Winter on the Hilltop

There is something magical about the Holiday Season on the Hilltop. As I see a little snowstorm hit the DC Metro area today, I cannot help but think of the record-setting winter of 2009-10. It seems like only yesterday that we had a blizzard while I was a Georgetown student living in Village A W-203. I attended a Holiday party this past Sunday in Riggs Library, and a beautiful Mass in Gaston Hall with many of my Georgetown friends. There is something about the raw power of winter, the stress of final exams, and the rush to buy Christmas presents that gets me ready for the next phase of basketball season. I cannot wait for Georgetown to finish its last final exams of the semester with tough games against Loyola-MD, and Memphis on the road.

I do love our current Hoya basketball team. This is perhaps the deepest team we have had in several years. What intrigues me is that in spite of the great leadership provided by the DC Hoya triplets Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark there is still quite a bit of room for this team to grow. I love our four freshman, and how they all love to be on the court. Vee Sanford shows us glimpses of the future, while Jerrelle adds some muscle to our interior defense.

I love watching our offense, and the explosiveness we possess beyond the 3-point arc. I look forward to seeing our frontcourt, and defense grow with the season. I love our freshman class as all four--Markel, Nate, Aaron, and Moses will compete for playing time with sophomores Jerelle, and Vee. We still have some difficult tests left with Loyola-MD and Memphis before the start of the Big East season.

As I spend countless hours on the internet, and marvel at the hundreds of shows I have access to on my Verizon FIOS I am often puzzled? I have watched the HBO special on legendary coach Vince Lombardi multiple times this week. I love seeing the Jesuit ideals, and focus in Coach Lombardi as his booming voice resonated with his players. He was tough, but he loved his team and players. I do enjoy some of these reality shows like Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol. However, as I walk the Georgetown campus I cannot understand their growing popularity. For my taste, they cannot compare to the authenticity of watching a college basketball game. Watching our Georgetown Hoyas battle through the Big East season, to the Big East tournament in New York's Madison Square Garden, and on to March Madness is what I cannot wait to see. Don't get me wrong, reality shows are very entertaining, but I would contend they cannot compare to the real thing like the debut of Moses Ayegba as he drained his two free throws on Sunday! We are Georgetown! Hoya Saxa!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice-President--Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

Georgetown Basketball Events--A View from 7th Street

My time on the Georgetown Hoya Hoop Club Board has been wonderful. After yesterday's win over Utah State at Verizon Center I got to visit the Redline DC Sports Bar, and also met some Georgetown Basketball fans at Carmines DC. As I walked up and down 7th Street, I could see how many Hoya fans congregate at different places--Chinatown, Bar Louie, DC ChopHouse, Legal Seafood, and the list goes on. I encouraged my new friends at Carmines to attend our Hoya Hoop Club events during the year. Our Facebook, Twitter, and other networking vehicles have done much to bring our community together, but their is nothing like meeting in person. We will soon be coming out with a calendar for our events. I know the DC Metro Club does a great job with our watch parties at Black Finn, and other clubs around the country are very active like our group in Atlanta, GA amongst others. I hope to meet many more Hoya Hoop Club members and Georgetown fans during the season.

We are Georgetown! Hoya Saxa!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice President--Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

45 Minutes of Action!

What a game! I wish I could have made the trip to Kansas City! The Georgetown Hoyas shot a sizzling 71% from the field in the first half, and yet the Tigers rode their crowd cutting a one-time 18-point deficit to only 7 points at half. Austin Freeman led the way in the first half and made some great plays to keep Georgetown close in the second half. Chris Wright made one of the great shots in recent memory to put Georgetown into the OT. In the overtime, Jason Clark's 3 3-ptrs iced the game for GTown. It was a great road win for the Hoyas. Nate Lubick logged some valuable minutes and made some great defensive plays and rebounds. However, I want to point out two of the unsung heroes: Vee Sanford, and Henry Sims. Vee Sanford played some great defense, and made a key 3-ptr in the second half to keep the Missouri Tigers from pulling into a larger lead. He was great. I really enjoyed watching the game of Henry Sims who played with great confidence. He finished well on two power dunks, and made some shots to total 10 points. However, what really impressed me was the little things he did: blocking shots, good positioning, and altering countless shots inside. Henry Sims--you made us proud! The Hoya Nation loves you!

A great team effort for the Hoyas--Georgetown Forever! We will see you at Verizon Center on Saturday!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice President--Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

The DC Hoya Triplets

It is very rare that you will see a trio of guards on a college basketball team like Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark. It is even rarer that they come from a single high school conference like the WCAC. Austin from DeMatha in Hyattsville, Maryland; Chris Wright from St. John's in D.C.; and Jason Clark from O'Connell in Falls Church, Virginia. It has been a difficult road for these three with the additional pressures of playing in front of their hometown friends, families, and the local press. Expectations were indeed unreasonable. Still these three have had stellar college careers and are now truly coming together as one of the top backcourts in the nation. Chris Wright has been the MVP of the Charleston Classic & his 3-point shooting outburst helped prevent an opening game loss to Old Dominion on the road. Jason Clark has been our most consistent outside shooter. His NBA 3-point shot in traffic against Old Dominion helped seal that win. Austin Freeman has been quietly spectacular in the early season. He threw down some monster dunks in the second half against NC State in the finals of the Charleston Classic. Today against UNC-Asheville he put on a sizzling performance with 32 points sitting out much of the game. His 7 three pointers set a Georgetown single game record. In fact I think the best is yet to come. Hoya Saxa!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice President-Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

When Pride Still Mattered--The Jesuit Way

My first contact with the Jesuits was Father Theodore Brady, S.J. I was a nervous 8th grader sitting for my admissions interview at the North Bethesda campus with my parents. I remember how important it was for me to get in. I wanted to be part of the tradition, and to learn Latin from Father Brady. After being admitted, Father Brady had taken two years off for health reasons, and I had Mr. Joyce and Father Byrne as my Latin teachers. Both were wonderful mentors for me in the classroom and in life. I had a wonderful algebra teach in Father Galvin, and had Father Brady for English upon his return to Prep during my Junior year. The years flew by, and Georgetown University President Tim Healey, S.J. was our graduation speaker leading to another four years as a Georgetown undergraduate on the Hilltop.

As I get ready to attend my Georgetown Prep Homecoming this weekend, I will think about my recent trip to New York where I saw the Broadway play "Lombardi." There was a star filled audience that gathered after for questions with Steve Sabol and Merrill Hogue from NFL films. Also, Redskins owner Dan Snyder brought GM Bruce Allen, Sonny Jurgensen, and Sam Huff. The play was very interesting, and based on the book, "When Pride Still Mattered," by David Maraniss who was still in the audience. The play, like the book was a wonderful insight into Mr. Lombardi, and how the Jesuit ideals of discipline and precision permeated everything he did in life and on the football field. Indeed Lombardi loved the "Jesuit Way." On this weekend with the Homecoming events at Georgetown Prep, and the Gala for the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital we celebrate Coach Lombardi reflecting on the Jesuit Way and "When Pride Still Mattered."

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice President--Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

Countdown to MM Week 10: Georgetown-Tar Heels in the Superdome

March 30, 1982 was the date when the Georgetown-UNC Championship game began the modern era of college basketball. Why am I picking a loss for my last Heart Attack Hoya Classic? I hate to even discuss one of our most heart-breaking losses. However, I was impressed recently when '97 Georgetown alumnus & movie star, Bradley Cooper addressed the Georgetown students in Gaston Hall. In his address he told the students that he felt sorry for those who never fail at something, because only really in failure do we grow. As disappointing as the 62-63 loss was in the national championship game it was what allowed the Hoyas to learn, and usher in the greatest 10 years of basketball in Georgetown history including the 1984 NCAA championship. I remember watching the game on TV before a record crowd at the New Orleans Superdome. It was close throughout. Patrick Ewing as instructed by coach John Thompson, Jr. had several goaltending calls early as he did not allow any baskets by the Tar Heels in the first few minutes. Coach Thompson wanted to create a defensive presence early in the game. There were numerous lead changes as Georgetown and Carolina battled most of the game. Many college basketball historians often point to this game as a showcase for the new athleticism in the game of basketball. There were many underlying themes to this game. There was the friendship of John Thompson and Dean Smith. There was the battle between the Big East and ACC. Most people remember it as the game when Michael Jordan made the shot, and Fred Brown threw the ball to James Worthy. Who can forget Coach Thompson hugging Fred Brown and assuring him that his mistake did not cost the Hoyas the game. Certainly Fred had won the Hoyas many games during his Georgetown career. It seemed as if the next two years flew by, and Thompson was hugging Fred Brown when Georgetown defeated Houston for the NCAA championship. I am not one who likes moral victories, but I do not think anyone could watch this game and not be proud of the Georgetown Hoyas. Indeed it was a classic--the largest crowd ever to see a game, and at the very beginning of ESPN, and the modern era of college basketball. Indeed it was not Michael Jordan against Patrick Ewing, or John Thompson against Dean Smith, but it was Georgetown against North Carolina. Indeed I believe it is only a matter of time before these two schools play for another national championship. It is now only one week before Midnight Madness--I cannot wait!

We are Georgetown! Hoya Saxa!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice-President & Director of Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing

Countdown to MM Week 9: Hail to the Georgetown Generations

Hail the Georgetown Generations was the name of the article written for the New York Daily News on March 26, 2007. It seems like yesterday when I walked the halls of the Meadowlands running into Danny Ainge the GM of the Celtics, and sportswriter Mike Lupica. In what has been the defining game of the JT III era, the Hoyas trailed by a few points most of the game. They played well throughout, but could not contain the massive front line of the UNC Tar Heels. In what proved to be a much faster paced game than Georgetown was usually comfortable in, DaJuan Summers played the best game of his Hoya career scoring 21 points against a true national championship contender. It was indeed a game of Homeric proportions as the two heavyweights went after each other. I remember my friend Dennis Lucey coming down and asking me to give a pep talk to my friends in the upper deck who were very depressed with Georgetown trailing. To my surprise my friends were as down as I have ever seen them. When I realized this we stood in the hallways talking about the game during halftime. I told them that this was our time, and that we would slowly take control of the game. They needed to keep the faith. After halftime, the Tar Heels came out on fire, and I began to really worry. However, the Heart Attack Hoyas had done this to me before. They slowly pulled to within 3 points, as they matched the speed of UNC point guard Ty Lawson. Then Jonathan Wallace made the shot! In the remaining time, and overtime the Hoya defense shut down the UNC Tar Heels as the Hoyas ran away with the game 96-84. What a night in New Jersey--Georgetown Alumni Central!

Happy 2007--Georgetown Basketball had returned. The Duke game in 2006 was wonderful, but not like this one. I was fortunate to sit in this game next to celebrities Alfred Bozzo, Pat Riley, and Patrick Ewing. Jeff Green had told the press that Georgetown was now back to where it belongs--the Final Four. As Mike Lupica states in his article, "If this is the last game to be played in this arena, this one will do!" Almost 25 years to the day when UNC and Michael Jordan made the shots to defeat Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Championship, it was Georgetown that made the big shots. Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green, Jonathan Wallace, and DaJuan Summers came up big. As I rode with my brother and other friends back home, I was overcome by a sense of happiness. Getting to the arena 4 hours early was well worth it as we rode the bus from the Port Authority. I must have gotten a hundred calls that night as I obviously could not sleep. I ordered my Final Four tickets and made my travel arrangements. Happy 2007--Nest Stop the Final Four. Georgetown was back!

We are Georgetown! Hoya Saxa!

Dr. Thomas A. Wong

Hoya Hoop Club Vice-President--Communications

Proud Member of Generation Ewing