Just five minutes into his first Big East contest against No. 2 Connecticut, freshman center Greg Monroe found himself all alone at the top of the key. Noticing the breakdown in the Huskies defense, junior forward DaJuan Summers, standing on the left wing, passed to his younger teammate. The 6-foot-11 Louisiana native didn’t hesitate – he lined up and nailed a three-pointer to cap off a 15-1 run by the Hoyas to start the game.

Big East, meet Greg Monroe, The Hoya’s Male Athlete of the Year.

onroe, a McDonalds All-American out of Helen Cox High School in Harvey, La., had little trouble in that first Big East experience. Matched up against 7-foot-3 junior center Hasheem Thabeet, who would garner a Big East player of the year award later in the season, Monroe did a little bit of everything, finishing the game with 16 points – coming from both inside and outside the paint – four assists, three steals and three rebounds in the Hoyas’ 74-63 victory.

In a season of ups and downs for the 16-15 Hoyas, Monroe, the youngest of the five starters, was a constant for the Blue and Gray. Starting in 30 of Georgetown’s 31 games, the freshman reached double figures in scoring in all but four contests, averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Against then-reigning Big East player of the year junior forward Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, in early January, Monroe recorded a career high 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double at Georgetown.

While his unselfish and low-key play was deceptive, his impact was immediate for the Hoyas and the Big East recognized his contributions. Hours after the Blue and Gray unceremoniously exited the Big East tournament with a loss to St. John’s in the first round, Monroe was named Big East rookie of the year. He was quick to deflect any notion that the award made up for his team’s disappointing season.

“I’ve never taken pride in any personal achievements,” he said after receiving the award. “I’m all about winning. That is how I’ve been playing my whole life. I’m just trying to win games and it’s a very great honor. There are a lot of great rookies, I’m pretty sure it was a very hard decision and I am very grateful for it, but it doesn’t take away from any of the pain from the loss today.”

onroe joins a formidable list of Hoyas who have won the award, which includes Fred Brown (CAS ’84), Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85), Othella Harrington (COL ’96), Allen Iverson and Jeff Green.

Head Coach John Thompson III credited the hard work of Monroe for his freshman success.

“He’s had a big responsibility this year, coming in with all the attention that he came in with,” Thompson said during the season. “For the most part he has responded well, remained selfless and worked extremely hard.”

After his stellar performances against UConn and Notre Dame, and as the season progressed, there was speculation as to whether Monroe could be a lottery pick in the NBA draft in June. By Feb. 1 he was predicted to go as high as third according to the popular NBA draft Web site, DraftExpress.com. While the Hoyas’ stock plummeted in the month of February, Monroe’s held relatively steady, with many still predicting him to go in the Top 10 as the month came to a close.

onroe, who plans to study psychology, stated numerous times that he would return for his sophomore season despite his high draft stock. On Feb. 13, he told The Washington Post’s Mike Wise that he intended to stay, and just under a month later, after winning Big East rookie of the year honors, he reiterated his decision to return to the Hilltop.

“I’m just getting prepared for next year, here, and I’ll worry about [the NBA] later in life,” he said. “I’m just worried about getting ready for next year.”

Last month Thompson confirmed to The Hoya that Monroe would not enter his name in the NBA draft and would return to Georgetown for his sophomore season.

onroe’s decision to return compensates for the Hoyas’ loss of Summers, a three-year starter, who declared for the NBA draft at the end of March, and gives the Hoya faithful hope for a turnaround next season. The Big East was deep and experienced this past season, but it will lose nearly all of its big name players to graduation or early departure for the NBA draft. That means that the Hoyas, a team many considered too young and inexperienced during Monroe’s freshman campaign, will return four of their five starters from last year and should be a contender for the conference title.

onroe also thinks that with a year of experience under his belt, things can only get better for him and his teammates in the 2009-2010 season.

“I mean, the system will get better, I will get better in the system, so moving onto next year, those are the things I have to work on – definitely my strength and just getting a better all around game,” he told reporters in March. “There’s never a time you can’t improve your game. Just improving everything and doing all the things I did this year and getting better at everything, and try to come out and have a better effort next year.”

“

Just five minutes into his first Big East contest against No. 2 Connecticut, freshman center Greg Monroe found himself all alone at the top of the key. Noticing the breakdown in the Huskies defense, junior forward DaJuan Summers, standing on the left wing, passed to his younger teammate. The 6-foot-11 Louisiana native didn’t hesitate – he lined up and nailed a three-pointer to cap off a 15-1 run by the Hoyas to start the game.

Big East, meet Greg Monroe, The Hoya’s Male Athlete of the Year.

onroe, a McDonalds All-American out of Helen Cox High School in Harvey, La., had little trouble in that first Big East experience. Matched up against 7-foot-3 junior center Hasheem Thabeet, who would garner a Big East player of the year award later in the season, Monroe did a little bit of everything, finishing the game with 16 points – coming from both inside and outside the paint – four assists, three steals and three rebounds in the Hoyas’ 74-63 victory.

In a season of ups and downs for the 16-15 Hoyas, Monroe, the youngest of the five starters, was a constant for the Blue and Gray. Starting in 30 of Georgetown’s 31 games, the freshman reached double figures in scoring in all but four contests, averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Against then-reigning Big East player of the year junior forward Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, in early January, Monroe recorded a career high 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double at Georgetown.

While his unselfish and low-key play was deceptive, his impact was immediate for the Hoyas and the Big East recognized his contributions. Hours after the Blue and Gray unceremoniously exited the Big East tournament with a loss to St. John’s in the first round, Monroe was named Big East rookie of the year. He was quick to deflect any notion that the award made up for his team’s disappointing season.

“I’ve never taken pride in any personal achievements,” he said after receiving the award. “I’m all about winning. That is how I’ve been playing my whole life. I’m just trying to win games and it’s a very great honor. There are a lot of great rookies, I’m pretty sure it was a very hard decision and I am very grateful for it, but it doesn’t take away from any of the pain from the loss today.”

onroe joins a formidable list of Hoyas who have won the award, which includes Fred Brown (CAS ’84), Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85), Othella Harrington (COL ’96), Allen Iverson and Jeff Green.

Head Coach John Thompson III credited the hard work of Monroe for his freshman success.

“He’s had a big responsibility this year, coming in with all the attention that he came in with,” Thompson said during the season. “For the most part he has responded well, remained selfless and worked extremely hard.”

After his stellar performances against UConn and Notre Dame, and as the season progressed, there was speculation as to whether Monroe could be a lottery pick in the NBA draft in June. By Feb. 1 he was predicted to go as high as third according to the popular NBA draft Web site, DraftExpress.com. While the Hoyas’ stock plummeted in the month of February, Monroe’s held relatively steady, with many still predicting him to go in the Top 10 as the month came to a close.

onroe, who plans to study psychology, stated numerous times that he would return for his sophomore season despite his high draft stock. On Feb. 13, he told The Washington Post’s Mike Wise that he intended to stay, and just under a month later, after winning Big East rookie of the year honors, he reiterated his decision to return to the Hilltop.

“I’m just getting prepared for next year, here, and I’ll worry about [the NBA] later in life,” he said. “I’m just worried about getting ready for next year.”

Last month Thompson confirmed to The Hoya that Monroe would not enter his name in the NBA draft and would return to Georgetown for his sophomore season.

onroe’s decision to return compensates for the Hoyas’ loss of Summers, a three-year starter, who declared for the NBA draft at the end of March, and gives the Hoya faithful hope for a turnaround next season. The Big East was deep and experienced this past season, but it will lose nearly all of its big name players to graduation or early departure for the NBA draft. That means that the Hoyas, a team many considered too young and inexperienced during Monroe’s freshman campaign, will return four of their five starters from last year and should be a contender for the conference title.

onroe also thinks that with a year of experience under his belt, things can only get better for him and his teammates in the 2009-2010 season.

“I mean, the system will get better, I will get better in the system, so moving onto next year, those are the things I have to work on – definitely my strength and just getting a better all around game,” he told reporters in March. “There’s never a time you can’t improve your game. Just improving everything and doing all the things I did this year and getting better at everything, and try to come out and have a better effort next year.”

“