Apparently, there was a private conversation between Georgetown head coach John Thompson III and his Maryland counterpart Mark Turgeon last summer about a possible match-up between the two schools, according to ESPN college basketball writer Andy Katz. Now that Maryland Athletic director Kevin Anderson has made this negotiation public, Katz says there is a chance that this could end up torpedoing any chance of a game happening anytime soon.
If this had been left up to Turgeon and JT3, there was at least a chance it could happen. Turgeon and JT3 don't have any animosity. But now that it has gone public, the odds are slim. If the two schools schedule a game against each other, it will look like Georgetown caved in to a threat. The chances of a Thompson-led program doing such a thing are probably zero.
So there is that. In addition, Anderson talked to Washington Post columnist Mike Wise about this most recent decision.
I have no beef with Coach Thompson, I have the utmost respect for him. I know some people in this profession who would not have their jobs were it not for all the things he did years ago to open doors. I just want get this settled one way or the other before we move on. I'm open to changing my position if we start to have a dialogue on this
Again, while this was done with good intentions on the part of Anderson and he only wanted the best in what was a logical regional rivalry, going public with this decision now puts all the pressure on Georgetown. If they make a move now, they run the risk of looking like they are caving into Maryland's demands. So don't get excited about any big Maryland-Georgetown match-ups (for now).
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