate New Jersey. I hate Bon Jovi. I hate bed sheets made of jersey. I hate gardens. I hate Zach Braff for making a movie called 'Garden State.' I hate that I don't have a question to ask you on this particular topic. Thanks for letting me vent.

CH: Your intense hatred for Zach Braff angers me.

AE: I'm writing these questions on December 30, two days before the calendar turns. What's your favorite Georgetown memory from 2011?

CH: Wow, lots of memories from 2011. Beating Cuse at the Dome, posting an interview with Bill Clinton on the blog (shameless promotion alert), the incredible start of the young Hoyas this season... but the best would have to be the fight in China this summer. It certainly wasn't the best PR event for the Hoyas when it happened but you now hear Coach Thompson refer to the "international incident" as the moment a group of players became a team.

AE: On a related topic: true or false: if the Mayans were right, and we're headin' for disaster in 12 short months, Jim Boeheim will be prominently involved in the end of civilization as we know it.

CH: TRUE. Jim Boeheim will vehemently deny that the end of civilization is near, despite the numerous facts suggesting otherwise, and then when proven wrong, Boeheim will submit a two line apology on Facebook. Big mouth, no balls.