Another year, another letdown. At least that’s what many in the Georgetown basketball fanbase are thinking when it comes to yet another elimination in the first week of the NCAA tournament, the sixth consecutive time that’s occurred for Head Coach John Thompson III’s program. Whether it be social media rants or message board tirades, the Georgetown fanbase has made known its dissatisfaction with how the Hoyas’ 2014-15 season ended. Some have even gone as far as to say that this year was a failure, as the ultimate goal of winning the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985—or just even making their first Final Four since 2007—was not met.
And although I, like many who closely follow Georgetown, am disappointed with the team’s elimination at the hands of Utah last Saturday night, I would not classify this season as a failure. Instead, given the circumstances coming into this year, I would say the 2014-15 campaign was a success.
I know that my opinion may not be the most popular with much of the beleaguered Georgetown fanbase. It may not be popular with Georgetown’s players, either—especially seniors such as Jabril Trawick, Joshua Smith, Mikael Hopkins, and Aaron Bowen, who will never play a game again in a Hoyas uniform.
But from a pragmatic perspective, this year’s team accomplished the two foremost goals of the season: make the NCAA tournament, and, once there, avoid elimination at the hands of a double-digit seed for the sixth consecutive time. A Final Four run would have been nice, but it was always a longshot with this year’s team.
Aside from the accomplishments that will live on forever as banners hung from the rafters of McDonough Arena, every player on the Hoyas’ roster met or exceeded the expectations that many had for them entering this season.
When needed most, junior guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera came through for the Hoyas in the most important moments of games. His clutch play closed out games against the likes of Florida, Marquette, and Creighton, and showed why he was the Big East Preseason Player of the Year.
Joshua Smith played every game this season, an accomplishment in and of itself considering he missed the whole second half of last season due to academic issues. And although when he was on the floor, he often struggled with foul trouble, he did have multiple double-double performance, and forced opposing teams to game-plan for him due to his ability to dominate in the low-post.
Trawick, the heart and soul of this Hoyas team, exceeded all expectations. As the team’s premier perimeter defender coming into this season, many would have been content if the Philadelphia native’s defensive ability canceled out his limited offensive skillset, strictly as a driver, the past few seasons. But Trawick, the only person on the current team that legendary Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson, Jr. said would have been tough enough to play for his teams, improved immensely on the offensive end so much so that he was the team’s top three-point shooter this season.
And most importantly, the freshmen showed that they could not only be trusted, but relied upon in the most crucial of situations. Guard L.J. Peak scored 18 points in the Hoyas’ tournament loss to Utah, and he is probably their best perimeter defender now that Trawick will graduate. Guard Tre Campbell, after a slow start to the season, looks like he will be Thompson’s point guard of the future, showing late-game poise in the team’s contests against Marquette and Xavier this year. And forward Paul White demonstrated that he can play point forward, a rare commodity during Thompson’s decade-long tenure on the Hilltop.
But the player who offers the greatest prospects upside entering next season is forward Isaac Copeland. The Big East All-Rookie selection might very well be on his way to being the Hoyas’ first lottery draft selection since Otto Porter, Jr. was picked third by the Washington Wizards in 2013. From his game-winning three-pointer against Butler to his career performance against Seton Hall, Copeland showed that he has all the tools to succeed at the next level. Don’t be surprised if Copeland even takes the reins from Smith-Rivera next year as the team’s go-to player.
All of these developments point towards a promising 2015-16 campaign. A neophyte core will emerge into battle-hardened sophomores who know what it will take for the Hoyas to advance past the NCAA tournament hurdle that’s existed for nearly a decade. This year, for all its ups and downs, was a stepping stone. Next year comes the breakthrough.
