LINKS: Hoyas Rising Meet & Greet on Saturday October 14th

The season starts in under 30 days!

The start of the season for your Georgetown Hoyas is now under 30 days away and anticipation for Ed Cooley and his crew is rising. Accordingly, Hoyas Rising, the branding and NIL-promoting organization, will be hosting a FREE meet and greet with men’s basketball players this weekend, October 14th (3-5 PM), in Georgetown’s own Red Square!

Meanwhile, the women’s basketball team has been killing it with content and has shared some looks at the new Nike and Jordan shoes and gear that will be used for the upcoming season. Like all GU sports these days, they are a great follow on Instagram.

Here are the links:

GEORGETOWN PREVIEW- Can things only get better? | The Big Big East Blog

What we can say about Cooley’s first off-season at Georgetown is there is a buzz and anticipation not seen since Ewing agreed to replace John Thompson III in 2017. Capitol One Arena, mostly empty the last few years, should have at least a few more fans in seats in 2023-24. The roster looks primed to help the Hoyas take a step up in their coach’s opening season at a new location. One can hope this is start of a Georgetown renaissance, as a solid Hoyas program amplifies the visibility of the school and the conference, but maybe this season Cooley might not reach all of his lofty goals,

NCAA Council votes to overhaul college basketball recruiting calendar in addition to slimming portal window | CBS Sports (Norlander)

April will no longer have an evaluation period for college coaches to scout high school prospects. Because there are so many transfers in the modern game, that month is now being prioritized by coaches to re-establish their rosters and use their recruiting time to either host transfers or fly to visit them in their home areas. It’s a major change, but a necessary one, according to coaches and support staff…

It was long expected that college basketball’s window to enter the transfer portal would shrink from a 60-day timeline to 30. And up until the start of the D-I Council meetings, that was the anticipation from college basketball’s stakeholders. Instead, it will be 45 days and — at the objection of many in college basketball — the portal will again open the day after Selection Sunday.

THE BIG EAST PRESEASON PREVIEW: UNVEILING THE POWERHOUSES OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL | HoopTalk.TV

9. Georgetown Hoyas … After a disastrous end to his Providence career Ed Cooley will look to smooth the sails in DC. He has a team with a lot of different experience and talent, but they haven’t seen real college basketball minutes. This will be interesting considering this team has barely won a Big East game over the last few seasons.

2023-24 Big East Men’s Basketball Summer Check-In: Georgetown Hoyas | Anonymous Eagle

Of the four transfers with Division 1 playing experience, it looks like Supreme Cook (6’9”, 229 lbs, Forward, East Orange, New Jersey) has done the most as a guy with a notable role. He’s been a starter for all but 18 of his 91 games at Fairfield, and this past season, he averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds. He’s never attempted a three-pointer, which is a little bit odd for a guy with his body type. Jayden Epps (6’2”, 187 lbs, Guard, Suffolk, Virginia) was a top 75 prospect when he went to Illinois in the Class of 2022, but after averaging 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while starting 11 times for the Illini as a freshman, he’s making his way back to the Atlantic coast area.

You might remember Ismael Massoud (6’9”, 213 lbs, Forward, East Harlem, New York) from his 15 point outing against Michigan State in Kansas State’s overtime win over the Spartans in the Sweet 16 last season. That was, however, his best scoring game of the season as he averaged 5.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15 minutes a game for the Wildcats. He’s played for four years already between Wake Forest and K-State, so this will be his only season with Georgetown. Dontrez Styles (6’6”, 212 lbs, Guard/Forward, Kinston, North Carolina) joins Epps in the “former top 75 prospect trying something new” club. He was at North Carolina for two seasons, but that never materialized into a notable role, and his minutes actually took a huge drop as a sophomore when he played in just 15 games for the Tar Heels.

Your Guide to What’s New on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus | Georgetown.edu

Over the summer, Georgetown began demolition on a transformative new project: redeveloping the 47-year-old Henle Village into a larger, greener and more accessible apartment-style residence for undergraduates… The new facility will include 780 beds; in-unit kitchens and bathrooms; 15,000 square feet of student lounges, yoga and exercise rooms, wellness spaces and study rooms; and common areas and green spaces that are open to all community members. The previous complex housed 468 students in apartment-style housing.

In September, a new restaurant and bar opened in the Healey Family Student Center: the Hilltop Tap Room… The space, formerly called the Bulldog Tavern, had been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tap room is now open under the management of Hilltop Tap Room LLC, which was co-founded by Georgetown alumnus, Ben Sislen (L’10) and his business partners, and will serve pub fare ranging from chicken sandwiches to burgers and pizza.