John Thompson III expects eligible Josh Smith to help Georgetown next season

A lot can happen between these spring days with the school year winding down and the start of the college basketball season in November, but Georgetown fans have to be encouraged that head coach John  Thompson III believes he will have a big weapon back next season.

Thompson told CBSSports.com he anticipates senior big man Josh Smith returning to the Hoyas' lineup after missing about two-thirds of this season when he was declared academically ineligible in January.

The former McDonald's All-American has never consistently lived up to what many believed was NBA potential during the first stages of his career at UCLA or in the year he has been with the Hoyas. Conditioning always has been an issue for Smith who is listed at 6-foot-10, 350 pounds on the Georgetown roster.

Yet he has shown flashes of remarkable skill for a man his size which is why Thompson was eager to have him last season and why Georgetown helped Smith successfully petition for immediate eligibility following his transfer from UCLA.

Smith scored in double figures in seven of the 13 games he played last season before being ruled ineligible. He did not register a double-digit rebounding performance. Thompson got nearly 50 percent of the scoring from guards Markel Starks and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. But Smith still finished the season as the third leading scorer at 11.5 points a game and getting him back in the mix along with a freshman class that includes four top-100 recruits should help the Hoyas improve.

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Kyle Ringo

is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo