And the winner of best Hoyas moment of the season goes to…
If that doesn’t hit you right in the feels, I don’t know what will. When reflecting on the DePaul game, Muresan called the moment surreal. “I wasn’t really expecting anything; I was just excited to play.”
For four years, walk-on George Muresan has bided his time at the end of the Georgetown bench. With all chaos brought on by transfers and injuries, Muresan finally got his moment. And, wow, what a moment it was.
In a sport where only five players are on the court at a time, it can be easy to overlook the walk-ons buried on the end of the bench. What the casual fan may not realize is that these student-athletes put in the same time and energy as the players who are on scholarship. “He (Muresan) is the consummate student-athlete,” Ewing told the media on Friday. “He works his butt off in the classroom, and he works his butt off on the floor.”
Balancing workouts and practice on top of schoolwork is never easy, but it must be a whole lot harder when these efforts rarely get rewarded with playing time. Ordinarily, walk-ons would only see action in the final minutes of a blowout. But then again, this season was far from ordinary.
With four rotation players leaving the team in December, Ewing had few other options. Muresan made his first appearance against Syracuse on December 14th. Facing the Hoyas’ biggest rival, the moment easily could have been too much for the walk-on, but Muresan held his own. Though Muresan admitted he never expected to play meaningful minutes, he added, “It wasn’t something I was going to back away from.”
Since then, Muresan has come ready to play whenever his number has been called. Sure, George may not win any awards with his play, but he has played within himself and within his role on the team. For the most part, that means being aggressive on defense and chasing down rebounds. In this sense, George Muresan has been the ultimate team player, always ready to do what is asked of him to help his team.
Speaking to the media on Friday, fellow senior Jagan Mosely spoke about the growth in Muresan’s confidence. This was never more apparent than against Xavier last Sunday. Shortly after entering the game, Muresan caught the ball above the free throw line and did not hesitate to pull the trigger, finding the bottom of the net.
Back in December, teams were almost daring Muresan to shoot. Now, George seems to have taken Ewing’s advice to shoot when afforded an open look. However, perhaps the best part of this clip is the roars of the crowd after the made basket. George Muresan is a true fan favorite.
In 18 games this season, Muresan has scored 13 points, shot a perfect six of six from the foul line and won the hearts of Georgetown fans everywhere. While this season will most likely be remembered for all the wrong reasons, George Muresan gave us something to smile about. I will not soon forget the time when chants of “George!” echoed around Capital One Arena.
#MuresanSZN forever.
