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Various news items posted during February 2025.
 
 

National Reaction To Providence Game

2/20/25






 

Georgetown 93, Providence 72

2/19/25

Down two starters to injury, the Georgetown Hoyas went on a 30-6 run to overwhelm Providence College, 93-72, before 5,326 at Capital One Arena.

POST-GAME ARTICLES
With the loss of Thomas Sorber to an injury in the Butler game and a concussion to Caleb Williams in practice, expectations were guarded at best and doubtful at worst as to which Georgetown team would be on the floor this evening. A heavy heart was also upon the team as Ed Cooley's mother had passed away earlier in the week.

"I was driving in to work today, tears were coming down my eyes," Cooley said. "I've never dealt with grief to this depth in a long time, and I can feel it in my bones, so I'm emotionally exhausted."

Georgetown's defense was there at the start, holding the Friars to 1 of 9 shooting to open the game. Despite the poor shooting PC hung around early, thanks to a 10-4 advantage on rebounding and 5-0 on the offensive boards. Guard Bensley Joseph scored 11 of the Friars' first 14 points, including ten straight and a pair of threes to lead PC to an early 14-9 lead.

With early foul trouble to Drew Fielder, Georgetown's only serviceable candidate at center, the Hoyas trailed 20-15 midway in the first half. Fielder returned to the game at the 9:22 mark, whereupon Georgetown went on a 10-0 run keyed by consecutive threes from Epps and Malik Mack.

A basket by Peavy put the Hoyas up five at the 6:23 mark but the Friars tightened the margin with a three from Rich Barron and a Justyn Fernandez three as the shot clock expired, 29-28. On the next play, PC center Oswin Erhunmwunse picked up his third foul, with Peavy adding two from the line, 31-28. There began the most exciting five minutes and five seconds for a Georgetown game at Capital One Arena in nearly a decade.

In an earlier TV look-in at the Georgetown time out, head coach Ed Cooley exhorted his team to be aggressive on the perimeter, because that was the only place PC would shoot. Now, with Erhunmwunse out, Georgetown could drive inside. The change ignited the Hoyas on defense and on the boards.

On PC's next series, they went outside again, and missed. Georgetown answered with a missed three, but Peavy picked up a key offensive rebound, then rotated to the perimeter where reserve forward Drew McKenna fed him for a three, 34-28. Back came the Friars with a miss from three, where McKenna picked up an offensive rebound and score, 36-28, forcing a PC time out. A three from Fernandez closed Georgetown's lead to 36-31, but Peavy drove the lane for a basket, 38-31, then forced a held ball to Georgetown's advantage. Mack drove the lane to put GU up 40-31 with 1:24 to halftime, whereupon Peavy stole a cross-court pass and fed Curtis Williams for a layup with 42 seconds remaining, 42-31.

Providence was staggering to the break. A pair of missed free throws by reserve center Christ Essandoko were as good as a turnover, followed by Mack feeding a driving Jordan Burks for a three point play, 45-31. PC attempted to hold for the last shot when Mack picked off a pass at half court, passing inside to Peavy who missed a layup with four seconds left. An alert Jayden Epps retrieved the ball and found Jordan Burks deep off the three point line, sinking a 28 footer at the buzzer to put Georgetown up 48-31, its largest halftime margin of the season.

The Hoyas shot 50 percent from the field with six threes, and finished the half 6 for its last 7, with Peavy's late miss the only setback of the final five minutes, with PC managing just one field goal in their final five attempts.

The first four minutes of the second half was much like the last four of the first. Providence returned to the three point line with no effect, missing its first five attempts. Peavy scored the opening basket of the half and fed Burks for a three point play for the second, 53-34.

A one minute stretch early in this half may have closed the door for the Friars.

Following a missed three from the Friars, Drew Fielder set up Epps for a Georgetown three, 56-34, then locked down Erhunmwunse on the next possession, with a pass to Burks, who found Peavy open in the corner for one more, 59-34. From a 19-3 run to end the first half, Georgetown had opened the second on an 11-3 run and forced Kim English into his third time out of the game, down 25, 59-34.

"We wanted to win this game so bad for Coach Cooley. We all huddled up and we said we weren't going to lose this game. So that was the difference: I think it was our will to win."
--Micah Peavy

Georgetown was bound to cool down after such a run and they did, shooting just one of its next seven over a five minute stretch as PC tightened its defense and limited second chance opportunities. The key three pointers in that run - Burks' three to end the half and the back to back shots by Epps and Peavy - acted as a firewall to restrain the Friars from hopes of a comeback.

Three times the Friars sought to get the game into range, but self destructed each time. A 7-0 run brought PC back to 18, 59-41, but consecutive turnovers were converted by Georgetown to go back up 22, 63-41. A three from Bensley Joseph brought PC within 17 with 11:04 remaining, but Joseph missed a layup on the next possession and Drew Fielder drained a three in response, 66-46. Joseph picked up a three point play with 7:37 remaining to close to 70-53, but Fielder matched it with one of his own, 73-53. Georgetown was held to 4 for 14 in this stretch of the half but the lead had not deteriorated, thanks to its defense.

Providence's last hurrah came entering the final four minutes. Leading scorer Jayden Pierre was 0 for 8 from the field when he sank back to back threes in a span of 13 seconds and followed with a pair of free throws to bring the Friars to 82-69 with 3:03 remaining. Expert clock management and a 4 for 4 run at the foul line from Mack and Epps brought the lead back to 17 and, a Peavy three with 1:43 remaining ended any doubts.

In a nod to surly Providence students who repeatedly berated head coach Ed Cooley with a four letter word last month at the former Providence Civic Center, Georgetown students turned the tables at game's end.

"We Love Cooley!" they said in unison.

"I'm really, really proud of our men," said Cooley in post-season remarks. "A year ago today, I think we were 1-13 in the league... Little by little, we'll continue to show progress, growth and development. I couldn't be more excited to be connected with Lee Reed, and I appreciate him for bringing me here to Georgetown to continue to build this program back to national prominence."

Micah Peavy had a career night on both sides of the ball: 30 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and six steals.

"We stepped it up big with the rebounding, and that was one of the reasons why we lost the last game," Peavy said.

"Our most disappointing loss of the season."
--Providence coach Kim English

The big story of the game was how the rest of the team stepped up in Sorber's absence. First up was sophomore Drew Fielder, who had averaged just 3.7 points in his last seven starts. He responded in a big way: 17 points, nine rebounds, and a perfect 7 for 7 from the foul line. His defense inside neutralized Oswin Erhunmwunse, holding the PC center to two points in the first half and eight overall.

"With all of the stakes coming into this game, all the stuff behind it, I just wanted to show up for Coach Cooley and I'll continue to show up for my teammates," Fielder said.

Jordan Burks had his most productive game of the season: a career high 13 points in 25 minutes, while reserve forward Drew McKenna had six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, having not played since the Jan. 17 game versus DePaul and having scored only five points since November 30.

Defensively, Georgetown was all PC wanted and then some. The conference's leading three point shooting team, averaging 10 a game, PC got their 10, but took 32 shots to do it. Georgetown forced 14 turnovers which led to 18 points, held Jayden Pierre to a season low 2 for 12, and held PC to 4 for 21 three point shooting after halftime compared to a 6 for 11 effort in the first half.

Providence coach Kim English, who was tagged with a technical foul in the second half to go with his two from last week, was not pleased with his team's effort.

"Without Sorber, their rim defense is one of the worst in the country," he said. "Our ability to be strong at the end of drives...we were so flimsy and that's disappointing. It's ridiculous. I don't need my butt kicked to learn a lesson. It's ridiculous. We've got to get better."

This is Georgetown's first win over Providence at Capital One Arena in six years and Ed Cooley's first win over the Friars as Georgetown's coach. The 21 point margin of victory is the largest for Georgetown in the series with Providence since a 110-79 win on January 4, 1986 at Capital Centre. The loss was Providence's fourth in its last five amidst upcoming games with Marquette and Connecticut.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG  FT   REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Mack         33   1-2   1-3  2-2    3  2   4    7
Epps         39   3-4   2-5  6-6    3  1   2   18
Peavy        40   7-16  4-6  4-7    7  7   2   30
Burks        25   4-6   1-2  2-2    4  2   2   13 
Fielder      27   2-4   2-7  7-7    9  1   5   17
Reserves:  
McKenna      22   2-3   0-0  2-3    5  2   1    6
Cu. Williams 13   1-1   0-0  0-1    0  0   2    2
Team Rebounds                       5
Injured: Ca. Williams, Halaifonua, Moses, Sorber
DNP: Fort, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf, Mulready 
TOTALS      200 20-36 10-23 23-28 36  15  18   93



 

McDonough Gym Shrinking Capacity

2/19/25

As it approaches its 75th anniversary, capacity at McDonough Gymnasium is continuing to atrophy.

A note in a press release from the Board of Directors announced that a project this summer will replace the floor and bleachers at the gymnasium, both of which date to the 1990s. "New bleachers will accommodate 1,608 seats," it wrote.

This figure is a 36 percent decrease from a stated capacity of 2,500 on its web site, a 50 percent drop from the capacity when it opened (3,200) in 1951, and down over 60 percent from its peak capacity of 4,200 from 1970 through 1982. The facility as a whole has not seen a major renovation since its opening and has walled off previous seating on the second floor and across its stage, each of which has not been used in over 40 years.

In a period of declining attendance at Capital One Arena and the significant cost of rental of a largely empty building, McDonough hosted two games this season, drawing 2,008 to the season opener versus Lehigh.

The building hosts two women's sports, each with very low attendance figures: volleyball averaged 270 a game last fall, while women's basketball lists an average of just 383 this season in the building. last in the Big East.

Does McDonough Gymnasium need a strategic plan? Yes, but it's clearly not a University priority. We've discussed this before, of course.

 

News & Notes

 2/18/25

Some items of interest this week:

  • Congratulations to former Georgetown sports information director Mike (Mex) Carey (S'13), who will receive the John Domino Award for Excellence in Sports Media February 24 at St. Bonaventure University. Carey, an 1994 alumnus of St. Bonaventure, served as sports information director from 2005 to 2017 before leaving Georgetown to become the associate director of athletic communications at Michigan State, with primary responsibility for its men's basketball program.

  • Former Georgetown guard Chris Wright (C'11) will join the Washington Warriors AAU program as an assistant coach, per a social media post. Wright, who has played professionally since graduation, was most recently with Zaragoza of Spanish Liga ACB.

  • The new student group Hoya Gray is undertaking a GoFundMe campaign to attend the Big East tournament. For more information, visit this link.
 

Mac McClung: Three-Peat

 2/16/25

Former Georgetown guard Mac McClung (2018-20) has only played in four NBA games since 2022 but has become a star of his own in the NBA's All-Star Weekend dunk contest. The 6-2 guard, playing in the G-League, won his third consecutive dunk contest Saturday.

How does a two-time champion top last year's event? He dunked over a car.





McClung averages 24.5 points per game in his second season with the Osceola Magic, the developmental team for the Orlando Magic.



 

NBA Announces Mutombo Award

 2/16/25

As part of its All-Star Game festivities, the NBA will inaugurate a new award in honor of the late Dikembe Mutombo (I'91, H'10)

"On Saturday, at the annual NBA Africa luncheon at All-Star Weekend, commissioner Adam Silver announced the creation of a new award in honor of Mutombo, who died of brain cancer in September," writes CBS Sports.com. "The NBA Africa Dikembe Mutombo Global Humanitarian Award "will recognize individuals and organizations who have made exceptional contributions to global humanitarian efforts by advancing social justice, health equity, education and community empowerment," per the league's press release. It will be presented at the luncheon annually, beginning next year, and the winner will receive a grant "to further their humanitarian efforts" and a donation to the charity of their choosing."

"He was a great mentor, and he had a big heart," said former teammate Gorgui Dieng. "He never saw himself as a superstar. He's trying to blend in everywhere he goes. I remember we went to South Africa one time and, those different tribes, they were dancing and stuff. And I just looked back and I see him jump in and start dancing with them. So he was on the bus, I was making fun of him and he was like, 'Man, this is amazing. I feel so great.' I'm like, 'Why?' He said, 'Basketball connected us. You couldn't do this without basketball."

In addition to his undergraduate and honorary degree from the University, the Georgetown University Alumni Association presented him with the Timothy S. Healy S.J. Award at the 2015 John Carroll Awards in Los Angeles. The award is "conferred upon an alumnus of Georgetown who has rendered outstanding and exemplary community, public, or professional service in support of humanitarian causes and advancements for the benefit of mankind." He was one of only seven alumni ever presented with the award.

 

Butler 97, Georgetown 86

 2/15/25

A first half foot injury to Thomas Sorber drained the life out of the Georgetown Hoyas, as the Butler Bulldogs shot 73 percent in the final 28 minutes of play in a 97-86 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday.

POST-GAME ARTICLES
The game can be seen in two distinct stories: the 12 minutes Thomas Sorber was on the floor and the remainder when he was not. The 6-9 freshman opened the game shooting a sterling 4-4 and accounted for eight of Georgetown's first nine points. The rest could not be said of his teammates, who entered the 12 minute media time out at a woeful 1 for 11, 0 for 7 from three point range. A similar futility enveloped the Bulldogs, who opened the game shooting 2 for 11. Together, the teams missed 10 consecutive attempts over nearly six minutes before baskets by Pierre Brooks and Boden Kapke tied the score at 11.

Three pointers by Drew Fielder and Malik Mack put the Hoyas up six, 17-11, midway in the first half before a three pointer from Finley Bizjack awoke the Bulldogs, who had missed eight of their last 10 shots. It was also the entre for Pierre Brooks to take over.

Whether defended by Caleb Williams, Curtis Williams, Jordan Burks, or anyone else, Brooks was unguardable over a 10 minute stretch of the first half. He scored eight straight points and 10 of the next 12 as Butler opened a 29-25 lead with 6:05 to halftime. A basket from Sorber closed to 29-27, but on the next series he landed awkwardly on his foot trying to block a shot by Bizjack and collapsed to the ground. He was helped to the back by two trainers, and with it, the Hoyas' defense folded.

Off the injury timeout, Brooks picked off a pass form peavy, feeding Jahmyl Telfort for a layup, 33-27, a 12-2 run from the 8:11 mark. Following a Georgetown time out, a Jayden Epps miss resulted in a Brooks layup, 35-27. Back to back fouls on Georgetown on Butler layups extended the count to 40-29. An Epps three, Georgetown's first in nearly nine minutes, was only transitory as Telfort hit back to back threes to to go up 14, 46-32. The Bulldogs had scored 35 points in the final 10:10 against the conference's top ranked defense, finishing with field goals in 11 of its last 13 attempts with six layups and seven threes in the first half, matching the most threes given up by Georgetown in its last six games.

The severity of Sorber's injury was apparent, but it was made clear that he would not return after halftime, sitting on the bench but apparently not in uniform, per the Fox Sports 1 broadcast. A three pointer to end the first half and one to open the second brought the Hoyas to within eight at 46-38, but early foul trouble on Drew Fielder foretold a run of second half misery for the Hoyas.

"We're guarding ourselves."
--Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley in a timeout huddle

The teams played even for the next two minutes until Fielder picked up his fourth foul at the 16:13 mark, signaling a shift in the Hoyas's defensive plans. Without a legitimate backup behind Fielder at center, the Bulldogs went inside, with layups in four of its next five possessions to build the led to 15, 64-49, including an inauspicious run where Jayden Epps and Caleb Williams committed four defensive personal fouls in a span of 36 seconds, sending each to the brink with their and fourth fouls, respectively. The Bulldogs had scored 18 points in less than seven minutes.



Following a technical foul on Butler guard Kolby King, the Hoyas began to build momentum behind Malik Mack and Micah Peavy, who scored the next 14 points for GU, closing to 71-63 midway through the second half. Forcing a shot clock violation, the Hoyas closed to six on a pair of Jayden Epps free throws, 71-65. A three from Butler forward Patrick McCaffrey and a steady trail to the free throw line keyed an 11-2 run to push the margin to 82-67 with 6:23 to play.

Without an inside option, Georgetown doubled down on threes, and rolled craps. The Hoyas missed five consecutive three point attempts in a three minute stretch as the Bulldogs shot 6 for 6. Jayden Epps fouled out with the Hoyas down 16, 91-75, with 3:13 to play. A Jordan Burks three and a Micah Peavy turnaround brought the Hoyas to 10 with 1:37 to play, but no closer.

The team set a school record with 38 attempts from three, breaking a record set in 1995 in a game at Boston College. In that game, the Hoyas were 6 of 34 against the Eagles and lost by 11; in this game, 9 of 38 and also lost by 11. In its last four games Georgetown has missed an astonishing 77 three point attempts.

Micah Peavy scored 19 of his game high 21 points in the second half as the Hoyas shot 41 percent for the game. Defense, or the lack of it, was the story of this afternoon. Butler put five players in double figures, led by 30 from Pierre Brooks, as the Bulldogs shot 66 percent after halftime and 57 percent overall, the most in a conference game against the Hoyas since the 2023-24 regular season finale at St. John's. Butler got to the line 35 times to Georgetown's 15, shooting 28 for 35.

Sorber's status for Wednesday's game with Providence was not disclosed and since transparency is not always a Georgetown tradition, his prognosis will be am open topic heading into Wednesday's game.

Any loss of Sorber is a major setback to Georgetown's hopes for a 10-win Big East season, a season which could go south quickly as the schedule tightens over the next 10 days. The Hoyas are now only a half game ahead of Providence for seventh place, with Butler now only a game behind after its third consecutive win.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT   REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Mack         33   2-6   4-11  2-2    5  5   4   18
Ca. Williams 19   0-0   0-4   0-0    3  1   4    0  
Peavy        40   7-14  1-5   4-5    7 10   4   21
Fielder      23   1-3   1-4   0-0    3  1   4    5
Sorber       12   5-5   0-0   0-0    3  0   0   10
Reserves:  
Epps         27   3-3   2-7   3-5    4  3   5   15
Cu. Williams 16   3-4   0-2   0-0    4  1   1    6
Montgomery    6   0-0   0-2   0-0    1  0   1    0
Burks        17   3-5   1-2   2-3    5  0   4   11 
Van Raaphorst 2   0-0   0-0   0-0    1  0   1    0 
Mulready      4   0-1   0-1   0-0    2  1   1    0
Team Rebounds                        1
Injured: McKenna, Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, Asadallah, Diouf
TOTALS      200 24-51  9-38  11-15  39 22  29   86

 

Closing Time

 2/13/25

A bit of (nearby) Georgetown history awaits the wrecking ball, as the Key Bridge Marriott approaches its imminent demise. But what follows?

Built in 1959 on the site of a Hot Shoppes restaurant near the the Key Bridge and adjacent to Lee Highway, the hotel was only the second constructed by J. Willard Marriott to that time (the original, the Twin Bridges Marriott, closed in 1990). The hotel was a frequent destination for alumni and parents visiting Georgetown, as well as visiting athletic teams and University banquets, including the Hoya Hoop Club.

The 600 room hotel was sold to a third party investment group for $190 million in 2018, but closed during COVID and never reopened, and was abandoned by its owners, who had once proposed a series of condominiums on the site. It was condemned by Arlington County last year.

An article at Arlington Now revisits a regular Internet plea: why not build a basketball arena on the site?



Of course, the plans for the property would be that of the current ownership, whose plans remain in effect with Arlington County through July 1.

Per the author, "Georgetown University did not respond to a request for comment on this story."

 

The Next Step

 2/11/25

The play of Georgetown grad transfer Micah Peavy is gaining interest from professional basketball scouts. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Peavy discusses his journey to Georgetown and where it could go from here.

The son of a high school basketball coach in the Dallas suburbs, Peavy learned defense first hand.

"When I was a freshman and sophomore [at Duncanville HS], I didn't understand why my dad coached me so hard," Peavy told free lance writer Jordan Monaco. "Once I got more mature, it helped me get better and held me accountable. He didn't let me take bad shots. Also, defense was his mentality, the way I got to play more minutes from my dad was defense."

"I like to look at who gets blocks and steals, but I'm best at stopping guys from scoring, which is the most important thing. It's fun to me and I think guys should focus on it."
--Micah Peavy

Following a season at Texas Tech and three seasons at Texas Christian, Peavy went into the transfer portal in the spring of 2024. "I had a great three years at TCU, but I felt like it was time for me," he told Draft Digest. "I got better every year but felt like there was another step I needed to take to reach my ultimate goal of the NBA."

As for Georgetown, "when you're a good defender, you have to be able to gamble a little and your coach has to have the ultimate trust in you, which is why I chose Coach Cooley. He checked every box and he's done all he's promised plus more. I feel like I made a great decision."

Peavy leads the Hoyas in scoring, assists, and steals and is second in rebounds and blocks. Over the past five games he is averaging 20.2 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

"I used to be worried about missed shots and what coaches thought because I'm a coach's kid. Now my mindset has changed completely. Georgetown really helped me with that. Everybody misses shots so you don't have to be worried about them. That's why I love defense: if I get a turnover or missed shot I'll get it back for us and make a play on defense. It gives me confidence throughout the whole game and I feel like I'm the best player on the court every time."

Recommended reading.

 

Georgetown 60, Seton Hall 46

  Updated 2/9/25

What began as an offensive clinker ended as a defensive show-stopper, as the Georgetown Hoyas defeated Seton Hall 60-46 at Capital One Arena, the fewest combined points in the series between the two teams since 2001.

POST-GAME COVERAGE  
"I thought we played hard, I think we just ran out of gas," said Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway.

Seton Hall entered the game having dropped eight straight, the result of losing three of its starters to injury. No matter the obstacles, the Pirates opened the game with an 8-2 run to establish a surprising early lead. For its part, the Hoyas opened one for seven, setting the stage for a slow, plodding game between both teams.

In what has become a two man option for much of the Hoyas' offense, Micah Peavy and Thomas Sorber carried Georgetown out of an early ditch, scoring all of its 11 points in the first eight minutes of action, 20 of its first 23, and all but five points by halftime. Georgetown was never really out of it, but could not establish any sustained momentum and appeared limited offensively.

The Pirates were similarly limited on its side of the floor, with guard Isaiah Coleman scoring 10 of the final 12 for the Pirates in the first half. Coleman could not do it alone, however, and the Pirates gave way late in the first half, as the Hoyas took a 9-2 run into the locker room at halftime. Keyed by a three from freshman Caleb Williams and back to back jumpers by Peavy, Georgetown owned a 34-26 lead at the break before a largely silent crowd in the afternoon matinee.

The Hall never really went away after halftime, opening the second half with seven straight and closing to 36-33 less than three minutes into the resumption of play. Georgetown's defense began to limit Coleman's drives and with it, the Pirates stalled, going scoreless for its next five minutes of play. By the time guard Jahseem Felton drove the lane for a layup and foul at the 12:31 mark, the Hoyas were still up only by three, thanks to two turnovers, three missed layups, and three missed three pointers.

Seton Hall missed its next five but Georgetown could not extend its lead. A dunk by Sorber advanced the Hoyas up six midway in the half, 43-37, but Coleman answered with six of the Pirates' next eight, closing to 48-45 with 5:22 remaining, a margin too close for comfort for Georgetown fans, given a Seton Hall team winless on the road this season and playing with only eight scholarship players.

"The Hoyas have won four conference games when scoring fewer than 70 points--as many as in their previous eight regular seasons combined."
--Patrick Stevens, Washington Post

Georgetown needed a spark and it came on defense, forcing a shot clock violation at the 4:38 mark following a Curtis Williams jumper to put the Hoyas up five. Following free throws by Caleb Williams at the 4:19 mark, the Pirates missed on its next three shots. Caleb Williams broke open the game with Georgetown's only three pointer of the second half with 2:41 remaining, and the Hall folded in short order. The Pirates managed only two shots the remainder of the game as Georgetown held Seton Hall to one point over the final 5:22 of the game.

Micah Peavy led the Hoyas with 22 points, seven rebounds, and three steals in the game, despite Georgetown shooting 39 percent as a team and 22 percent overall (5 for 22) from three point range. Coleman's 21 points led the Pirates in Georgetown's first sweep over Seton Hall since the 2014-15 season.

All things said, this was not one of Georgetown's better games. Peavy and Sorber combined to shoot 16 of 28, the remainder of the team just nine for 31 against a visibly depleted opponent. Caleb Williams's 12 points was a season high, but the team seemed out of sync all afternoon. Injuries continued to hamper Jayden Epps, who played just five minutes in the second half and finished 1 for 7. Malik Mack was scoreless after halftime and finished 1 for 5. Forwards Drew Fielder, Jordan Burks, and Curtis Williams were a combined 3 for 14.

Were this any other Big East team, Georgetown would have been well out of the running, but its defense was enough to keep the Pirates from smelling an upset. The Hoyas picked up 19 points off 20 Seton Hall turnovers, its most in a game since a Dec. 2 game versus UMBC.

Head coach Ed Cooley focused on the positives.

"We didn't score the ball well, but I thought we defended at a really, really high level today," he said in post-game comments. "In any type of Big East basketball game that you can hold teams under 50 points, you're doing something well, defensively."

"I'm super proud of these guys," said Holloway. "The difference in this game is having 20 turnovers...Other than that it was a good game, a close game."

The 46 points was a season low for Seton Hall, a team which has not scored 60 points in its last three games and six of its last seven. Defensively, the game marked only the second Big East game where the Pirates did not give up at least seven three pointers in a game. The other game was on Dec.22 against Georgetown.

"I'm just happy where the program is moving forward. Inch by inch, day by day, I feel it's getting better," Cooley said. "As long as we defend we're going to have an opportunity to have success."

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG  FT   REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Mack         33   0-2   1-3  0-0    1  2   4    3
Peavy        36   9-17  1-3  1-2    7  3   4   22
Ca. Williams 35   1-2   2-3  2-2    3  3   1   12
Fielder      11   1-2   0-2  0-0    1  1   0    2
Sorber       38   6-11  0-1  1-3   11  3   3   13
Reserves:
Epps         20   0-2   1-5  0-0    3  1   3    3    
Cu. Williams 21   2-4   0-4  1-1    5  0   0    5
Burks         6   0-1   0-1  0-0    2  0   1    0
Team Rebounds                       4
Injured: McKenna, Halaifonua, Mulready, Moses                   
DNP: Fort, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf, Mulready
TOTALS      200 19-52  5-22 5-8   37  13  16   60

 

Pink-Trimmed Jerseys Saturday

  2/7/25

A social media post from the basketball office offers a specialty jersey for Saturday's game versus Seton Hall.


Specialty jerseys at Georgetown are infrequent and have not been seen since 2015. They include the following one-off styles:


February 21, 2004
This throwback to the 1982-84 jerseys was seen vs. Syracuse.		 December 1, 2007
This white home jersey appeared at the Georgetown-Fairfield game.

February 27, 2010
This jersey appeared vs. Notre Dame in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Air Jordan brand.		 November 9, 2012
This camouflage jersey appeared at the Georgetown-Florida game in Jacksonville, FL

February 25, 2013
This jersey, seen at Cincinnati, featured only the "G" logo.		 November 8, 2013
A second camouflage jersey appeared at the Georgetown-Oregon game in South Korea.
January 27, 2015
A home jersey with traces of pink trim was seen at the Georgetown-Xavier game.


 

ESA Acquires Naming Rights

  2/7/25

For the first time since opening in 2018, the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southeast Washington has acquired corporate naming rights.

A press conference Thursday announced the 4,200 seat facility will be named CareFirst Arena, a 10 year deal that will include a $2 million investment by its parent entity, BlueCross BlueShield, in community projects. Terms for the overall rights were not disclosed.

The Georgetown women's team has played one game per season at the facility in each of the past three seasons, most recently a 73-55 loss to Connecticut on January 11 before a season high of 3,827.

The name change is the second in the National Capital Region following the change from FedEx Field to Northwestern Stadium in August, and may not be the last. Talks continue whether to pursue naming rights for Nationals Park, while the agreement between Monumental Sports and Capital One for the downtown arena expires in 2027.

 

Xavier 74, Georgetown 69

  2/4/25  11:15 pm

A season high 27 from Micah Peavy fell short as Xavier retook the fifth spot in the Big East standings with a 74-69 win at Cintas Center Tuesday.

POST-GAME COVERAGE  
Minus Jayden Epps for a second consecutive start, the flow of the took a familiar pattern: Thomas Sorber had 10 of the first 11 points of the game, but got few touches thereafter. The Hoyas held Xavier to 33 percent shooting midway throughout the first half, carrying a 24-16 lead with 7:05 to halftime. Back to back threes by Zach Freemantle and Ryan Conwell led the X-men on a 14-2 run to end the first half up four, 30-26. Sorber and Micah Peavy combined to shoot 9 for 17, the remainder of the team 2 for 10.

The teams played basically even in the second half. The Hoyas closed to 39-37, 43-42, and 60-55 but could not get any closer. Thomas Sorber, with four early points after halftime, got two touches in the final 14 minutes, with Peavy and Malik Mack combining for 30 points after halftime to keep the game close. Xavier was 3 for 3 on three point shots in the final five minutes, with back to back threes from reserve guard Dante Maddox in a key stretch that protected the lead late, and a three from Marcus Foster that put Xavier up seven, 68-61.

The Hoyas shot 57 percent from the field in the second half but allowed Xavier to shoot 58 percent. The Musketeers were 12 for 13 from the foul line after the break, the Hoyas 7 for 9, and that one foul shot was the net difference after halftime.

Curtis Williams' three shots, two in the final nine seconds, were the only attempts from the bench all evening.

An unfortunate description from Fox Sports 1 announcer Connor Onion at the end of the game led to a statement being issued late last evening from the basketball office. In the final seconds of Tuesday's game, head coach Ed Cooley could be seen walking down the bench with an official and pointing out an unruly Xavier fan to officials.

Onion then interrupted analyst LaPhonso Ellis and exclaimed "And Ed Cooley and a fan are going at it!", whereupon the FS1 cameras flipped to empty seats on the bench, causing some momentary confusion. "Ed Cooley and a fan are face to face down on the baseline!" he continued. The coach in the video was not Cooley, but assistant coach Kenny Johnson, who kept players away from the fan in question who was being separated by Xavier officials. By this point, Cooley had already walked away and was seen shaking hands with Xavier coach Sean Miller.

A statement from Cooley followed.



Onion has not commented publicly on the matter after the game.

As schools continue to sell more premium seats at court level, this is a growing problem. During Tuesday's Marquette-St. John's game, officials briefly held up the game when St. John's fans would not sit down when a Marquette player attempted to inbound the ball adjacent to their seats.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG  FT   REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Mack          38  3-7   1-8  4-4    4  8   0   13
Peavy         40  8-13  3-6  2-3    4  4   4   27
Ca. Williams  29  0-0   1-2  0-0    3  2   5    3
Fielder       19  0-1   1-3  0-0    6  1   3    3
Sorber        40  8-10  0-2  1-4    3  2   2   17 
Reserves:  
Cu. Williams  25  1-1   1-2  1-2    2  2   3    6
Montgomery     3  0-0   0-0  0-0    0  0   0    0
Burks          6  0-0   0-0  0-0    0  0   1    0
Mulready       2  0-0   0-0  0-0    0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                       2                
Injured: McKenna, Epps, Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, Asadallah, Van Raaphorst, Diouf
TOTALS      200  20-32 7-23  8-13  24  19  18   69



 

"Sentient Perspective"

  2/4/25

An interview with Academy Award-nominated director RaMell Ross (C'05) investigates the confluence of time and action in how he approaches film making.

"There's a way in which athletes dilate time," Ross told Kevin Blackistone in this link from the Washington Post. "Everyone has this: this is perception, this is consciousness, time itself. But athletes hone this. That's where a person's talent is, being able to read, being able to control these micro moments for greater goals. And if that is not film and photography, I don't know what is."

"You are not looking at the subject, stuck in a rural Florida reform institution for boys that over decades brutalized dozens of black children," writes Blackistone in a review of Ross' film, Nickel Boys. "You become the subject. His eyes are your eyes. His feelings are your feelings. His pain, when his beating begins, the imprint of his face, your face, against a wall--is your pain."

It is a point of view that director RaMell Ross calls sentient perspective, which I wondered whether he borrowed from his basketball past. In Ireland's Super League. At Georgetown, where he played under Craig Esherick and John Thompson III for four seasons. As a third-team All-Met selection at Lake Braddock. As a guard, Ross, 6-foot-6, had to survey the whole floor, had to sense what to do in a split second, had to anticipate where others would be. Ross had to have vision. Like any film maker. Any artist."

"This skill set," Ross said, "I could not have achieved...without the rigor and discipline that sports provided."

In addition to two Academy Award nominations, the film "Nickel Boys" has received 170 nominations across various regional film awards, including the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, and the Toronto Film Critics Association, the latter of which awarded Ross as Best Director and the film as its Best Picture.

 

NIL, Revenue Sharing, & Georgetown

  2/3/25

A recent comment by the athletic director at Marquette raises the issue of how the Big East conference in general and Georgetown University in specific may address the looming issue of athlete compensation among major college schools.

"Yes, the Big East presidents and athletic directors made that decision, I think, it was back during their fall meetings. I don't think there's been anything public around it because I don't know it required any type of public declaration. But yes, as a conference, all members of our conference will be opted in, assuming the settlement is approved."
--Marquette athletic director Mike Broeker

"I think the challenge that's creating all sorts of pressure on our industry is that running and operating at the elite level of college basketball is going to get more expensive with revenue sharing, if the House settlement gets approved," said Marquette athletic director Mike Broeker to the Paint Touches blog. "We haven't really charted the path as to how we're going to be more sustainable and more efficient yet. We're considering a number of strategic measures now. I said this last week, we have to come together and accept our reality but not allow it to drive our future."

Currently, limited NIL compensation at Georgetown is managed through a third party, Hoyas Rising, which is independent of the University. As part of the ongoing House v. NCAA settlement, schools that wish to opt-in to the conditions of the agreement have the opportunity to share up to 22 percent of its annual athletic department revenues (tickets, media rights, and sponsorships, but not donations) directly to student-athletes, beginning July 1, 2025. For Big Ten and SEC schools, that's approximately $22 million a year; for everyone else, much less. With this opt-in, schools may also offer full scholarships to an entire roster but the roster limits may actually reduce roster slots and walk-on opportunities in some cases.

"The Big East presidents and athletic directors made that decision, I think, it was back during their fall meetings," Broeker said. "I don't think there's been anything public around it because I don't know it required any type of public declaration. But yes, as a conference, all members of our conference will be opted in, assuming the settlement is approved...that's going to be individually school driven. And those conversations are going on in every campus."

Such a decision comes with consequences, including but not limited to, whether those that receive revenue share will be classified as employees, the impact of accepting funds directly to negotiate agreements previously handled by third party NIL collectives, or to maintain existing relationships with collectives without revenue sharing, and at what competitive cost. In addition, schools without major media rights contracts will be losing a large part of its annual athletics budget with which to fund programs.

"We will undoubtedly be faced with challenges because of this settlement," wrote Wyoming athletic director Thomas Burman in November. "Many institutions, similar to ours, will not be able to share revenue at a level close to the maximum allotment...Many of our counterparts will reduce expenses and shift that money to revenue sharing through drastic changes in department structure. Some will eliminate/reduce scholarships in Olympic sports or eliminate sports altogether. I view that as a last resort."

On one end, the Big Ten is already developing proposals for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with student-athletes, according to Sportico. It reports that "although the MOU is ostensibly not about the athlete's play, it notes the school reserves the right to "increase or decrease" payments in reflection of their performance."

"The MOU mentions two illustrations: the player wins a Heisman Trophy or sees their playing time reduced. Although the MOU maintains the relevance of developments concerning the "promotional value of using the Athlete's NIL," they are obviously linked to the athlete's play. The linkage between play and NIL is also apparent in how the MOU addresses a player transferring. The school agrees to "take reasonable steps not to actively use the Athlete's NIL" after the athlete plays for another team. The school, however, stresses it can "sell-off" products with the athlete's NIL and reserves the right to use the NIL for archival purposes and historical signage."

On the other side of the spectrum is the Ivy League, which announced last week it will not opt-in, saying it will "continue to provide an educational intercollegiate athletics model that is focused on academic primacy and the overall student-athlete experience."

In the middle of these two arguments is Georgetown University, which is seen by some observers as an Ivy League-style program with major college basketball. Not providing revenue sharing if 10 other Big East schools do has competitive ramifications, but opting in could introduce discord within segments of the academic community, where men's basketball players could potentially be more highly compensated by the University than senior faculty.

It's also not clear what the numerator of eligible student-athletes for revenue share would be. Is it limited to 15 men's basketball players (or 17, with walk-ons)? Is it 30, roughly men's and women's basketball players only? How about 128, the number of athletic scholarships? Or 733, the total number of student athletes as of its last public report? Sharing $2 million per year, as an example, across 15 students versus 733 is a sizable difference, and the what-ifs follow rapidly: if Georgetown doesn't rev-share in some sports and other schools do, what happens to those programs? Does Title IX play a role? Would allocations that ignore some sports invite litigation?

It's understandable why Georgetown and other Big East schools have not commented publicly on this, because it's not clear what the critical path even is. Decisions are coming, however.

"We haven't really charted the path as to how we're going to be more sustainable and more efficient yet," said Broeker. We're considering a number of strategic measures now...I feel like in higher ed, we're all going through the same challenges and if we can come together as a conference, we might be able to help create some solutions that makes sense for all of our student athletes."

 

The Blue & The Gray

  2/3/25

A new student group helped bring a large turnout to Friday's game versus Butler.

Known as "Hoya Gray", the group apparently sponsored $1 beer for seniors prior to the game. It appears to be a split-off group from "Hoya Blue", which was founded in 1998 but which has grown increasingly inactive in recent years. Its Twitter feed, for example, had no posts for almost seven months in 2024 and just 20 Facebook posts in the current school year. Its web site is inactive.

The new group lists 52 followers on Instagram versus 2,911 for Hoya Blue, whose social media dates to 2017.

Neither group has much of a presence online, but an energetic student group (or groups) is essential going forward.