By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
This isn't simply an opportunity for general manager Ernie Grunfeld to add to the gifted young core of John Wall and Bradley Beal while solidifying the gap at small forward, much in the same way the Oklahoma City Thunder built a juggernaut through the draft and savvy trades driven by the long view, not instant gratification.
All-American Otto Porter Jr. is leaving Georgetown after his sophomore season and declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft.
Porter was the Big East player of the year and finished second in the voting behind Michigan's Trey Burke for The Associated Press player of the year award.
Creighton's Doug McDermott, Victor Oladipo of Indiana and Kelly Olynyk of Gonzaga are the other players on the team announced Monday.
It wasn't enough time for Georgetown coach John Thompson III to reflect. He was not 20 minutes removed from his second-seeded Hoyas' loss to 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast, the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament.
Markel Starks had 14 points and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13 off the bench, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run for the top-seeded Hoyas (25-5).
John Thompson, the first of the Georgetown coaches with that name, was sitting on a raised area just feet from where John Thompson III was accepting the trophy for Big East Coach of the Year.
In conference games only, Porter was second in the league in scoring (18.1), fifth in rebounding (7.3), tied for third in steals (1.8) and second in 3-point shooting (44.1 percent).
John Thompson Jr. coached Georgetown to a regular-season title in 1979-80, Year 1 of the Big East, and his son took the Hoyas to the final regular-season title before the conference undergoes massive changes, emphatically ending the rivalry against Syracuse with a 61-39 win Saturday.
This will be the 89th meeting between the schools (Syracuse leads 48-40), and John Thompson III said it won't be the last. But occasional non-conference matchups probably won't hold the same sway.
The Wildcats also beat then-No. 5 Louisville and then-No. 3 Syracuse and have put themselves in solid shape for at least an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
Taking over the game after Georgetown trailed early in the second half, Porter finished with 28 points and eight rebounds — and filled plenty of other statistical columns, too.
Otto Porter Jr.'s layup with 9.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime gave No. 7 Georgetown a 79-78 victory over Connecticut on Wednesday night, the Hoyas' 10th straight win and first-ever at Gampel Pavilion.
Porter thrust himself into conversation for national player of the year honors, along with Michigan's Trey Burke and Indiana's Victor Oladipo, after depositing 33 points, eight rebounds and five steals against Syracuse last week.
Porter scored 16 points while playing in foul trouble and Starks hit the biggest shots down the stretch, rallying the Hoyas to their seventh straight win on Friday night, 62-55 over Cincinnati.
"The toughest part was knowing you're going to leave a great place like this," Porter said Monday at a news conference on campus alongside Hoyas coach John Thompson III. "I love this place."
"The toughest part was knowing you're going to leave a great place like this," Porter said Monday at a news conference on campus alongside Hoyas coach John Thompson III. "I love this place."
