Hoya News

Down on the farm
Jeff Green and Tyler Crawford vist Jonathan Walace
Aug. 31, 2005

Harvest AL - Workouts for the Georgetown Hoyas who stay on campus for summer session are intense. Not only is the condensed academic schedule rigorous, but battling athletes like Mike Sweetney, Andrew Bogut or Brendan Haywood on the McDonough hardcourt day in and day out is exhausting. But even this type of mental and physical conditioning could not prepare some Hoyas for the "foes" they went up against after summer session was done.

After classes were complete and the Kenner League championship over, sophomores Jeff Green and Tyler Crawford traveled to Harvest, Alabama with teammate Jonathan Wallace, to relax before the beginning of the new school year. Unfortunately, for the rest craving two-some, their visit was not filled with sipping lemonade on the porch at night or dipping their feet in a warm southern brook. A high school principal by day, Wallace's father owns and operates a beef cattle farm, where Green and Crawford were introduced to all the members of the Wallace family, including those with four legs.

"They had the cows confused with lions" Jonathan said with a laugh. "They kept looking at them like they were going to attack."

Green hailing from Hyattsville, MD had few previous encounters with livestock. The 2005 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year might not have found his league opponents intimidating, but these animals caused his 6'9" frame to shake.

"Those animals were huge." Green said "They're 900 pounds and strong too. John called them over so we could feed them...they would jerk the bucket out of your hand and just stare at you."

Tyler Crawford became more accustomed to country living growing up in Stuarts Draft, VA. But he didn't spend time visiting local farms, so he too was uneasy around the Wallace "pets."

"We made sure there was nothing behind us in case we had to run" said Crawford about feeding the cattle. "They all travel together so if one of them charges..."
All Wallace could do was shake his head and say, "We're not talking about wild animals."

When asked about anything else that came out of their visit to the Wallace homestead Tyler reflected, "Everybody in the family was disciplined. They all had different jobs but at the same time they were working together."

"Like a basketball team" Green interjected. "I have a better understanding about why Jonathan is the was he is...even when he was doing something else on the farm he made time to check on the animals, to make sure they were ok in the heat."

The duo did have two suggestions for the Georgetown Basketball staff. One: They think preseason conditioning working the Wallace farm might be tougher than anything the strength & conditioning coach can come up with. Two: Thanksgiving dinner at the Wallace farm would be great.

http://guhoyas.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/083105aac.html