Georgetown head coach John Thompson III wanted his program to experience another country and culture while testing their might against some professional talent when he took his Hoyas for a preseason tour of China.
“It’s going to be a huge, huge cultural change for us, but I think as a team we’re all looking forward to seeing something new,” guard Jason Clark told the Washington Post before the team left for the 10-day trip. “Everybody wants to go to China because it’s something different. The basketball is going to be fun too, getting to play against different people. Here you play against Americans most of the time. Now you get to go over and see how other people play.”
Coach Thompson and Georgetown got a lot more than they bargained for. By now, most sports fans have heard about the violent brawl that erupted when the Hoyas faced pro team, the Bayi Rockets, in Beijing Thursday. Check out the video below to get an idea of all the chaos, haymakers, and chair throwing that went down:
It appears as if the Hoyas and Rockets have smoothed over their animosity, with Bayi players meeting Georgetown at the airport and exchanging souvenirs before the Hoyas left for Shanghai. And don’t expect another brawl when these teams play again Sunday - although we'll all be keeping an eye on it.
While this incident is a black eye for what was supposed to be a goodwill trip to promote “sports diplomacy” between the United States and China, it’s the ultimate team-bonding experience for the Hoyas.
Georgetown couldn’t have asked for a better glue than having to stand up and literally fight a foreign foe on their own turf. You thought 32,000 at the Carrier Dome were tough? After Thursday’s fiasco, the Hoyas are ready for anything the Big East is going to throw at them.
As a former college basketball player, our preseason team bonding consisted of a 15-hour road trip with 13 basketball players and two coaches (plus luggage and equipment) crammed inside a 15-passenger van. And by the end of that, we were pretty tight.
I can only imagine the bond building between Georgetown’s group right now.