Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 24, 2008; 2:30 PM

Georgetown beat writer Camille Powell was online Monday, March 24 at 2:30 p.m. ET to take your questions about the Hoyas' upset loss to Davidson and what the future holds in store for the team next season.

A transcript follows

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Camille Powell: Greetings everyone, and thanks for stopping by. I've been in the office for about 30 minutes and have already run into two Georgetown fans: One described himself as "very upset," and the other was ripping Roy Hibbert. So, how are people feeling the day after Georgetown's loss to Davidson? Sad? Surprised? Angry?

Let's get started...

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Charlotte, NC: Hats off to the players who should be proud of their team and experience and successes. But boos to the writers who whine about venue and referees.

Camille Powell: Looks like there are several questions that refer to the officiating, but we'll start with this one...

To the Georgetown players' credit, I didn't hear any of them blame the crowd or the officiating for the loss. But they seemed a little frustrated by the tight way the game was called.

The atmosphere inside of RBC Center rivaled what the Hoyas saw earlier this year at Memphis, at Louisville, at Syracuse... All Georgetown losses. I think if the Hoyas had played Davidson in any other state, the crowd still would've been largely pro-Wildcats, because of the underdog/Stephen Curry factor.

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Cleveland Park: That Georgetown's fans are complaining about the officiating is almost too rich for words, considering that the Hoyas had about four games handed to them by the officials in the regular season.

Camille Powell: Another sentiment regarding the officiating.

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Great Falls, Va.: Excuse me while I cry. What happened to my Hoyas? Did last year's team really overachieve? It's hard to believe a team that talented could turn over the ball that many times. Seems like it got worse as the season wore on, those two games in NYC being the exception. Then again, despite all the accolades for Curry (and he's good), the game obviously was lost at the free throw line. Take away the differential and we win.

Camille Powell: I don't know if last year's team overachieved, but they got hot at the right time and took advantage of some brilliant individual performances. If Jeff Green doesn't make that shot to beat Vanderbilt, what kind of expectations does this team start the season with?

The turnovers were the most baffling thing to me, considering the Hoyas' personnel. Unforced errors, like travels and passes out of bounds, and poor decisions, like pushing the ball into traffic or throwing it ahead.

As for the free throws, Vernon Macklin took nearly half of them, and he's a 20% shooter from the line.

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Oakton, Va.: I tuned into the game as I do most tournament games, hoping to see some good competition and maybe even a possible upset bid. After the first half I gave up on Davidson and turned off the TV, Georgetown was in COMPLETE control.

What happened?

Camille Powell: I've talked to a couple of people who were watching the G'town game, saw the Hoyas were up by 17, and then went to run an errand/take a shower/whatever only to come back and find a much closer game.

Stephen Curry took over, both with his shooting and his ability to set up teammates, and the Hoyas' offense fell apart. Too many turnovers, too many bad shots.

The Georgetown players were definitely stunned after the game, and were at a loss to pinpoint exactly where the game slipped away.

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Washington, D.C.: How much did this season hurt Roy Hibbert's NBA draft stock? He was most certainly a top 5-10 pick at the end of last season, and based on his regression throughout this season, it's difficult to see him being a lottery pick.

Also, why didn't G-Town run more offense through Hibert like Louisville runs through Padgett? Hibbert was often drifting away from the basket this season and not in positions that favored his skills.

Camille Powell: I think Hibbert could still be a low lottery pick, but he probably won't go as high as he would have last year. In the long run, that might help Hibbert, because I think he would benefit by going to a team where he doesn't have to be the man -- he doesn't have the game or personality to do that yet. The goal is to have a long-term career.

When Georgetown's halfcourt offense was at its best, it was running through Hibbert -- either letting him work down low, or having other players cut off of him or set up outside for open 3's.

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Arlington, Va.: As someone who only watches Georgetown casually (I'm a UNC grad), I'm interested in your view as the beat writer on Hibbert. I was amazed at how often he totally disappeared when I watched them play. I had to really do a double take when I saw he had 1 rebound yesterday. Last time I looked, Davidson was not exactly blessed with size up front. Is he as "soft" as he sometimes appears? What do you see him doing at the next level?

Camille Powell: I think your perception of Hibbert would be echoed by some of the G'town fans that I know (like the ones in my office). He was completely taken out of yesterday's game after he picked up the early fouls, and that limited his aggressiveness. Hibbert has never been a particularly dominant rebounder for his size -- he's not super-athletic, and he doesn't go after the ball like some of those Davidson guys did. Looking back at the West Virginia game in the Big East tournament, his most remarkable stat was his 10 offensive boards.

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Ann Arbor, Mich.: A bit unrelated, but do you know what Jonathan Wallace's plans are for next year? I read he was accepted to Georgetown Law School -- do you know if he'll be pursuing this option or sticking with basketball?

Camille Powell: I haven't talked to Wallace about this yet, and I didn't think yesterday was a good time to ask him. Law school has been in his plans ever since he came to Georgetown, so I think that he will ultimately end up there. But I would not be surprised if he deferred for a year or two so he could play in Europe. I don't think he's finished with basketball yet.

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Arlington, Va.: I almost hate to ask, but: How much do you think the team was missing Jeff Green yesterday?

Camille Powell: I think they were missing that one player they could turn to when they absolutely needed a big play, whether it was a basket or a rebound. Hibbert isn't the same kind of player, because he relies on other people to get him the ball.

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McLean, Va.: Two words: Stephen Curry

Maybe Davidson will be this year's George Mason, and Georgetown just got a bad draw, or so I figured Hoyas fans would say...

Camille Powell: Davidson needs to win two more games to be this year's George Mason. I don't think they'll do it, but after watching Stephen Curry all weekend, I'm loathe to bet against him.

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K Street: All I've been hearing from my co-workers and friends today was that Georgetown was overrated all year long. What's your take on the matter and how would you say GU wasn't overrated?

Camille Powell: For most of the season I thought that the Hoyas were being judged by a harsher standard than some other teams, and that they didn't get enough credit for finishing 15-3 in a difficult conference. They led the country in field goal percentage defense and won 28 games. I thought that most of the top teams in the country were flawed, Georgetown included.

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Huntington, W.V.: Camille,

Execellent work covering the Hoyas this year!

What is the deal with Vernon Macklin? I thought he was the Big Ticket? Thanks

Camille Powell: Thanks for the kind words.

I think Macklin sometimes thinks that the "Big Ticket" nickname is a bit of a burden. His development is going to be one of the interesting storylines for next season. He showed flashes this season (at Pittsburgh, at St. John's, yesterday), and he seemed to play better when he got to stay on the court for extended minutes. He was more fluid, and more confident.

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Riggs Park, DC: The Hoyas are known for their tough D, winning those ugly games, but really have no offensive flow at times despite their talent. Do you think that JT3's reliance on running the Princeton style offense is taking away from his players' talents?

Think back to Jeff Green, he could have had many more monster games, but he was a system player, and now the likes of Sapp, Freeman, Wright and Summers are going through the same thing. With the recruiting class on its way, JT3 has to adjust to his talent, shouldnt he??

Camille Powell: The players have bought into Thompson's system, especially after seeing Green's success (in terms of wins, individual accolades and draft position). At the Big East tournament, Sapp talked about how the system forces players to be well-rounded, which is something that he likes.

I do think that Thompson adjusts to fit the talent. You saw that at times earlier in the season when they were playing much more up-tempo (before Chris Wright was injured), and there will be more of that next year.

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Six Feet Under Healy Hall: Looking around the Big East next season, what's your shoot-from-the-hip assessment of where the Hoyas fit into he conference standings?

Camille Powell: Lots of young talent in the Big East right now: Connecticut, Villanova, Syracuse. Pitt, West Virginia and Louisville will be experienced. Georgetown might face the most questions at the start of next season.

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Eldon Greenville, N.C. : Do you believe with the addition of Greg Monroe, Henry Sims, and Chris Braswell that the Hoyas can go further than they did this year?

Camille Powell: You forgot to mention Jason Clark. But who knows. Maybe they get better match-ups in the tournament and make it to the second weekend.

I'll be curious to see how the team fits together without this senior class. It's hard to overstate how important they were to the Hoyas, both on the court and off of it -- you could see that in the way their younger teammates reacted after the game. Hibbert, Wallace, Crawford and Ewing really grounded the Hoyas, because of the way they worked.

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Washington, DC: Just a quick note to say that I'm an alum of both Davidson and G'town and.... GO DAVIDSON!!!!! Such an exciting win for the Wildcats.

Camille Powell: A good day for you! But who were you rooting for?

It was a great, great win for Davidson. One of the most remarkable games and individual performances I've seen in person, and a great atmosphere.

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Camille Powell: Thanks for all the questions. Enjoy the rest of the tournament!

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