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Georgetown Basketball: April 2001 News Archive

Thompson Speaks Out On NBA Early Entrants 4/30/01

Recommended reading from the San Francisco Chronicle, where John Thompson and Phoenix Suns announcer Eddie Johnson discuss the state of underclassmen leaving early for the NBA.

"For the sake of everybody involved, the NBA, the players' association and the NCAA have to get together, because this is insane," said Thompson in the link above. "For every kid that's come in and been successful, there are three or four others that have not been. And I cannot see any good in the long run that this will do for the whole game. "

"The players union, Thompson added, "need to stop singing that old tired song about how a kid has the right to come out as early as he wants to. I might know how to drive a car when I'm 13 years old, but they don't let me get a license."

Harrington Shines In NBA Playoffs 4/29/01

While Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, and the Philadelphia 76ers are being closely followed by many basketball fans in the post-season, the New York Knicks are holding their own, too. The Newark Star Ledger has a feature on Othella Harrington and his arrival to the Knicks' starting lineup.

"I love him," assistant coach Don Chaney told the Star-Ledger. "I love his toughness, his energy, his way of staying ready despite infrequent minutes. I hate to think where we'd be without Othella."

"He's not high maintenance," said Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. "He's not even low maintenance. He's no maintenance."

NCAA Issues Reprieve On Exempted Tournaments 4/27/01

The NCAA Board of Directors has postponed legislation that would have imperiled exempted tournaments such as the Maui Invitational and Pre-Season NIT. A decision will come sometime before 2004.

"I think this is a good sign," St.Joseph's coach Phil Martelli told the Philadelphia Daily News. "It's obvious that a lot of circumstances are being taken into account and it would give hope for those of us not in the power--read that as football--conferences. This is good for basketball. Somebody listened."

HOYA: Better Rivalries Needed 4/24/01

Tuesday's HOYA featured a column by freshmen Bryan Stockton on building better rivalries, including those in men's basketball.

"We need rallies, student competitions and other events before the game to bolster school spirit. We need banners hanging from residence halls, and we need a bigger student section at MCI Center. Then, for at least one day out of the year, our entire student body could come together and support our team," he writes.

Hoyas In NFL, WNBA Drafts 4/24/01

Georgetown basketball walk-on and football wide receiver Gharun Hester was not selected in the 66th NFL draft last weekend. A free agent signing could come in the next few weeks. According to The HOYA, Hester has signed with agent Mike Sullivan, who also represents Virginia Tech's Michael Vick.

Also, from women's hoops, Katie Smrcka-Duffy was selected by the Sacramento Monarchs in last week's WNBA draft, the first Georgetown selection for that league. Here's a recap at GUHoyas.com.

Smrcka-Duffy, an honorable mention All-America selection, is the second all time leading scorer for the Georgetown women's team (1,671 points, 18.6 points per game) and finished her college career with 2,071 points when counting her freshmen year at North Carolina State, where she was ACC Rookie of the Year.

Mutombo Named NBA Defensive MVP 4/24/01

Dikembe Mutombo (SLL '91) has won the Defensive Player of the Year award for a record fourth time. Mutombo led the league with 13.5 rebounds per game and was fifth in blocked shots.

"This has been a blessed year for me," said Mutombo to the Philadelphia Inquirer . "It started from two months ago, when my son was born. A couple of days later, I was traded to a great team, to come play for a great coach and a great organization. I don't think there's much I can ask for other than to say, 'Thank God for giving me all of these blessings.' I didn't know this year was going to be that good for me. Now, all I need is a [championship] ring. That's what I'm working for right now."

In a story in the Philadelphia Daily News, Mutombo recalls John Thompson's advice on defense when he first came to Georgetown.

"I don't believe just offense wins; it's defense that wins," said Mutombo. "I'm glad to continue being recognized as one of the great defensive players ever to play this game. Hopefully, when I walk off from this game one day, people will remember me that way."

South Florida Newspapers Fooled By GU Impostor 4/21/01

Two South Florida newspapers incorrectly reported over the weekend that a Miami counterfeit suspect was a former Georgetown basketball player.

A news account in Saturday's Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reads, in part, as follows: "Former Georgetown University basketball player Maceo Spates was sentenced to 46 months in prison Friday for his role in a South Florida counterfeit corporate check-cashing ring, federal prosecutors in Miami said Friday."

A similar story ran in the Miami Herald; however, the connection to Georgetown is false: Mr. Spates never enrolled nor played basketball at GU.

NCAA Rules Changes 4/12/01

The NCAA Management Council has recommended some important changes for college basketball, according to this link from ESPN.

Among the proposed changes: eliminating the exemption for tournaments such as the Maui Invitational, which would count three games against the 28 game regular season instead of one. (The Big East voted against the proposal, according to ESPN.) Other changes would allow draft-likely student athletes to take out a $20,000 bank loan based on future earnings, reductions in summer recruiting, and a loss of one scholarship if a school fails to graduate 50 percent or more of its athletes within a four year period.

A copy of the full NCAA release is also available.

Internet Radio Impasse 4/12/01

Earlier in April, we reported changes at two radio stations that cover Georgetown basketball. A post on the HoyaTalk board alerted us to two new web sites for WTNT-AM (570) and WWRC-AM (1260) with links to listen online. (As most of you know, these stations had no such links for Georgetown games over the past two years.)

Or so we thought.

Last Wednesday's Washington Post reports that Clear Channel Communications, owner of WTEM, WWRC, and WTNT, has suspended all Internet broadcasts over issues raised by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). The union wants its talent to receive 300 percent of their normal talent fee if a radio commercial is broadcast online.

Many other stations, such as WTOP-AM (1500), have negotiated successfully with AFTRA and are continuing to broadcast online without incident.

It's an important issue for Georgetown and the program. Stay tuned.

More On Mourning 4/11/01

When Alonzo Mourning returned last month to the NBA, John Thompson had expressed concerns. In this link to the Philadelphia Daily News, Thompson is encouraged by his progress.

"I think what bothers us about Alonzo's [illness] is what we do know. But if you've got the best doctor in the field, and he feels comfortable with it, there's not much you can say," Thompson said.

"Alonzo can sit back and waste his life worrying, but this way he's encouraged, because he's able to do something he likes to do. He could tear himself down mentally by doing nothing. A lot of people deteriorate by waiting around rather than trying to make the best of a situation, " Thompson said. "I care about Alonzo. I'm his friend."

Mourning scored 20 points and 16 rebounds in 26 minutes, leading Miami to 83-81 a win over Philadelphia, with 41 points from Allen Iverson. Here's the recaps from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Miami Herald.

Early Pre-Season Polls 4/11/01

A number of papers are suggesting early pre-season polls for 2002. Georgetown is ranked anywhere from #10 to out of the top 25 in these extremely speculative polls:

Capital Classic Recap 4/7/01

Incoming recruits Tony Bethel and Drew Hall were in action Saturday at the Capital Classic at MCI Center. Some links to post-game coverage:

Braswell Wins MVP Award 4/10/01

Kevin Braswell was the recipient of the Daly Memorial MVP award at the 2001 Hoya Hoop Club Awards Banquet. A review of the awards can be found at this link to GUHoyas.com; a review of past winners are found in the Basketball History section.

 

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