"Without struggle, there is no progress" - Frederick Douglass
The Friars were coming off a 30-point loss to the nationally-ranked Wildcats. Providence beat the Hoyas 70-52 last night under the similar circumstances if not worse than the Hoyas when we lost our best big man junior (UCLA) transfer Joshua Smith due to academics in last night's game. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led Georgetown with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Although Friar's point guard Bryce Cotton, did a good job defensively on senior guard Markel Starks still managed to put up (12 points) he was the only other Georgetown player to reach double figures. He only had 3 assists last night. Friars had 8 blocks, Hoyas 3.
Looking at the stats, Providence guards tallied 16 assists, Hoyas guards only 7. The Hoyas have to play more unselfish basketball and rely more each other every game on a consistent basis. Both teams had 32 rebounds. Fifteen turnovers for the Hoyas, 10 for the Friars.
I just would've love to see Starks distribute the ball better. If Josh Smith doesn't play, this is something he'll have to do to make his team better especially his other bigs. He must encourage them when they get the ball to go to work. I think DSR can do a better job as this as well, and he has also needs to develop a "floater." There are many times when our guards are penetrating too deep in the paint. There are bigs down there, so the best way to defeat this purpose is to shoot a floater or dish the ball to your bigs. You have to, you have no other choice.
With all of Providence's academics issues, injuries they've had this year they overcame those obstabcles and adversity with a win over our Hoyas last night. I guess what I'm trying to say here is I think the Hoyas will have to do the same. They'll have to find a way to have faith in adversity to get thorough this storm that has quickly developed. ''I think (the Hoyas playing without Smith) definitely changed their lineup a little bit,'' said Cooley. ''So it changed it, but at the end of the day I'm proud of the way our kids played.''
I read an article by Fox Sports sportswriter Reid Forgave yesterday, and it mentioned Providence's teams issues. ''We were kind of stumbling along in the first half, and they slowly gained confidence, gained momentum,'' Thompson said. ''We came up against a team that's lost a couple in a row, had some bad breaks, and they came out and made the plays to win the game. We didn't.''
Reid Forgave (Fox Sports) on Providence: "Providence is in huge trouble. I was talking to Croshere, a Providence great, about Ed Cooley, and he told me the third-year coach is absolutely beloved by the fan base and the university. Cooley is likable, he’s real, he connects with his players, he recruits the hell out of his situation, and he's brought the Friars back to relevance.
He's also leading a team with a three-game losing streak (including a crushing double-overtime conference opener to Seton Hall), his point guard Kris Dunn is out for the season with an injury, and two highly recruited freshmen were recently suspended for the season. (One of those freshmen, Brandon Austin, has elected to leave the program.) This is after last year’s fiasco with Ricky Ledo, who didn't play a game in a Friars uniform. Bryce Cotton has been an absolute hero for this team, doing it all, stepping up at point guard and playing the most minutes of anyone in the conference. He can'€™t do everything, though. It’s fair to wonder when Cooley's impressive recruiting will begin to pay off."
Sometimes lessons are learned through sports. Sports is life. You'd have to love life through sports the ups the down the surprises good and the bad. One thing I understand, as a fan and coach in life you win some you lose some. It's how you get back up and respond that's most important.
I also know and ALWAYS remember these players are college students first and foremost and they are developing in life into adults. I do understand our own children are in college, and this is no different for them either. Lessons for any college team's players are sometimes learned the hard way.
Junior Joshua Smith's academics issue/issues happened to hit our team at the spirit of the moment. I don't the Hoyas handled this to well last night. So, how do we deal with this? Easy, adjust, just fix it and move on and don't look back. I don't know if he'll come back this year, but I do know this is no reason to give up or give in as a TEAM! 'I think the group that we have in the locker room right there is more than capable of playing better than we did today, whether Josh is here or not,'' Thompson said. I definitely agree with this quote.
To lose the way we did against Seton Hall at home and then get blasted on the road (at Villanova). To come back and play this way, I'm proud of our guys. This was a "character win" for us.'' So, now it's the Hoyas turn to learn how to do this same thing Cooley said about his team in getting a "character win."
I love the Hoyas win or lose with all my heart I'm with them do or die. The best thing I like about this whole situation is I know the Hoyas will find a way to prevail having "faith in adversity!" This what life is all about getting back up after being knocked down in so many different ways. I think one would have to fully understand life to understand what I'm saying. It's life through sports.
I would love to see sophomore7 foot center Bradley Hayes get thrown into the fire early, he can quickly learn to be our other enforcer. I think he's ready, if he's not, that's cool too, but do throw him in the mix, he's 7 feet tall!
Butler is up next.
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