WASHINGTON — The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team is in the business of proving people wrong. Last season they were picked to finish last in the Big East, and found themselves surrounded by confetti at center court while celebrating a Big East Tournament Championship.
This season starts with more of the same. Georgetown is picked to finish 10th in the Big East preseason coaches poll.
“It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish," Georgetown Coach Patrick Ewing said. "I kept mentioning that Drake song all last year ‘started from the bottom’ so thank God it's just a preseason poll. I don’t put a lot of credit in preseason polls, but what I care about is how we finish in the end."
Ewing addressed several members of the media via Zoom, prior to the team's season opener, and was wearing a sweatshirt with an image of former Georgetown coach, the late John Thompson Jr. When asked what his predecessor would think of Georgetown being ranked so low in the preseason poll, Ewing laughed.
"I won't use the profanity he might use," Ewing said. "But like I said, preseason doesn’t mean anything.”
Georgetown sophomore guard Dante Harris echoed Ewing's sentiment.
“It really doesn’t matter if they got us ranked last, first, or middle because we are going to go out there and play with the same intensity every night," Harris said.
Both Harris, who grew up in D.C., and Prince George's County native Donald Carey will step into big leadership roles this season on a team featuring five freshmen. Ewing knows that with freshmen comes a learning curve and he's trying to find his inner patience.
“Aristotle said patience is a virtue," Ewing said. "I’m trying to be virtuous. It's going to be hard when I have all these young kids. They all believe in themselves, and I believe in them, but it's going to be a step-by-step process. Rome wasn’t built in a day."
Two freshmen to keep an eye on this year? Prince George’s County native Aminu Mohommad and Ryan Mutombo. If the latter sounds familiar, it's because his dad is former Georgetown great turned NBA superstar, Dikembe Mutombo. The younger Mutombo also takes after his dad in size, measuring in at 7-foot-2-inches.
Harris said he likes what he sees in this freshmen bunch, so far.
“They are all going to be special, that’s what I love about this group," Harris said. "People tend to doubt us, but you know I like when the odds are stacked against us."
Harris is confident enough in his team's skill, that the doubters don't get to him.
"I just let the game do all the talking," he laughingly replied.
The Hoyas as a whole are confident, and ready to prove their skills on the court come Saturday.
"Obviously they think that we aren't a top team in our conference, but it's only preseason," Carey said. "I think we can be a good team. We have a lot of talent, so we just have to play together and play hard."
Georgetown tips off Saturday at 2 p.m. at Capital One Arena, taking on Dartmouth.