New York, NY--

Today’s Georgetown 62-57 victory over Villanova marks the re-birth of the prominence of the men’s basketball program on the Hilltop. The hype of a new head coach three season’s ago and the trip the NCAA Tournament last season certainly were strides that many fans have waited 10 years to see. So what’s the difference this season? It’s finally not just a son of a legendary name, rather it seems that the overall basketball talent has returned to the Hoyas along with the legendary name.

This year also marks the first time in a number of years the Hoyas have a Big East Player of the Year in Jeff Green and they seem to have a nucleus of players that just seem to gel very well together. That nucleus starts with a 7-2 “big man” in the middle Roy Hibbert, who as a Junior has showed the leadership that when he first stepped on campus he just did not have. So what’s next for 2007?  A Final Four? Most fans would expect nothing less than a final four appearance, after their best season since 1989 when they took the top seed in the Big East tournament.

If you look back at the past 10 seasons of Hoyas basketball, the era of Craig Esherick… poor recruiting or just plain bad basketball, this weekend will hopefully have a lot of people forgetting that those years ever happened…. As an alumni and avid Hoya fan myself, I personally after this season along with other fans will forgive the team and realize the John Thompson III is for real and then some…. Some have even started wearing the Hoya Blue and Grey with pride again… I even plunked down the $150 for the Hoyas colored Air Force 25’s that were being sold outside Madison Square Garden tonight…. I might paint my face blue and grey Saturday if they emerge with a victory.

In order for the Hoyas to avoid embarrassment, they will need to make it to the Big East final on Saturday night and not just make it there and lose a 15 points lead like they did last year against Syracuse… they will, for fans to believe they own the Big East, make a statement with a convincing win and then when Selection Sunday comes around, the team facing the Hoyas will not just be facing the Georgetown Hoyas…. They will be facing one of the biggest threats to hit the 2007 NCAA Tournament…. Next Stop Atlanta!