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Various news items posted during March 2024.
 
 

Monumental Sports To Stay At Capital One Arena;
City To Offer $515 Million In Renovations
Lease Extended Through 2050

  Updated 3/28/24

In a stunning turn of events, Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis (C'77) announced an offer is in place to extend its lease at Capital One Arena with the District through 2050, ending a proposed relocation terminated by Alexandria officials Wednesday afternoon.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
"We are going to have a state of the art urban arena in Downtown DC and that's a great deal for DC, for the teams, and for the fans," said Mayor Muriel Bowser. "We made a great offer, and kept that offer on the table, because we have known all along that this is a win-win for our city and the teams. This is a catalytic investment in Downtown DC. We are excited to have Monumental as our partners in DC's Comeback and we look forward to working together to win for DC."

The press conference was a denouement of sports for Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis (C'77), whose public frustration with a $500 million offer by the District last summer led him to ally with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on December 13 to announce on a $2 billion arena at Potomac Yard for the NBA Washington Wizards and NHL Washington Capitals, with $1.3 billion of the total funded by state tax revenues.

The move was widely criticized on both sides of the Potomac, with Leonsis' public persona having been battered from Washington to Richmond. Through it all, Leonsis never signed a binding agreement with Virginia and noted at Wednesday's press conference he had met weekly with Bowser in the lobby of Washington's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (the former Old Post Office) to discuss opportunities if the Virginia deal fell through.

"All of a sudden I really felt like we were in this together and that D.C., it's where I wanted to be," he said.

News broke earlier this afternoon that Alexandria officials had terminated negotiations, and the D.C. press conference followed a few hours later.

"D.C. did every single thing right since December," Leonsis said, choosing his words carefully amidst frustration over Youngkin's inability to secure votes in the General Assembly and Alexandria's subsequent ending of negotiations.

"We are going to have time to talk about our experience in Virginia, but that is not today," he added. "Today is about staying in D.C. and is about what the Mayor and Council have done in downtown D.C. We got to this place because we kept an honest dialogue with the Mayor and her staff and we both took the high road as we didn't know how things would end. This is more than an investment from the city, it's a true partnership demonstrated by all of these investments which the city has committed to for our fans to have an exceptional gameday experience."

"We made mistakes, but [this] outcome is exactly the right one."

Key elements of the deal as proposed include the following:

  • Extensive in-arena upgrades, including seating changes to the lower bowl to maximize sight lines, especially in hockey. The District will commit $500 million of a proposed $800 million renovation;
  • The District will provide 200,000 SF in the adjacent Gallery Place Building (616 H St.) for Monumental office needs;
  • Creation of a Wizards practice facility atop or adjacent to 616 H;
  • Monumental will assume control and management of the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast DC, and will commit to the WNBA Mystics and G-League Go-Go to continue playing there;
  • 200 parking spaces for Monumental employees;
  • Traffic changes to allow large truck access on 6th St. NW and to close F St. NW up to two hours before games for fan egress;
  • Up to 17 additional police officers for street duty during and after games;
  • A plan to relocate a bus stop on H St. adjacent to the Gallery Place Metro exit, which has been the site of drug dealing and various reported criminal activity; and
  • A dedicated ride share zone and drop off for events.
One item cited in the Monumental release is the creation of an "entertainment district" along the lines of what was proposed in Alexandria. This would allow Monumental access and/or control over events adjacent to the arena as well as to address non-Monumental vendors, entertainers, and hangers-on which can often be found and heard outside the building. Leonsis' public complaints about activity in the vicinity of the arena may have been addressed in this part of the proposed plan.

In comments after the press conference, Leonsis disputed claims that he miscalculated the political climate in Virginia, stressing "I'm not a politician. I didn't miscalculate anything."

"I got an outcome that the fans like, that my partners like, and I think we're a big winner."

A vote to confirm the offer takes place next week at the DC City Council, although the council previously approved $500 million in December.

 

Leonsis Discusses Fan Reaction To Virginia Move

 3/28/24

Outside of Gov. Youngkin and the JBG Smith developers, the decision appears to be a win for all concerned. Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis wondered if he misread the room when public opinion swung so swiftly against his proposed move.

"Leonsis faced significant blowback from fans and the media after the initial plan to relocate to Northern Virginia was announced," wrote The Athletic. "In a brief interview with The Athletic on Wednesday night, Leonsis said he had been surprised by that criticism of potentially moving the Capitals and Wizards the 3.5 miles from Capital One Arena to Potomac Yard."

"For me, my angst was I misread something," Leonsis said. "There's something in the air that I don't understand. I usually have a good feel for sentiment, and I really didn't get it, and I still don't get it. But now it's not an issue, right? I'm here. People should be really happy. I'm happy. So, I think that we'll invest here."

"What I'm most relieved is I don't want to spend any more time with politicians and on venues," he added.

 

Now, What About Georgetown?

 3/28/24

One hundred five days ago, wearing an orange and maroon tie representing the satellite campus of Virginia Tech, Ted Leonsis (C'77) announced a departure from downtown DC. Today, he noted he was wearing a blue and gray tie. So where does Georgetown Basketball fit in all this?

University officials were visibly absent from Leonsis' Dec. 13 event, with mixed messages about whether its home games were or were not counted in Monumental's projections for a new arena.

"No comment on the decision was offered from the President's Office at Georgetown nor athletic director Lee Reed following the announcement, mindful of sensitive relations GU maintains not only with the DC mayor's office but Leonsis himself, whose considerable wealth could be of transformational impact in the ongoing University capital campaign, if he chooses to do so," this site wrote in December. "Leonsis is a former member of the Georgetown University Board of Directors, and his son Zach (MBA'15) sits on the advisory board of the McDonough School of Business."

As before, no comment followed from the University following this announcement.

Renovations and a long term future for the arena are only a plus for Georgetown, which will soon have played more games at 7th and F Streets than the total games played at McDonough Gymnasium since 1951. The downtown address does not come at a discount, however, and trails only the head coach's salary among the largest expenses in the GU basketball budget.

Empty seats are more noticeable than ever, as Georgetown ranked 10th of 11 Big East teams in attendance last season, Since 1997, Georgetown has sold out just eight of 403 games downtown and none since 2013, as local interest has declined as the program did. The 2023-24 season averaged 6,755 in 19 games, 14 of which had 40 percent or fewer capacity.

A renovated and revitalized arena is a win-win for Georgetown Basketball, but it must address the lack of support and the continuing need to address McDonough Gymnasium, which is over 70 years old. If the University wants to continue to kick the can on a plan that offers both on and off campus opportunities for students, Wednesday's announcement gives it cover to do so.

 

Alexandria Ends Arena Negotiations

 3/27/24

Earlier Wednesday, the City of Alexandria ended negotiations with Monumental Sports on a $2 billion arena at Potomac Yard to relocate the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, per a statement Wednesday.

In a related article, the Associated Press reported that "Virginia's House speaker also confirmed he was told that Ted Leonsis, majority owner of the teams, is no longer considering a deal to relocate them from the District of Columbia."

"The City was adamant that any favorable consideration of the proposal included substantial and thoughtful improvements to the existing transportation system; included affordable housing; protect our stellar AAA bond rating; protect existing and future residents from financial risk; provided substantial future revenue for city and school services; protected existing neighborhoods; and provided quality jobs for our community," said mayor Justin Wilson. "We are disappointed negotiations did not result in a proposal that protected our financial interests and respected these community values."

The creation of a sports authority and $1.35 billion in public tax commitments required legislative approval in the Virginia General Assembly as well as sign off from the Alexandria City Council; without the latter, the current plan does not move forward.

"All members of Alexandria City Council, which would have been required to sign off on the plan, had appeared on stage at the initial announcement more than three months ago. But with a competitive mayoral primary election looming, both leading candidates for the job began turning against the idea," wrote the Washington Post.

In a statement, Gov. Glenn Youngkin remarked: "Thank you, Monumental, for wanting to come to Virginia and create $12 billion of economic investment... But no, personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no up front general fund money and no tax increases, that created tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue for Virginia. I'd like to thank Ted Leonsis and the Monumental team, the City of Alexandria, JBG Smith and countless other partners for their professionalism, belief in Virginia and fortitude. Congratulations to Monumental for striking a great deal, I'm sorry you won't be in Virginia."

Earlier today, Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis (C'77) posted social media messages extolling recent successes for the downtown building:





Reaction from Virginia senator L. Louise Lucas, who did not advance a funding vote in the state senate, was swift:





 

Williams Named All-Met

 3/27/24

Incoming freshman Caleb Williams was named to the Washington Post All-Met team Tuesday.

"The versatile Georgetown signee closed his high school career by helping the Quakers to another pair of conference and state titles," writes the Washington Post.

Though he shares a name with the Heisman Trophy quarterback that once played at Gonzaga, the 6-7 forward from Sidwell Friends made his own name this season, averaging 13 points and five rebounds as the Quakers won the DC Class AA title over St. John's. Williams committed to Georgetown last summer over offers at Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova and Michigan.

Upon enrollment, Williams will be the 53rd Georgetown player since 1932 named to an All-Met team.

 

A Season To Remember

 3/25/24


 

Whatever Happened To....

 3/25/24

In a season of wholesale change from the season before, a look back at departures from the 2022-23 Georgetown team and where they are today:

  • Akok Akok: Averaged 6.5 points in 31 games as a Georgetown senior. Akok did not graduate from Georgetown but may have transferred credits to another school in order to enter West Virginia last fall as a grad transfer. Akok played in 23 games and averaged 3.0 points per game.
  • Denver Anglin: Averaged 1.3 points in 18 games last season as a freshman. A transfer to SMU, he injured his foot in the preseason and took a medical redshirt year in 2023-24.
  • D'Ante Bass: Averaged 0.2 points in eight games last season as a freshman. A transfer to Alabama State, he suffered a lower body injury in the second game of the season and did not play thereafter.
  • Brad Ezewiro: Averaged 4.3 points in 27 games last season. Transferring to Saint Louis, he started 21 of 22 games at center, averaging 12.0 points per game.
  • Bryson Mozone: Averaged 6.6 points in 31 games as the 2022-23 three point specialist for the Hoyas in his final season of eligibility. Joined Iskra Svit of the Slovakian Extraliga, averaged 15.7 points over 29 games.
  • Brandon Murray: Averaging 13.7 points as a sophomore last season, Murray signed at Ole Miss, but did not play until December 16 pending an NCAA waiver. Murray was largely ineffective for the Rebels, averaging just 4.3 points in 23 games, starting in just three games.
  • Jordan Riley: Averaged 4.6 in 25 games as a sophomore last season, transferred to Temple. Averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Owls, with 29 starts over 33 games.
  • Primo Spears: Following a 2022-23 season where he led the Hoyas scoring with a 16 points per game average, Spears followed former assistant Kevin Nickelberry to Florida State. Spears played in 24 games, all as a reserve, averaging 10.6 per game. Last week, Spears announced he is back in the NCAA transfer portal, seeking his fourth school in as many years.
  • Qudus Wahab (B'23): One of two graduates from last season, Wahab averaged 9.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 25 games last season for the Hoyas and opted for a grad transfer option at Penn State. In a mirror image of his prior season, Wahab averaged 9.5 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Nittany Lions in his final season of eligibility.
  • Malcolm Wilson (B'23): Averaged 0.3 points in nine games last season, took a grad transfer offer to Queens University in Charlotte. Averaged 1.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 33 games off the bench this season.
None of the college teams to which players transferred to in 2023-24 qualified for the 2024 NCAA tournament.

 

Moving Out: Rowan Brumbaugh

 3/20/24

The first undergraduate transfer of the 2023-24 cycle claims starting guard Rowan Brumbaugh, according to On3.com.

Brumbaugh played his high school basketball at Northfield (MA) Mount Hermon School, earning ESPN Top 100 honors with averages of 13.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds a game. Though recruited by former Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing in the fall of 2021, Brumbaugh signed with Texas, but did not play as a freshman, and entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

As a freshman, Brumbaugh started 20 games for the Hoyas, fighting off a pair of slumps at mid-season and towards the end of the 2023-24 season that limited his time on the court. He led the Hoyas in scoring in four games, with a season high 24 against Xavier and finished second in assists.

At present, four open scholarships remain for the 2024-25 season.

 

The Storm Before The Storm

 3/20/24

Even with over 100 teams still playing in the post-season, the 45 day season of the NCAA transfer portal is in full motion.

A week ago, just 99 players entered into the portal, mostly from Ivy League schools and fourth year players with an extra year available from the 2020-21 COVID season. In the last few days, it's increased by about 100 per day to 554 as of Tuesday evening, and will only continue to grow as teams are eliminated from the NCAA, NIT, CIT, and CBI tournaments. It poses a matter of game theory to coaches: when to pursue candidates, and when to wait. Coupled with NIL collectives and the NCAA not enforcing a one year residency requirement for second transfers, coaches are as busy as ever.

"The transfer portal is like a supermarket for basketball players," writes columnist James Malachowski. "There is an aisle for point guards, an aisle for shooting guards, athletic forwards, defensive specialists, etc. Like in every market, you cannot shop for basketball players without money. And yes, inflation has hit this market as well. The center you bought last year will cost you more this year."

Attrition has been corrosive to the Hoyas: 16 transfers in the past three seasons. The coaching staff is weighing the options to backfill the upcoming roster with three open scholarships, while doing its part to avoid unexpected departures. For the next six weeks, everyone is on edge.

 

Moving Out: Wayne Bristol

 3/18/24

Previously honored at Senior Night festivities, forward Wayne Bristol Jr. will pursue a graduate transfer option.

Bristol played high school basketball locally at Riverdale Baptist in 2017-18 but was lightly recruited, taking a prep year at St. Thomas More (CT) and choosing Howard over an offer at USC Upstate. The MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2019-20, he entered the transfer portal before the start of the 2021-22 season. Bristol gained eligibility at Georgetown for the spring portion of the 2021-22 schedule but sat out the remainder of the season.

As a junior, Bristol started in three games, with a season's high of 16 points versus Marquette. As a senior, Bristol saw reserve duty as a defensive specialist, finishing second on the team in steals.

Bristol's grad transfer follows that of graduate student walk-on Jonathan Kazor, who played in just one minute of the 2023-24 season and has one year of eligibility remaining.

 

Big East Robbed In NCAA Pairings

3/18/24

The nation's second ranked conference was tossed to the side in the selection of the 2024 NCAA Tournament Sunday night.

Just three Big East teams were awarded invitations to the tournament, the fewest in 31 years: #1-ranked Connecticut, #8 ranked Creighton, and #10-ranked Marquette. Despite favorable NET rankings for St. John's (#32 NET, 20-13), Villanova (18-15, #41) Seton Hall (#58, 21-13) and even Seton Hall (#67, 20-12), none were selected despite the strength of the Big East schedule.

Among the most egregious omission, St. John's wasn't even listed on the first four teams not to make the field despite winning six of its last seven and taking UConn to a 95-90 finish Friday at Madison Square Garden in one of UConn's toughest tests all season. St. John's is the only team listed in the top 30 at the influential Kenpom.com ranking not to be invited. The school declined an NIT invitation Sunday night, while five other Big East schools (Seton Hall, Providence, Villanova, Butler, and Xavier) joined the field.

No Big East teams joined the CIT or CBI tournament fields.

What happened? Three culprits come to the fore:

  1. "Bid Stealers": A number of teams not expected to receive an at-large bid won their conference tournaments and thus earned autobids, reducing available at-large slots. Examples included Oregon (#59 NET), North Carolina State (#63), Duquesne (#80), and UAB (#104).
  2. Other Metrics: While the Big East fared very well in most rankings, other schools padded their case with blowout wins over Quad 3 and Quad 4 schools; for an example, a 40 point win over a MEAC school by one team was judged more valuable than a 10 point win over a Big East opponent.
  3. Georgetown and DePaul: Bad basketball at the Hilltop and Lincoln Park did nothing for its fellow schools. The four schools above were a combined 18-0 against Georgetown (ranked #205) and DePaul (#320), so these wins were measured as less impactful than games against conferences where its schools predominated in the top 125. The lowest ranked Big 12 team, for example, was West Virginia at 156.
On the fringe, Georgetown's non-conference schedule was a net-minus for the conference. Of its 11 non-conference opponents, only TCU (#38, 21-12) was invited to the tournament. The NET rankings of the other schools follow below, out of 362:

    84. Syracuse (19-12, Georgetown loss)
    103. Rutgers (15-17, loss)
    124. Notre Dame (13-20, win)
    213. Merrimack (19-12, win)
    242. Mount St. Mary's (12-19, win)
    287: American (15-16, win)
    300: Jackson State (15-17, win)
    301: LeMoyne (12-17, win)
    350. Holy Cross (9-23, loss)
    361. Coppin State (2-27, win)



 

Big East Tournament: Still The One

3/17/24

The Big East Conference announced an extension to its contract with Madison Square Garden to host the men's basketball tournament through 2032.

First hosted at the Garden in 1983 following stops in Providence (1980), Syracuse (1981) and Hartford (1982), the extension will take the longest running college basketball event at a single venue through its 50th anniversary in 2032.

"Trust me, it will be more than 50 years," said Joel Fisher, executive Vice President at MSG Entertainment. "It's just gotten better and better every single year. And we didn't think it could."

For a second consecutive year, the 2024 Big East tournament was a complete sellout, selling all five sessions at 19,812 per game. By contrast, the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at Capital One Arena did not sell out a single session, with tickets going for as little as $4.00 in each of the first two days of the event.

Over a decade ago, the ACC and its partners at ESPN made a concerted effort to wrest the MSG contract from the Big East, to no avail. The 2017, 2018, and 2022 ACC tournaments were held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in an attempt to establish a beachhead in the New York market to eventually move to MSG, but local interest was visibly lacking. Only one of the seven sessions at the 2022 ACC event sold out, and the fan experience around Atlantic Avenue paled in comparison to that of Midtown Manhattan. A similar foray by the Big Ten in 2018 was deemed unsuccessful and that league has no plans to return.

Last month, the ACC announced that it will play upcoming tournaments in either Greensboro or Charlotte for the next six years, beginning in 2025 when it welcomes decidedly non-Atlantic schools in California, Stanford, and Southern Methodist to the conference. The three schools were a combined 46-46 this past season and none were invited to the NCAA tournament from their current conferences.

 

Providence 74, Georgetown 56

  3/17/24

Finding a new way to lose, the curtain came down on a grim 2023-24 season of Georgetown University basketball in a 74-56 loss to Providence College in the first round of the Big East Tournament before 19,812 at Madison Square Garden.

POST-GAME ARTICLES
The Friars had something to play for, the Hoyas did not, and it showed. In comparison to the nightcap of the triple header when winless DePaul took Villanova to the buzzer in a wholly unexpected 58-57 finish, this game featured a Georgetown team to whom a few of its players had mentally checked out, either for the season, or with an eye on a new destination next fall.

Competitive for the first four minutes at 9-7, the Friars responded with an 11-0 run and a 20-7 lead at the 13 minute mark of the first half. Had Jayden Epps not been in the game, they might have had to call this in the first half. Epps scored 13 of the Hoyas' first 15 points of the game over the first nine minutes of play, but despite this impressive run the Friars scored on five of six attempts and led by 11 at the 8:04 mark, 33-22.

A cold win blew into the Garden for the Friars, ending the first half with just one field goal in the final eight minutes, but Georgetown was equally ineffective, shooting 2 for 15 to end the half and trailing 40-27 on 32 percent shooting.

Providence opened the half with five straight points and built a lead the Hoyas could never seriously challenge. Though the Hoyas shot better after halftime at 52 percent, it allowed the Friars five threes after th4re break and 50 percent shooting overall.

Georgetown had two mini-runs to narrow the score. Consecutive baskets by Epps closed to nine at the 14:12 mark, but the Hoyas missed its next six and PC answered with back to back threes at the 10:48 mark, 55-41. A 9-2 Georgetown run in the final six minutes brought the Hoya to within eight with 3:40 to play, 64-56, whereupon it promptly too one shot for th4e rest of the game, while Devin Carter scored five straight to put any misplaced hopes out of reach. The jilted PC student section got in a final round of off-color jeers at Ed Cooley as he opted not to empty the Georgetown bench as the Friars coasted to the win.

How long has it been, Hoya fans? Georgetown has won one Big East tournament game before a public audience at Madison Square Garden in the past nine years. The opponent was, who else, DePaul.

The world will little note nor long remember this game, but two items deserve recognition. First, a 30 point effort by Jayden Epps did what the rest of his team could not: compete. Epps became the first Georgetown player since 1996 to score 30 in a Big East game, finished the season with seven 30 point games in a season, fifth most in school history for a career and a number matched in a single season by only two other men: Reggie Williams and Allen Iverson.

"It's good to be in the company and beside a name like Allen Iverson. You know how great he was," said Epps, who was not born when Iverson last played as a collegian and was only six when Iverson retired from the NBA. "Like Coach [Cooley] said, it's always good to play in this building as well. Growing up as a kid, you see so much about it, you watch games here, you hear how legendary it is. It's just a dream come true playing in this building, getting an opportunity like that, and I just got to keep working and trying to keep getting better."

Less recognition can be paid to the other memory of this game: a free throw exhibition that elicited derisive laughter from the sold out crowd. After shooting 2 for 5 as a team at halftime, the Hoyas did not take a free throw until the 10:58 mark, where Epps split a pair at the line. Three minutes later, Epps missed two, and Dontrez Styles split a pair at the 6:52 mark. From that point, the Hoyas missed an astonishing nine consecutive free throws to end the game, en route to a 4 for 19 finish, third worst for a single game in school history. While it may be adventurous that a better free throw effort may not have been determinative, missing 15 free throws and losing by 18 is yet another symbol of the sheer futility of this season and how, in hindsight, how ill-prepared this team was to face a challenging Big East.

A program defining off-season now awaits.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Brumbaugh    16   0-1   0-1   0-0   3  2   2    0 
Epps         40   9-15  3-8   3-11  3  4   2   30
Styles       35   3-4   0-3   1-5   9  1   3    7
Heath        34   0-3   1-2   0-0   2  3   2    3
Cook         23   1-4   0-0   0-0   6  1   3    2
Reserves:
Bacote        1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Fielder      17   1-2   2-5   0-2   2  0   3    8
Massoud       7   0-1   1-2   0-0   1  0   0    3
Bristol      27   0-0   1-3   0-1   2  0   3    3
Team Rebounds                       7
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, McKenna, Mutombo, Kazor      
TOTALS      200 14-30  8-24  4-19  35 11  18   56

 

Ivan Thomas Named Coach At Hampton

3/17/24

First year Georgetown assistant Ivan Thomas was been named head coach at Hampton University.

A native of Norfolk, Thomas joins a Hampton program that finished 9-24 under 15th year head coach Edward Joyner, who was fired last week. It's the first college head coaching assignment for Thomas, who spent eight years with Ed Cooley (seven at PC, one at Georgetown) after 13 years as a high school coach.

"Ivan is one of the most dynamic, energetic leaders of men I know," said Cooley in a statement. "He has the ability to connect, motivate, and teach the game of basketball and life. Ivan is a relationship person who thrives on opportunity. His ability to coach will inspire many recruits to want to play for him. I am very proud of his vision and persistence."

Thomas is the first Georgetown assistant to be directly elevated to a head coaching position since 2018 and is one of three former Georgetown assistants currently serving as a head coach, along with Mike Riley at UDC and Kevin Broadus at Morgan State.

 

St. John's 86, Georgetown 78

  3/9/24

Despite one of its best offensive games of the season, Georgetown's defense fell short yet again in an 86-78 regular season finale to St. John's before 16,127 at Madison Square Garden.

POST-GAME COVERAGE
St. John's entered the game needing this game and a win in next week's Big East tournament to secure its first NCAA invitation since 2019 while Georgetown, locked into the fateful Wednesday bracket for yet another year, was playing for pride. The game started out shockingly bad for Georgetown, with a visible lapse at the start setting in motion of two minutes which, at game's end, they wish they had back.

The game opened with a tip out of bounds, giving the ball to Georgetown three seconds into the first half. The players went into their usual offensive set, but appeared unaware (as were the Fox announcers) that the shot clock had been reset to 20 seconds. Thus, 23 seconds into the game, Georgetown was called with an awkward shot clock violation. Daniss Jenkins opened the scoring with a three, and within two minutes had scored eight straight points en route to a 10-0 St. John's lead at the first media time out, as the Hoyas committed five turnovers and seemed noncompetitive at the start.

Ismael Massoud, in the midst of a season ending slide where he has not made more than one shot in each of his last 10 games, opened with a three, 10-3; true to form, it was his only field goal of the game. Georgetown began to settle down offensively while St. John's, a team known to lose leads, began to wobble midway through the first half, with three turnovers. A 10-5 run, bookended by two threes from Jay Heath, brought the Hoyas to 17-13 midway in the first half and a Supreme Cook dunk to 17-15.

Georgetown took leads over the course of the first half but they were maddeningly brief. Five straight field goals by the Hoyas, capped by a Dontrez Styles three with 8:07 to halftime, gave GU its first lead at 22-21, only to ba answered by a three from UConn transfer Naheim Alleyne nine seconds later, 24-22. A Jayden Epps three, part of five for the Hoyas in the first half, took a 27-26 lead, which lasted all of seven seconds with a coast to coast layup from SJU's Chris Ledlum, 28-27. A third lead off a Drew Fielder steal and dunk was answered 15 seconds later with a Glenn Taylor three, 35-33, and the Redmen got their final three of the half on an open look from Alleyne with two seconds to the break, 39-35, a far cry from the 10-0 start.

A basket by Supreme Cook got the Hoyas to within two to open the second half, 39-37, but the Redmen scored five quick points for a seven point lead which held for much of the first five minutes. Back to back baskets by Fielder brought Georgetown to 52-51, but a SJU layup and free throws soon pushed the lead back to five. A Heath three closed to 57-56 midway in the half, and as if by call the Redmen answered with four straight, 61-56.

An Epps jumper with 7:50 to play brought the Hoyas to 61-60 when St. John's coach Rick Pitino forsook the media time out for one of his own. The recurrent problems which have haunted this Georgetown program all season -- namely, unforced errors and bad interior defense, returned late and delivered a knockout blow yet again.

Off the timeout , St. John's got an Alleyne jumper and a Joel Soriano dunk, 65-61, while a tiring Epps missed a pair of jumpers. Epps proceeded to give up turnovers on three of the next four possessions, answered by St. John's with four consecutive baskets in the paint. By the time of the four minute time out, St. John's had shot 9 for 10, all at close range, while Georgetown had missed five straight and trailed by 10, 74-64. Late threes by Jay Heath and Wayne Bristol were promising but insufficient: a St. John's team which had struggled from the foul line made their last six attempts to keep the game out of reach.

Epps led the Hoyas with 23 points but shot just 3 for 11 after the break. Jay Heath scored four three pointers and 14 overall, while Drew Fielder came off the bench for 12 points and five rebounds. Georgetown shot 45 percent from the field with 12 three pointers. Nonetheless, the Hoyas were burned yet again inside, as the Redmen shot 61 percent in the second half, 15 of 20 (75 percent) from inside the arc, and scored 32 of its 47 second half points in the paint.

Daniss Jenkins led all St. John's scorers with 23, but the second half play of reserve guard R.J. Luis was a turning point for the homestanding Redmen, shooting 6 of 7 in the second half and scoring all of 14 of his points after the break as Epps faltered in response. For a second consecutive game, free throws strongly favored Georgetown's opponent, with 32 attempts for St. John's compared to just 12 for Georgetown, even though it finished a perfect 12 for 12 from the foul line.

In all, St. John's trailed for a mere 54 seconds in this game, but Georgetown gave a better fight than most would have anticipated.

"You play in a league like this here, you can't afford the level of mistakes that we made," said head coach Ed Cooley in a familiar refrain. "I think Coach Pitino has done a great job rallying his guys."

The loss, the 18th in 20 for the Hoyas, ties for the second worst finish in school history with last year's ineptitude. The fading reputation of this program continues as Georgetown has now finished in the bottom three of the Big East conference an eighth time in the past nine seasons.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Brumbaugh    11   0-4   0-0   2-2   1  1   2    2 
Epps         38   8-16  1-7   4-4   5  3   4   23
Styles       35   1-2   3-4   0-0   4  3   3   11
Massoud      16   0-0   1-3   2-2   1  0   0    5
Cook         19   3-7   0-0   0-0   6  1   5    6
Reserves:
Heath        31   1-3   4-6   0-0   0  2   1   14
Fielder      20   2-3   2-2   2-2   5  2   4   12
Bristol      29   0-0   1-2   2-2   3  1   1    5      
Team Rebounds                       3
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Bacote, McKenna, Mutombo, Kazor      
TOTALS      200 15-35  12-24 12-12 28  13 20   78

 

Arena Funding Not Advanced In Virginia Legislature

  Updated 3/8/24

As first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, the Virginia General Assembly did not advance a $1.35 billion initiative for Monumental Sports in the state budget announced today.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
The decision is a major defeat for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who announced the project alongside Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis (C'77) in December. Despite mounting opposition from fans, labor unions, and residents of Alexandria's Potomac Yard neighborhood, creating the funding mechanism within an omnibus budget bill would have given Monumental Sports, the ownership group of the NBA Washington Wizards and NHL Washington Capitals, a green light to begin construction for a 2028 completion date, whereupon it would relocate its teams out of Capital One Arena.

However, a cardinal rule of politics is not to declare victory before one has the votes in hand, and Youngkin failed to anticipate the power of Portsmouth senator L. Louise Lucas, who used her legislative authority as chair of the finance and appropriations committee to keep the arena funding out of the biennial budget.

In remarks Thursday, Youngkin called the decision a "colossal mistake", saying it was the legislature's responsibility to address. "There's a broad bipartisan group in House leadership and Senate leadership that want to move forward, but they are running into a single roadblock," he said.

Lucas was only happy to oblige.

"The reason why it's necessary is because I do not believe we ought to put the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth behind a project that's going to further enrich billionaires," Lucas said. "If they want this project, [they can] pay for it themselves."

Lucas then offered a touch of humor on Twitter following Youngkin's announcement:



While Youngkin could call the General Assembly back in April to propose a stand-alone bill for legislative approval, call a special session or even ask for a statewide referendum, each option is procedurally risky, given growing opposition within Northern Virginia political circles and Youngkin's need to address other state issues before his term ends. (Youngkin is term limited in 2026.)

"I don't think this is in the best interest of the commonwealth," said state senator Adam Ebbin, who represents Alexandria City. "It's a lot of money without a fully thought-out plan on transportation or labor relationships. So I'm fine where we are."

The future of Capital One Arena remains in question. In 2023, District officials appropriated $500 million for upgrades but Leonsis has publicly rebuffed any calls to reconsider, telling WUSA-9 last month that "the die has been cast" for him to leave Washington.

Neither Leonsis nor Monumental Sports have issued a public comment on the Virginia decision.

In a statement Thursday, DC council chairman Phil Mendelson said: "The arena and Monumental Sports have been partners with the District for almost 30 years, and a great asset to downtown. As a deal in Virginia remains uncertain, the Council continues to be ready to welcome Monumental Sports' change of mind. It continues to be our position that Monumental Sports should stay, and our offer remains on the table." An earlier offer by Monumental to move the WNBA Washington Mystics from the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast to Capital One Arena in lieu of the Wizards and Capitals was received poorly in District circles and other local officials have discussed redeveloping the block entirely if the teams leave.

The status of Georgetown University as a tenant at Capital One Arena after 2028 continues to be assumptive. Georgetown was not included in Monumental's plans for the Alexandria complex and the University has made no public comment on the project since its announcement.

 

Home Court Disadvantage

  3/6/24

Scenes from Capital One Arena, the worst home court advantage east of Chicago:

 

Providence 71, Georgetown 58

  Updated 3/6/24

Between the Washington Wizards and the Georgetown Hoyas, Capital One Arena is a veritable mausoleum of good basketball as of late. The story remained the same following Providence's 71-58 win before a plurality of Providence fans amidst 5,287 overall.

POST-GAME ARTICLES
The smallest home crowd at a home finale in 43 years weathered a night of poor shooting and poorer defense in Providence's 17th win over Georgetown in its last 21 and Georgetown's eighth consecutive home loss. Try as he might, the Ed Cooley Era never caught on in Washington this season, and games like this were ample reason why.

From a 3-3 tie, PC scored on six of its next seven attempts for an early 14-7 lead, but Georgetown battled back to tie the score at 18 midway through the first half. A defensive lull followed to match the lull in the building, as each team missed a combined 12 consecutive shots over three minutes. Layups by Davonte (Ticket) Gaines and Garwey Dual were the only point in the following three, as Georgetown went six minutes and 12 attempts without scoring. From a 6 for 12 start to open the game, Georgetown shot one for its next 15, and trailed by as many as seven before the Hoyas went on its only sustained drive of the first half, outscoring the Friars 8-2 into the final 30 seconds of the half, trailing by one, 30-29. Despite shooting a woeful 3 for 15 from outside the arc on the first half, the Friars did not go out without a bang, as PC guard Rich Barron hit a three at the buzzer for a 30-26 halftime lead.

Defensively, Georgetown held PC to 40 percent shooting at the break despite shooting 33 percent on its own and 2 for 11 from outside. Key in these numbers was a 2 for 7 mark from Providence's leading scorer, Devin Carter. But as most Georgetown opponents do, the Friars took over after halftime, with Devin Darter scoring 10 of the Friars' first 12 points out of intermission, 42-31.





Shooting 8 for 9 to open the second half, the Friars pushed the lead to 13 at the 12:47 mark, 50-37 before the Hoyas rallied behind six straight from Drew Fielder and closed to as few as seven with 6:26 to play, 59-52. Unswayed by a team-low 20 percent from three point range, the Georgetown offense attempted three consecutive three point attempts by Wayne Bristol, Dontrez Styles, and Jayden Epps. All missed, of course, and the Friars never looked back. Georgetown missed eight straight shot attempts to end the game before a Styles three with eight seconds remaining.

"I thought, especially in the second half, there were uncontested shots. I mean, they were wide open," head coach Ed Cooley said in post game remarks. "[We] can't put it in the basket for them."

Jayden Epps had five points after halftime and 16 points overall, but was again no match for Carter, who was 7 of 10 after halftime for 20 points and 24 overall. The Friars shot 9 for 12 from inside the three point arc after halftime, and 60 percent overall.

The loss was the Hoyas 12th loss at home, tying a school record set only last season. Georgetown's gloomy home court atmosphere punctuated by cheers of "Let's Go Friars" dd not go unnoticed on the first year coach.

"That's probably the fourth school that's done that," he said.

"Eventually, that'll change. Now is just not that time."

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Brumbaugh    27   2-5   0-0  6-7   3   2   1   10    
Epps         38   4-12  2-7  2-3   3   1   2   16
Styles       40   3-5   1-5  4-4   8   0   3   13
Massoud      15   1-2   0-1  0-1   0   0   1    2
Cook         16   3-5   0-0  1-2   2   1   1    7
Reserves:
Montgomery    1   0-0   0-0  0-0   0   0   0    0
Heath        15   0-1   0-2  0-0   1   0   1    0
Fielder      24   3-7   1-3  1-2   4   0   2   10
Bristol      24   0-0   0-2  0-0   4   1   2    0      
Team Rebounds                      8 
DNP: Asadallah, Bacote, McKenna, Mutombo, Kazor      
TOTALS      200  16-37 4-20 14-19 33  6   13   58

 

The Week Ahead

  3/4/24

March was once a month of promise for Georgetown basketball fans, but it has been anything but these past eight seasons. There are however, a pair of stories off the court to pay attention to.

This was the week, 11 years ago, when seven Big East schools shocked the sports world by acquiring the rights to the Big East Conference, sending the football schools to the American Athletic Conference. A week later, at the 2013 conference tournament, the schools announced a 12 year, $500 million media rights deal with Fox Sports, ensuring stability and promise in the stormy seas of conference realignment.

Fast forward to 2024, where one year remains on the Fox deal. If an extension with Fox is secured, it may well be announced this week or during the tournament. If the conference plans to open the rights to bid, there is both potential reward from new partners and potential risk--in 2023, the Pacific 12 could not complete a media rights renewal in the final year of its deal and 10 of its 12 schools went elsewhere.

We've tried to be good partners to them and vice versa, so we're very hopeful that we will remain in business with Fox in a significant way. The deal goes through next year...but again, they've been really great partners to us," commissioner Val Ackerman said at the pre-season media day this past October.

"I think the world's changed in 10 years radically. Fox has more than just us on FS1 in the winter so they picked up other properties. They built their business. They have not sort of leapt into streaming like some of the other linear networks have, ESPN with ESPN+, CBS with Paramount+, and NBC with Peacock - so they lean hard into linear. We keep our eye on what's happening with other sports properties. Not only in college sports, but like the MLS Apple deal was instructive on possibilities for streaming. So I think it's just too early to tell exactly where we're going to land right now."

Meanwhile in Richmond, this is the last week of the 2024 Virginia legislative session, where plans for Monumental Sports to receive $1.35 billion in Virginia state funding for an arena in Alexandria has not advanced in the state senate. While the proposal still has the support of Republican governor Glenn Youngkin, eight Republicans from the Alexandria area published a letter last week urging Youngkin to abandon the project, calling it "a deal reserved for the privileged and well-connected few."

The legislative session closes March 9.

 

Senior Night

  3/3/24

Saturday's game featured an unusual night for recognition.

One home game still remains on the schedule but the basketball office opted to salute six seniors and graduate students from the 2023-24 season on Saturday, including the names above. Of the six, two (Wayne Bristol and Ryan Mutombo) still have a final year of eligibility remaining, leading to as yet unconfirmed speculation that each could seek a grad transfer year elsewhere next season. Conversely, Supreme Cook is listed by Georgetown as a senior but was not recognized in the ceremony, leading some to believe he will return in 2024-25.

The sign of the times, the college basketball transfer portal, opens March 18 and retention is a priority for this staff. In the past three seasons, an crushing 16 of Georgetown's 24 recruits have left the program early. Had they stayed four years, Senior Night would have also recognized the following:

  • Tyler (T.J.) Berger played in 15 games as a freshman at Georgetown, averaging 1.4 points per game. He transferred to San Diego as a sophomore, averaging 3.1 points with five starts in 31 games. In 2022 he transferred to Lafayette, averaging 7.7 points with 25 starts in 33 games. Berger is a medical redshirt for the Leopards this season.
  • Kobe Clark was limited by injuries over two seasons at Georgetown, averaging just 0.3 ppg, and transferred to Southeast Missouri State. The 6-6 forward has averaged 6.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in two seasons there.
  • The MVP of the 2021 Big East Tournament, Dante Harris left the team before the 2022-23 season and transferred to Virginia, sitting out that season as a traditional transfer. Limited by injuries earlier this season, Harris averages just 2.5 points per game, down from his 10.0 points average in two seasons at Georgetown.
  • Collin Holloway, a two year player for the Hoyas who started 20 games a as a sophomore before transferring to Tulane, has been among the most productive of the Ewing Era transfers. Holloway averages 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a senior for the Green Wave, up from his 7.2 points and 2.3 rebounds at Georgetown from 2020-22.
  • The highest ranked recruit of Georgetown's Class of 2024, Jamari Sibley, is on his third school since scoring just 25 points over 21 games as a Georgetown freshman. Sibley played two seasons at UTEP, averaging 4.5 points a game, and has doubled his average over 17 games at Southern Utah this season.
Of the eight players recruited for the fall of 2020, including three grad transfers, none received a Georgetown degree.

 

Xavier 98, Georgetown 93

  Updated 3/3/24

In perhaps the most crushing loss of the 2023-24 season, Georgetown's 98-93 loss to Xavier wasn't a matter of being overwhelmed or just not coming to play. In many ways, it was Georgetown's best offensive game of the season.

Of course, when the Hoyas are the worst defensive unit in major college basketball, it's never enough.

POST-GAME COVERAGE
Georgetown took command early in the game, as Rowan Brumbaugh scored nine of his game high 24 points to pilot the Hoyas to an early 14-11 lead. The Musketeers started sluggish, missing 10 of its first 14 attempts and all four from outside, but a hot streak by the Hoyas set the course for the first half.

Up three, Jayden Epps fed Dontrez Styles for a three pointer, 17-11. Off a Xavier miss inside, Epps fed Jay Heath for a three, 20-11. Another Xavier miss followed, and Epps dialed up Heath once again from deep, 23-11, part of a 6 for 6 run by the Hoyas and the first of two double-digit leads in the first half. Fort its part, Quincy Olivari's there midway through the half was the only three from the X-men in eight attempts by halftime. What Xavier lacked from th field, however, it made up for at the line. Nine Georgetown first half fouls resulted in 17 free throws by the Musketeers in the first half, allowing Xavier to close to 27-21 with 7:19 in the half. The Hoyas answered with threes from Bristol and brumbaugh in an 8-0 run, 35-21, and extended the lead to 40-25 with a Heath three at the 4:12 mark and 45-31 with an Epps three with 2:17 to play.

Georgetown's 49-37 lead at the half was remarkable for a team that had been so offensively challenged of late. The Hoyas managed four threes and just 47 points in its loss to Villanova on Wednesday, and managed eight threes and 49 points in just twenty minutes this evening. Shooting 53 percent at the break, limiting its turnovers to just five, and holding Xavier to 37 percent shooting, Georgetown's halftime lead was its most in any game this season dating to a 12 point lead at the break versus Coppin State (2-23) on November 12th.

Xavier coach Sean Miller's halftime adjustment was both simpler and effective. Its shooting in the first half was a byproduct of poor outside shooting, but 16 of its 23 points off the line came inside. With a clear advantage at the line (14 for 17 at the break), the Musketeers would simply drive the ball inside at every good opportunity. Georgetown's defense, or whatever you want to call it, would either give up a high percentage shot or foul, sending Xavier to the line.

In the HoyaSaxa.com pre-game report, we wrote: "Georgetown's ability to contain [Xavier's Desmond Claude], particularly in dribble-drives, bears watching." Claude went to work, and Georgetown watched.

In the HoyaSaxa.com pre-game report, we wrote: "Georgetown's ability to contain [Xavier's Desmond] Claude, particularly in dribble-drives, bears watching." Claude went to work, and Georgetown watched.

Claude scored on two layups in the first three minutes of the second half, and Georgetown opened with two turnovers. The X-men closed the lead to 49-44 less than two minutes into the half before a Brumbaugh four point play settled a shaky Hoyas unit coming out of the break. For those in the crowd of 7,016, however, it was clear that the Hoyas' defense was vulnerable yet again. The Musketeers went inside on there of its next four possessions, picking up free throws before the inside game returned. A Claude layup closed the margin to 59-52 with 14:10 to play, his layup at the 13:10 mark closed to 61-57, as Xavier was shooting 8 for 12 coming out of the break. By the 12:37 mark Xavier had scored 22 points in fewer than eight minutes, with thee players (Claude, Olivari and Daymion Knight) accounting for 20 of them.

Needing a stop, the Hoyas got one with a Jayden Epps three, 68-61. Despite shooting 4 of 10 in the second half, Epps scored eight points in a 12 point Hoyas run that gave it a 77-67 lead at the eight minute media time out. Epps' hot hand cooled thereafter, as Georgetown missed six of its next seven attempts over a thee minute period where the Musketeers went to the line eight times and made all eight. Claude drove inside for an uncontested layup at the 5:05 mark to tie the score, 79-79, a 12-2 run.

An offensive foul on Supreme Cook energized the Musketeers and Claude attacked without fear. A layup with 4:12 to play, up two. A layup at the 3:30 mark, up four. After Epps split a pair of free throws with 2:28 to play, 85-82, all eyes were on Claude, who casually fed reserve center Gytis Nemeiksa for an uncontested dunk, 87-82, sending another large contingent of visiting fans in the most comfortable road arena in America to fill the hall with chants of "Let's Go X".

Brumbaugh was sent to the line but like Epps could only split a pair at the line, and Claude did it yet again, feeding its other big man, Kachi Nzeh, an easy dunk. Nzei was 5 for 5 on the evening, all by layup or dunk. Free throws extended the Xavier lead to nine entering the final minute, 94-85, before a pair of threes by Heath and Drew Fielder closed the margin. Xavier finished the game 4 for 4 from the field and scored 61 points after halftime.

Xavier had 19 dunks in this game and a second half points per possession (PPP) metric of 1.79 -- which by the way, is the current PPP productivity of NBA star Nikola Jokic.

Some concern was registered online about the disparity in foul shooting: 46 attempts for Xavier compared to just 22 for Georgetown. The officials were simply calling what was presented--as Xavier continued to go inside, Georgetown arrived late to the ball and were careless in defending the ball inside. Xavier had 19 dunks in this game and a second half points per possession (PPP) metric of 1.79 -- which by the way, is the current PPP productivity of NBA star Nikola Jokic.

Claude led all scores with 36 points, 26 after halftime on 10 for 12 shooting. Shooting just 3 for 6 from thee point range, Xavier was a unsightly 16 of 20 (.800) from inside thee arc, with four of its five starters in double figures, including Gytas Nemeiksa with 11 points on 4 for 4 shooting: two layups, two dunks.



Defensively, Georgetown has no excuse. Offensively, this was one of its better efforts, shooting 50 percent in the second half, 51 percent overall, with a season high of 13 threes in 25 attempts. If someone had told Ed Cooley he could get 51 percent shooting, 13 threes, and 14 rebounds from Supreme Cook, he would have taken it.

When asked in post-game comments what would change for Georgetown to be better defensively, Cooley cut off the reporter in mid-sentence. "Recruiting," he responded.

The loss is Georgetown's 20th loss of the season, its third consecutive season with 20 or more losses. Of major college teams since 1990, only California (three consecutive from 2020-23) has as many, only DePaul (seven consecutive from 2011-18) has more.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Brumbaugh    30   6-9   3-5   3-5   3  3   3   24
Epps         39   4-9   2-7   6-8   3  7   4   20
Styles       28   3-4   2-4   0-0   5  1   5   12      
Bristol      19   0-2   1-2   0-0   0  0   1    3      
Cook         33   4-9   0-0   7-8  14  2   4   15 
Reserves:
Heath        31   1-3   4-6   0-0   2  0   4   14
Bacote        1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0  
Fielder       7   1-1   1-1   0-1   1  1   5    5
Massoud      13   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  1   0    0
Team Rebounds                       4
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, McKenna, Mutombo, Kazor      
TOTALS      200  19-37 13-25 16-22 32 15  27   93