OOC Schedule Produces Mixed Responses

Over a week ago, Georgetown released it’s out of conference schedule. The slate, consisting of 11 games, follows along with commentary, while the school’s look at OOC foes is linked here:

The issuance of this season’s OOC slate clearly energized the Hoya denizens -some positively, most in a negative fashion. Folks were certainly happy to be confronted with what non-BIG EAST foes will be seen, pleased to engage in game-based Hoya Hoops 2024-25 yap.

Yet the reaction to this collection of non-BIG EAST contests was far from sanguine. That’s Initially understandable: The defining characteristic of this collection of games – all occurring in the 2024-2025 campaigns first two months and the vast majority likely happening before their BIG East Conference work begins (full slate hasn’t been released) – is a lack of top level competition. It’s relatively bare of it

How?

Only a trio of contests can be dubbed high major or power conference affairs. Of these schools, Notre Dame is met early at home in DC, while WVU and historical rival Syracuse are faced eight days apart in early/mid December. A brief sketch of their on-court success, last season, which included Georgetown defeating the Domers and falling to ‘Cuse, looks like:

So it’s clear a path to the NCAA Tournament will not be crafted by HC Ed Cooley’s OOC collection. Only one MTE (Multi-Team Event) has been engaged – G’Town’s own featuring Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis – and the three high major squads faced in ’24 OOC work were not world beaters last season, going a collective 13 games under .500. Nobody can suggest this helps Big Dance possibilities.

Does it make sense to go easy staring the season or is this a dereliction given strength of schedule is a NCAA Tournament metric, and generally playing challenging teams is iron sharpening iron?

Well, simply, there is tremendous justification for a soft OOC schedule in this case. Just look at the Hoyas’ current state.

Of 13 scholarship guys, 2.5 donned Blue and Grey last season. That cohort, junior guard Jayden Epps, sophomore forward Drew Fielder were the only ones to actually see action on The Hilltop, putting up 18.5/2.6 and 5.2/3.2 pts/rebs per game. Sophomore forward Drew McKenna was on the team, yet redshirted, arriving mid-year and saw no battle.

For those counting, they produced 23.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg of 70.84 points and 34.1 bords each contest logged in ’23-24. Context illustrates that’s 33.4% of the team’s scoring returning, from a unit that struggled, finishing 9-23 overall, 2-18 in the BIG EAST. Carom-wise, Cooley receives only 17% of the boards snagged by last year’s unit.

Of the other Hoyas, only grad forward Micah Peavy has a legit high major resume – 10.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in ’23-24 at TCU. Malik Mack, a sophomore transfer from Harvard, demonstrated prodigious 17.2 ppg scoring and four assists each time out. The rub is that school, a mid-major Ivy League institution, only faced bigger conference schools Indiana, BC and Rice, generally struggling. So as rule, he hasn’t balled out at high major strata.

The rest of G’Town’s newcomers with experience: Jordan Burks, a sophomore forward in from Kentucky, contributed just 1.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg in 20 games last season, plus Curtis Williams, a sophomore wing/guard who competed at Louisville. There, he put up 5.3 ppg and 1.3 rpg. He saw minutes in all 32 contests.

Five of HC Ed Cooley’s guys are freshman. By definition Rivals.com four star guys, forward Thomas Sorber, guard Kayvaun Mulready, center Julius Halaifonua, plus a pair of three star dudes in forwards Caleb Williams and Seal Diouf have no college tape. That makes them an obvious question mark, one that’s increased by Halaifonoa and Diouf, who missed summer practice being secured late in August.

In concert with a lack of demonstrated big time college work, having a roster so new – ten of it’s guys with no G’town experience at this juncture – creates a lack of continuity. The sibling of that is culture; Epps, Fielder, McKenna are the only ones to have experienced Cooley’s approach, demands, expectations, non-negotiables, etc. As such, they are the few that can help install it at least initially.

All above , new players, new roles for everyone except Epps and even he must be more of a leader, conspire to demand a baby step, OOC schedule approach. The team must jell and prepare for the ’24-25 BIG EAST campaign.

The question should be, would high profile, OOC drubbings be beneficial to development and brand profile? Two Division I coaching practicioners saw both sides of the story.

“There is just no substitute for experience in college basketball” opined a double digit employed assistant coach with a national presence. “Most young players have no idea how hard it can be to play at that level, let alone win”.

His summation was “Scheduling is such a hard balance between challenging your groiup and rising them losing confidence”.

A younger assistant who has played/seen the game at both high major and mid-major levels, agreed, yet added a slightly different bent.

“i would find some balance in the middle” he said, when asked whether Cupcake City or Godzilla Row would be his choice in compiling a schedule vis a vis his team’s readiness. “Get some games you can for sure win. But also some challenging games to get your ass kicked to show the team how far they have to go.

“I wouldn’t be too easy to get a false sense of reality. i wouldn’t go to hard to demoralize the team early in the season.

“Balance”.

So logically, a strong argument can made for Cooley et al to have not scheduled a beast, ’24-25 OOC slate, even if it could be more challenging. In this instance, it could be kind of self-destructive for a unit demanding SO much jell time. Yet, fans being unhappy with this OOC collection is totally understandable. The recent on-court numbers are soul snatching for Hoya fans:

BIG EAST wins since ’21 – 4 (none in 2022, 2-23 each season afterward)

BIG EAST tally since ”17-18 – 30-99

NCAA Tournament bids over last decade – 2

Last NCAA Sweet Sixteen reached – 2007

Overall sinning percentage over seven seasons (Cooley and at Ewing’s tenures} -64% at 84-132

That’s many years of futility, which must be respected. And still, the Hoyas can’t get aggressive scheduling, as the program is basically at the base of Mountain Rebuild, trying to plant its flag at the summit.

All of Hoya World, regardless of scheduling outlook, hopes that climb ends up happening sooner than later. There may not be much time to wait, as fans don’t, and shouldn’t, be expect to.

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