…for next year that is. Not to write off this season just yet (I’ll be back with a preview of tomorrow’s Villanova game later), but for disappointed Georgetown fans it looks like there is reason to believe the future is bright. No one denies that there is a lot of talent on this current Hoyas squad, but its youth and inexperience seem to have kept it from achieving its full potential.

With Jessie Sapp as the team’s sole contributing senior, Georgetown won’t suffer too much attrition from graduation. The question marks have been whether the team’s two stars, freshman Greg Monroe and junior DaJuan Summers, would leave for the NBA. Monroe declared his intentions to stay before the Syracuse game. And at a media event earlier today, Summers did not hesitate to respond when asked about his future plans.

“I’ll be here next year,” he said.

Summers has struggled in the last few games for the Hoyas, including a season low four points on 1-of-8 shooting against Louisville. But this is still the player who was named to the preseason Wooden watch list. Given another offseason to work on his game, he would be an invaluable asset for next year’s team.

Of course nothing these players say now is binding. Coach John Thompson III emphasized today that these decisions are made after the season’s over. But if both Monroe and Summers stick around Georgetown will have nine of its top ten players returning, not to mention incoming freshman Hollis Thompson, who has already enrolled and is practicing with a team. If experience really has been the problem this year, next year’s squad would be a force to be reckoned with.