This past season marked only the second time that the Georgetown Hoyas missed the NCAA Tournament under head coach John Thompson III.
While some fans are understanding of the down year, others are much more concerned. When they see last season factored in with Georgetown's string of early NCAA tourney exits in the past few seasons, some fans are not so sure that Thompson III should stay at the helm.
When John Thompson III took the job at Georgetown, he had quite the task ahead of him. While the Hoyas were not the worst team in the country, they had missed six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments under the combined tutelage of Hall of Famer John Thompson (Thompon III's father) and Craig Esherick.
This came after a stretch where the Hoyas made the tournament 18 out of a possible 19 years. During this period, the John Thompson-led Hoyas made the Final Four three times and won the program's only National Championship in 1984. With that history of winning seeming to tapper off a bit, Thompson III was brought it to bring Georgetown back to it's previous greatness.
In his first season (2004-2005), the Hoyas would finish 19-13 advancing all the way to the Quarterfinals of the NIT. From 2005-06 t0 2012-13, the Hoyas would win the Big East tournament twice, make the NCAA tournament seven times including a Final Four appearance in 2007.
Given his track record, in my opinion Thompson III will not be fired yet. First off, losing one of the top players in the country in Otto Porter was major. Any time you lose a top player, it takes time for the remaining players and recruits to adjust to not having that person on the floor.
Injuries and academics also had a part to play in this year's struggles. Going in to this season, Thompson III thought that he would have the full services of forward Greg Whittington and center Joshua Smith.
Whittington would not make it through the season as he was dismissed from the program on November 30. Before this, he had not played since the 2012-2013 season because of academic issues and a torn ACL in the summer of last year.
Joshua Smith, on the other hand, was able to contribute early in the year. In 13 games, the UCLA transfer averaged 11.5 points and shot 65.5 percent from the field. After a January 4 win vs. St. John's, Smith was forced to sit out due to academics.
On January 24, it was announced that he would be suspended for the remainder of the year due to these academic issues. Smith is expected to be back for this coming season, according to CBSSports.com.
While his coaching record will help keep his job for now, another season of missing the tournament or losing early on in it could turn the heat up Thompson III's seat.
Currently, it appears that Georgetown is willing to give him time to make the changes necessary to bring the Hoyas back to where they want to be: on top of the Big East and making deep runs in the NCAA tournament.
