LINKS: First Official Georgetown Hoyas Practice with Ed Cooley

Less than 40 days until the season starts!

Your Georgetown Hoyas have officially started the season with their first practice, with clips posted to Instagram. The rule is believed to be that NCAA teams are permitted to practice 40 days prior to their first game.

By the way, the November 7th game against Le Moyne will be free for attendees who register (even if you’re a Pr*vidence fan). The rest of the games have tickets on sale now.

Here are the links:

The return of Ed Cooley is already the hottest ️ in town | Boston Globe

The Providence College men’s basketball team released its Big East Conference schedule last week, and everyone is circling Jan. 27 on the calendar for the return of Coach Cooley, who left the Friars for Georgetown after last season.

The game might be the hottest ticket in all of college basketball this season, with seats going for a low of $350 right now on the secondary ticket market. By comparison, you can get tickets to a Red Sox/Rays game next week for $14.

5 questions with Syracuse’s Adrian Autry | College Hoops Today (Rothstein)

I think our primary defense will be man-to-man. I’ve said that and there’s no secret about that. We will play zone, but it depends on the situation and the game. We won’t play 40 minutes of zone though — man-to-man will be our primary defense…

I think experience. I think we probably have one of the most talented rosters that we’ve had in a while in terms of 1-10. Depending on the situation, we can play nine or 10 guys. I think our depth is a major factor and with what we went through the last couple of years — the guys here were a part of that. I think we’ve got a very motivated group and I think all of the guys that transferred in bring something. Chance Westry (Auburn) is high level. Kyle Cuffe was at Kansas, but didn’t really play and Naheem (McLeod) was at Florida State and played a little, but not a lot. All of those guys complement this group. You’ll see a very vibrant group, a very active group. I think the experience and our depth will be the difference for us this year.

Georgetown’s Leas starts in record 90th consecutive soccer match | DC News Now

Hoyas center back Julia Leas is setting records over at Georgetown University. Thursday, she started in her 90th consecutive soccer match which is a school record and quite possibly a national record. The NCAA doesn’t keep of record of these stats, but they are checking and believe it could be a national record.

“If she came up here one day and she was missing a leg, and I said to her, you only have one leg. She would try and convince me she had two legs”, Leas’ head coach, Dave Nolan said.

If you are going to start in 90 consecutive games, this is the mindset you have to have. But you also have to absolutely love the game of soccer.

Jim Boeheim on St. John’s: “They’re going to be at worst a top-20 team this season” | College Hoops Today (Rothstein)

When asked if he thought it might take St. John’s some time to become a top tier team in the Big East since the league boasts three likely top-10 teams in Marquette, UConn, and Creighton, Boeheim didn’t hesitate to give a quick response.

“You have to look at what Rick (Pitino) has done with lesser resources,” Boeheim added. “I told him not to take the Boston University job in 1978 and he took them to the NCAA Tournament. He then took Providence to the Final Four in 1987 and they might have won the whole thing if they didn’t play us in the Final Four. Then Kentucky goes on probation and they hire him and they’re in the Final Four in a couple of years. Louisville? Look at the players that he won a national title with that year. Luke Hancock transferred from George Mason and nobody was recruiting Russ Smith, but he became a great player because of Rick. He’s a great coach.”

Big East Notebook: Rick Pitino’s impact on St. John’s TV schedule & ticket sales, Gavitt Games likely to continue | NJ.com

The TV numbers are no surprise considering the Red Storm’s hiring of Pitino, 71, was considered the best offseason coaching move in the nation.

“The Rick Pitino Effect is alive and well,” one coach told Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com. “Along with NIL backing from St. John’s, the sky is the limit. We were fortunate to play Iona the last two years and Coach Pitino is still so sharp. His energy is through the roof, and he still has that competitive spirit. If he is able to do what he’s been doing for the duration of his career, he will be the King of New York and have St. John’s on the same level as the Knicks.”