Seated on either side of John Thompson III at Wednesday’s news conference at McDonogh Gymnasium, Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert glanced behind the Georgetown coach and flashed one another a knowing smile as Thompson talked to the media.
Although the inside jokes will go on, the two juniors will no longer share them as Hoya teammates, with Green announcing he’s going forward with the NBA draft while Hibbert said he’ll withdraw and play his senior season at Georgetown.
“Whenever I look at Roy, a smile comes to my face because he’s a great player, a good teammate, a good friend, a good brother,” said Green. “We just have fun, you know. He gave me a look, and I just smiled.”
Green, who still has yet to hire an agent, and Hibbert both came to their respective decisions after sitting down with Thompson and their families. Each took out an insurance policy last year, and together they helped lead the Hoyas to the Final Four this spring.
“I feel like we came to a decision that I should stay in this draft, and it would be the best thing for me after the season that the team had and that I had,” said Green, the Big East player of the year and NCAA East Region’s most valuable player.
Thompson, who arrived at Georgetown the same year as his two star players, called Green his “security blanket,” and gave a clear hint of who would replace him.
“It’s not difficult to see who that might be,” said Thompson, gesturing to Hibbert.
A number of mock drafts are projecting Green to be taken in the top 10, but the same isn’t true for Hibbert, who knows exactly what falling into the teens could cost him.
“If you look at Jeff, he’s in a good situation right now. My situation, that’s a lot of money I could lose, but I believe that another year at Georgetown will be great, help my status,” said Hibbert. “Playing for Georgetown has been my dream. I look at all those old Georgetown tapes. All those centers stayed four years so I think I should to stay, too.”
Coaching corner
» John Thompson III also announced that locals Kenya Hunter and David Cox will be his new assistant coaches. Hunter, 35, a Wakefield High graduate, has been an assistant at Xavier for three seasons. Cox, 33, a former head coach at Carroll and Washington-area AAU coach, was director of basketball operations this past year at Pittsburgh. They replace Sydney Johnson, who was hired to coach Princeton, and Kevin Broadus, who is the new coach at Binghamton.
