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Georgetown Basketball: July 2009 News Archive

Summer League Memories 7/31/09

Before there was a Kenner League, Washington had a memorable summer league a few blocks east at the Jelleff Boys Club. The Washington City Paper looks back at the most memorable of the Jelleff games, a 1970 matchup between teams from DeMatha and St. Anthony Tonies that was the talk of local basketball.

Current Jelleff director Bob Stowers recalls the setup. "Looking back on it, I don’t know how the summer leagues here were ever a success, to tell you the truth. The games were played outdoors, in the heat, on a court that was small for a junior high game, with trash and broken glass, and a brick wall on one end, with the poles holding the baskets right there on the court, so you had a great chance of running into either the wall or the pole. But, for a time, a lot of people showed up at Jelleff."

Early Scheduling Wins ESPN Praise 7/31/09

There was a time when Georgetown's non-conference schedule would be the source of plenty of media groans and criticism--not any more. Andy Katz of ESPN.com takes a moment to commend Georgetown for its competitive scheduling in 2009-10 and suggests the Hoyas can contend for the top of the conference.

"The pre conference schedule is supposed to prepare you for the league" said coach John Thompson III. "Some conferences play a similar style, but in our league it's all over the board. We're going against two experienced teams, two very well-coached teams and two very different style teams across the country. [Dec. 5-12] will prepare us for the league."

The early non-conference schedule can also pay dividends in March. The NCAA tournament committee has discussed changes to the post-season evaluations that would place more emphasis on out-of conference games and less on how a team did in the last 10 games of the season, which could help Big East teams as the conference's war of attrition is in full force at season's end.

All-Academic Teams 7/28/09

A release at GUHoyas.com announced that 269 Georgetown student athletes were selected to the All-Academic teams of the Big East conference, more than any other member school. Recipients of the designation averaged a 3.0 or better grade average with a minimum of 18 credit hours over the past two semesters.

Women's crew led all sports with 57 selections, while men's basketball had the fewest with three: senior Bryon Jansen, sophomore Julian Vaughn, and sophomore Ryan Dougherty. A 6-0 transfer from the University of Rochester, Dougherty was not on the active roster in 2008-09.

"The problem of nominating a player with no actual playing experience will likely fix itself once the actual academic awards come out, but for the time being...is nothing more than grade inflation," wrote Mike Glauser at Examiner.com.

Congratulations to all the students for their accomplishments in 2008-09.

Georgetown To Play In Wooden Classic 7/22/09

Georgetown has announced a Dec. 12 game versus Washington as part of the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim, CA. The doubleheader will feature GU-Washington in one game and UCLA-Mississippi State in the other, with times to be determined.

Washington (25-9, RPI 15 in 2008-09) is coming off its best season in a quarter century, winning its first regular season title in since 1985.

Anytime that we can be a part of something that involves John Wooden, we consider it to be very special," said Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar in a UW news release. "To be able to compete against a program with such a rich tradition as Georgetown makes this year's experience even more complete." This will be the first meeting between the schools.

Additional coverage follows below.

Whither The Mount? 7/22/09

Over the weekend, Jeff Goodman at FoxSports.com reported that Mt. St. Mary's will return to Verizon Center Dec. 12 against the Hoyas. The Mount (19-14, RPI 121 in 2008-09) lost in the first round of the 2009 Collegeinsider.com post season tournament to James Madison, but given that the Hoyas have confirmed a Dec. 12 game in Anaheim, it is likely the game will be rescheduled.

Schedule News Updated 7/22/09

From the Philadelphia Daily News, word of a Nov. 17 game at Verizon Center between Temple and Georgetown. The schools have not met in five years since the Owls were John Thompson III's first opponent as Georgetown coach. Temple was 22-12 last season with an RPI of 33.

One team that won't be on the schedule is Siena. The Albany Times Union reported that Georgetown and Kentucky each backed away from verbal agreements to play the Saints (27-8, RPI 17 in 2008-09) in the upcoming season.

NBA Summer League 7/20/09

Former Georgetown forward Dajuan Summers (ex'10) improved his pre-season position with the Detroit Pistons with am 18 point average at the NBA Summer League games concluded this past weekend in Las Vegas. The second round draft pick finished in the top 20 scorers of over 270 players participating in the event.

Summers talked to the Washington Post during the summer league, refuting various claims from Internet chatter following his departure from the team.

"I felt like he gave me his blessings to leave," Summers said. "He felt like it was a good draft for me, but I was still bitter about it, because I wanted to go back and prove people wrong about how our season went last year, because we had a good team. And we still do. We would have had a great team if I had come back. They're gonna be fine either way, with or without me."

And for next year's Hoyas?

"I think it'll be fine," Summers said. "It's kind of funny, the team that we had freshman year, I think they'll have that same team. There's another year underneath their belts, they've got more experience playing in the big-time crowds, everybody knows what the pressure feels like, so I think we'll be fine."

Mourning Continues Outreach 7/20/09

From Kentucky.com, a feature on efforts by Alonzo Mourning (C'92) to help a family whose daughter was affected by kidney disease. Recommended reading.

BBC Interview With Mutombo 7/16/09

Now retired from the NBA, Dikembe Mutombo remains active in his philanthropic efforts, appearing at a recent conference, "Beyond Sport", in London. The BBC web site has a video interview with Mutombo on his efforts.

"I've challenged Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier - young men making good money - to give something back," Mutombo said. "Tracy went to Darfur to see how he could bring food there. I persuaded Yao Ming to start a foundation to help young people in China. I passed the torch to others."

"If we can get kids together playing basketball or soccer we can then tell them what they need to know to survive. We can change living conditions and give hope and we can do it now."

Kenner League Beginning July 30 Updated 7/10/09

GUHoyas.com has updated the information regarding the Kenner League schedule, which will run from July 30-August 17. The league, which is independent from Georgetown, experienced a delay in filing paperwork with the NCAA and will play an abbreviated schedule as a result.

Schedule Update 7/7/09

Old Dominion University has announced its 2009-10 schedule, which includes a game at Georgetown on Dec. 19. The two schools met in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, each winning on the other team's home floor.

The two schools will also meet this year in football, where the Monarchs have sold over 17,000 tickets for its Oct. 31 game against the Hoyas at ODU's Foreman Field.

Burke Joins AU Staff 7/3/09

Former Georgetown assistant Robert Burke has joined the staff at American, per an AU news release. Burke replaces Mike Brennan, who left American to join the Georgetown staff last month.

Schedule Taking Shape 7/2/09

Officials at ESPN announced Wednesday that Georgetown will be part of the "Jimmy V Classic" doubleheader at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 8.

In the opener, Georgetown will meet Butler, where the Bulldogs will return all five starters following its 26-6 season in 2008-09. The second game will feature Indiana versus Pittsburgh.

Also announced: the Big East schedule rotation per team. With 18 games among 15 opponents, Georgetown will have home games with Cincinnati, UConn, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse and Villanova, returning road games with Rutgers, Syracuse, and Villanova, and away-only games with DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Providence, and West Virginia. Dates and times have not been finalized.

 
 

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