Greg Monroe calls Georgetown tenure 'the best two years of my life'

Calling his time on the Hilltop "the best two years of my life," Georgetown's Greg Monroe bid a tearful goodbye to his teammates and coaches at the basketball team's annual banquet Tuesday night.

The Hoyas' sophomore center announced on Saturday that he would cut short his college career to enter the NBA draft, in which he's projected to be among the top 10 players selected.

Asked by Coach John Thompson III to address the audience of Georgetown's most ardent boosters, players' families, university administrators and members of the pep band and cheer squad, Monroe, 19, extended thanks to almost everyone in the on-campus Leavey Center ballroom for all they had done for him as a player and person.

"When I got here I didn't know what was going to hit me," said Monroe, who was among the nation's more coveted prep recruits as a standout at Helen Cox High School near New Orleans. "It has been the best two years of my life."

Above all, Monroe said, he wanted to thank his teammates -- every one of whom he regarded as a brother.

"The things we've been through, I wouldn't have wanted to go through with anyone else but these guys," Monroe said, pausing to wipe away a tear. "I love all of y'all. Thank you for making my experience as fun as it could be."

Thompson took over from there.

"We are Georgetown," the coach said as Monroe stepped from the dais to his second standing ovation of the evening.

"He's not leaving," Thompson said of Monroe. "He's a part of who we are, and he'll always be a part of who we are."

Thompson added that he fully expected to see Monroe at McDonough Arena this summer and for many summers to come working out with younger Hoyas, much like Roy Hibbert did earlier this week with rising senior Julian Vaughn, who is among those expected to shoulder the front-court load in Monroe's absence.

"Next year the big fella is leaving, but we're going to be okay," Thompson said. "The discussion this summer is going to be: How are we going to replace Monroe. We aren't. We don't want to. It's going to be a different group."

Monroe started 65 consecutive games for Georgetown but leaves the Hilltop never having won an NCAA tournament game. He averaged 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Hoyas (23-11) this season and was named to the first-team all-Big East Squad.