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Georgetown Basketball: September 2009 News Archive

NBA Training Camp 9/29/09

Following their play in the NBA summer league, former Georgetown forwards Brandon Bowman and Michael Sweetney arrived at NBA training camps Monday.

Bowman is one of four signees to the Philadelphia 76ers camp battling for two roster spots, while Sweetney, who has not played in the league since the 2006-07 season, was at the Boston Celtics camp Monday.

Bowman received a recommendation from the 76ers Elton Brand after he saw Bowman at a summer workout, according to a link from Comcast Sports.

Verizon Center To Host 2011 NCAA's 9/22/09

The NCAA has announced Verizon Center will host 1st and second round action for the 2011 NCAA Tournament. By NCAA rule, Georgetown will not be seeded into any post-season games on its home court.

Barring a domed stadium in its future, the Northeast is not expected to host a Final Four for the foreseeable future. Cities announced for the Final Four through 2016 include Indianapolis (2010, 2015), Houston (2011, 2016), New Orleans (2012), Atlanta (2013), and Arlington, TX (2014). The last NCAA finals held in the Washington area was in 1970, while the last Final Four in the Northeast was held at the Meadowlands in 1996.

Additional coverage follows at The HOYA and the Washington Post.

Nov. 17: 24 Hours Of Hoops 9/17/09

Georgetown's 2009-10 home opener will have an unusual twist to it: a 4:00 pm start on a Tuesday afternoon. It's part of an ESPN promotion with 24 hours of coverage, beginning at midnight and including a 6:00 am game in Jersey City, NJ between St. Peter's and Monmouth.

It's not clear what the 4:00 pm start will mean to attendance, as a number of season ticket holders will still be at work and students may be in afternoon classes. The game will be seen nationwide on ESPN.

Andy Katz's review of the games at ESPN.com notes Georgetown "may be the sleeper to win the Big East with the return of Greg Monroe and an improved Chris Wright and Austin Freeman on the perimeter."

Class of 2012 9/20/09

When Jeff Green left Georgetown after his junior season, he made it a point to be back on campus a year later to attend the graduation of fellow teammates Jonathan Wallace, Tyler Crawford, Roy Hibbert, and Patrick Ewing Jr. These four alumni may want to make plans to return the favor, as Green was on campus in his off-season to progress towards finishing his degree.

HOYA sports contributor Meredith Cox talked to Green this summer, who was taking four courses en route to completing his degree in 2012. "It felt really weird to be on campus again as a student just for the fact that I have been out of school for 2 years,” Green said.

Green averaged 16 points and six rebounds for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008-09.

Second 2009-10 Walk On Confirmed 9/15/09

GUHoyas.com has added 6-6 walk on Stephen Stepka to the 2009-10 roster.

Stepka, a 6-6 guard/forward from W.T Woodson HS in Fairfax, VA, averaged 17 points per game in 2008-09 and will wear #25 for the Hoyas this season.

Roster Numbers Announced 9/11/09 

GUHoyas.com has posted jersey numbers for the 2009-10 season.

Seven of the eight returning players will retain their numbers, with Jason Clark moving from #20 to #21. Jersey numbers have also been given to freshmen Hollis Thompson (#1), Vee Sanford (#11) and Jerrell Benimon (#20), with junior transfer Ryan Dougherty to wear #12.

A review of jersey numbers over the years can be found at the Basketball History site.

NCAA Baseball Violations Announced 9/2/09 

Note: While news on this page is generally basketball related, the coverage below on NCAA violations in the Georgetown baseball program is news that affects all of Georgetown athletics, even though none of the other 28 intercollegiate teams were cited in the report. Please refer to the links below from the University for more information.

The NCAA has placed Georgetown University on three years probation for major violations in its baseball program. It is the first such sanction in the University's 139 year athletic history.

At issue is the improper reporting of work-study hours attributable to 26 members of the baseball team over a six year period, totaling over $61,000 in earnings. The University report to the NCAA noted that "After the baseball program moved to an off-campus baseball field, it appears that there developed a general, although misguided, understanding that keeping track of the specific work intervals, which occurred at various times, in various increments, and often off campus, was too difficult and not required. The assistant coach overseeing work-study for baseball instructed the student-athletes to record a maximum of 20 hours each week with the understanding that they would be assigned and would complete work sufficient to warrant payment for those hours. The student-athletes did not focus on tracking the specific times they worked, and did not believe or understand that was something they needed to do."

"The committee stated in its report that it was troubled not only by the violations but also that multiple assistant coaches over seven years helped facilitate the abuse of the work-study program through either inattention or misguidance, wrote the NCAA. "University records indicated that the percentage of pay legitimately earned by the student-athletes during the seven years varied widely during different periods within the same academic year, from 10 percent to 92 percent [accuracy]."

Georgetown officials discovered the practice in June, 2007 and reported it to the NCAA. Following an extensive internal study, a self-report was submitted in August 2008 and a NCAA hearing was held in June of this year. The University's proposed two year probationary status for baseball was extended to three years by the committee, and extended the 5.0 scholarship limit imposed by GU in 2007 through the 2011-12 academic year. The sanctions will not be appealed.

Further investigation from GU indicates these practices were not discovered in any of the other 28 intercollegiate teams.

The NCAA release states: "The committee found the university lacked internal controls or systems to monitor the program or detect whether abuses took place. The committee also found the university failed to provide training for the baseball work-study supervisors and student-athletes regarding the accurate completion and review of time cards. Further, the head coach stated he delegated the administration of the work-study to his second assistant coach and had little to no involvement in the daily oversight."

Head coach Pete Wilk was reprimanded by the University but faces no further sanction; the assistant coaches in question had previously left the university before the investigation. At least seven different assistant coaches were involved in the baseball program between 2001 and 2007 and the coaches at issue are not named in the public report. Wilk offered the following statement in the University's self-report: "As head baseball coach, I am ultimately responsible for all aspects of the baseball program. Any problems in the work-study program involving my players are ultimately my responsibility. I regret deeply that these violations occurred."

The department faces three years of probation over the incident, $61,000 in funds to be remanded to the NCAA, a limit of not more than 5.0 scholarships (out of an allowable 11.7) for baseball through the 2011-12 season, and to vacate 135 wins during the period in question.

The Big East Conference has not issued a statement as to whether any additional penalties may apply for the Georgetown baseball program, which has not qualified for the conference's post-season tournament since 1986. Over the years covered in the investigation, Georgetown posted a combined record of 135-246 (.354) and 46-136 (.253) in Big East play.

Additional coverage follows below.

 
 

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