Georgetown Basketball: April 2016 Archives

Each player on a given roster earns a maximum of two points per term, one for being academically eligible and one for staying with the institution. A team's APR is the total points of a team's roster at a given time divided by the total points.The multi-year weighted average APR for Georgetown men's basketball tied for eighth among the 10 Big East schools:

The Georgetown results among all sports are below. Twelve teams scored a perfect 1000 on the rating.

The Big East welcomes the Big Ten to Fox Sports 1, as that conference signed a six year, $2 billion deal to move approximately half its football and basketball coverage from ESPN to the Fox networks beginning in 2017.

The numbers dwarf that of Big East schools--Big Ten schools will receive as much as $45 million per school compared to $4.2 million for the Big East, a number which also includes the Big Ten network and the second half of the deal still to be negotiated. But it's a win-win for the network and for drawing additional support for the Fox brand among Big East games.

"ESPN had first negotiation rights to renew, but the network is in cost-cutting mode after losing about 7 million subscribers from 2014 to 2016 as so-called "cord cutters" opt for slimmed-down TV packages." wrote the Chicago Tribune.

A letter from Georgetown president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95) is urging Nike, inc. to comply with a statement of compliance for its overseas workers, according to The HOYA.

"These recommendations included revising Nike's license agreement to include the current Code of Conduct for Georgetown University Licensees, and writing a letter to Nike requesting that Nike facilitate the WRC's access to Nike contract factories producing collegiate apparel," said a University official.

Nike is the only licensed Georgetown merchandise manufacturer whose contract does not specify compliance to the code. Activists in the effort want Georgetown to end all Nike branded apparel if the company does not comply, but the situation with athletics is much more complicated. While the agreement with the University dates to 2007, Nike has been the apparel provider for men's basketball since 1980, and provided uniforms under personal services contracts to basketball coaches even when the University did not have a merchandising agreement. Former coach John Thompson sits on the Nike board of directors and the team has been invited to a November 2017 tournament featuring the top 16 Nike-branded programs.

The current licensing agreement for Nike branded apparel, much like that seen in the bookstore, expires in 2017. The term for the contracts for basketball was not disclosed.

Georgetown return game with Maryland will be a mid-week one, reports CBS Sports.com. The Hoyas and Terrapins will meet at Verizon Center on Nov. 15.

After a season of struggles in guard play, the Georgetown Hoyas have signed their third guard of the 2016 recruit season, one with experience on his side.

CSN Mid-Atlantic is reporting that 6-5 guard Rodney Pryor, a fifth year player from Evanston, IL via junior college and Robert Morris University, will transfer to Georgetown for the 2016-17 season. Pryor spent two years at Cloud County Community College but did not play in either season due to season-ending knee and foot injuries. Signed to Robert Morris in 2014, Pryor averaged 15.6 points per game and was the Northeast Conference Tournament MVP as the Colonials advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010. As a senior, he led the team with an 18.0 average and reached the 1,000 point plateau in just 60 games despite suffering a mid-season concussion.

Upon graduation from RMU, Pryor would be available for transfer immediately to Georgetown under the NCAA's fifth year transfer process and would have one season of eligibility.

Pryor posted the following on his Twitter feed:

Proud to say I am a Georgetown Hoya Glory be To God!

— Rodney Pryor (@r_d_p11) April 18, 2016

The 2016 incoming class also includes guard 6-2 shooting guard Jagan Mosley, 6-4 point guard Jon Mulmore via junior college, and 6-9 power forward George Muresan, a recruited walk-on. Georgetown does not comment on its recruits until they have enrolled.

There was a time when a $100 million university athletic program seemed far-fetched. Today, there are 24 athletic programs over the $100 million mark according to a USA Today study of budgets at Division I public universities.

At the Top: Texas A&M, whose $192 million in athletics spending is larger than the gross domestic product of three island nations. However, it gets no subsidy whatsoever from the school--nearly 100 departments studied received subsidies amounting to 60 percent or more of its overall budget. For example, George Mason's $29 million budget includes an 80 percent subsidy, equivalent to $21 million annually.

"A very small number of the 1,100 [NCAA members] have a positive cash flow on college sports, so those schools are making a decision that having a successful athletic program is valuable to them despite the fact they have to subsidize it with institutional money," said NCAA president Mark Emmert. "The same thing is true for a lot of academic programs. So every school has to sit down and say, 'What is this worth to us?'"

Private schools are not listed in the report, though Georgetown's FY15 budget through its EADA report would rank it 76th overall.

From Twitter, photos of the John R. Thompson Center, in progress:

#ThompsonCenterTour: @GeorgetownHoops practice gym (the upper half of the gym is covered by temporary scaffolding). pic.twitter.com/z1FuRb10Iu

— Georgetown Hoyas (@georgetownhoyas) April 15, 2016

#ThompsonCenterTour: The @GeorgetownHoops locker room. pic.twitter.com/FibTGKZwdc

— Georgetown Hoyas (@georgetownhoyas) April 15, 2016

#ThompsonCenterTour: Student-athlete lounge will be a place where the Hoyas can come to unwind. pic.twitter.com/fSV6RXY8Pj

— Georgetown Hoyas (@georgetownhoyas) April 15, 2016

#ThompsonCenterTour: The main corridor and 'Hallway of Honor'. The main hallway of the Thompson Center. pic.twitter.com/IYhQb5gzxN

— Georgetown Hoyas (@georgetownhoyas) April 15, 2016

Assistant coach Kevin Sutton has accepted a similar position at the University of Pittsburgh, according to reports.

"I got to know Kevin in 2007-08 when we were recruiting one of his players out of Montverde Academy," said new Pitt coach Kevin Stallings in a Pitt news release. "He has a wealth of experience and is an excellent teacher and mentor. Kevin is well connected in the recruiting world particularly at the prep school level and within the ACC footprint. When you ask people in the profession about Kevin the feedback is extremely positive and flattering. I am very excited to have him on our staff."

Sutton had completed his third year on the Georgetown staff this season, and was a candidate for the open position at James Madison that was filled by JMU assistant coach Louis Rowe.

While much of Georgetown's recent focus has been in providing depth at guard, a 6-9 freshman will walk on to the team as well, per NBC Sports.com.

George Muresan, son of the former Washington Bullets center from 1991-2006, will join the team. Muresan, who was also offered a preferred walk-on slot at Syracuse, played at St. Andrew Prep and the DC Thunder AAU program.

While nearly a foot shorter than his father, the 6-9 Muresan would be the tallest walk-on for Georgetown in the modern era. In addition, with the graduation of Riyan Williams, there may be room for another walk-on candidate down the road as well.

Here's the wrap-up of our 2016 Big East Rankings survey, which sought to measure conference performance over the past three seasons in categories such as:

• Wins over last three seasons
• Big East conference wins
• Big East tournament wins
• Number of players named to All-Big East teams (1st and 2nd)
• Average RPI ranking
• Total weeks ranked in Associated Press poll
• Wins in NCAA tournament
• Three year home attendance
• Number of games played by alumni in the NBA
• Cost of wins (wins vs. total budget)

• Big East Rankings #1: Villanova
• Big East Rankings #2: Xavier
• Big East Rankings #3: Providence
• Big East Rankings #4 (tie): Georgetown
• Big East Rankings #4 (tie): Creighton
• Big East Rankings #6: Butler
• Big East Rankings #7 (tie): Seton Hall
• Big East Rankings #7 (tie): Marquette
• Big East Rankings #9: St.John's
• Big East Rankings #10: DePaul

The Washington Business Journal is reporting that Verizon Center, home to Georgetown basketball for the last 18 seasons, could be razed if plans for a new arena for the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals are pursued.

"D.C. Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, said he's been told by Monumental Sports & Entertainment that a roughly five year countdown has started until the Wizards/Capitals/Mystics owner begins its search for a new home. "Ted's right," Evans said of Ted Leonsis. "It's not old yet, but it's getting there."

Verizon Center was built in 1997, which places it at the median age of the pro arenas. Only five major arenas are older than 25 years, with Madison Square Garden (built in 1968) undergoing a $1 billion renovation in 2013. Of the other four, new arenas are in progress for Detroit, Milwaukee, Sacramento, and Oakland.

By comparison, the former Capital Centre was an active arena for 24 years, from 1973 through 1997, and was the home of the Hoyas from 1981 through 1997.

"It's that type of activity that would be missing and gone forever if Verizon Center becomes a residential/retail building, if it became another City Center," Evans said. "You would lose that energy that the Verizon Center brings."

In the history of the NBA just one player 6-0 or smaller ever averaged 20 or more or points for a career. That man is Allen Iverson (ex'98), who was selected Monday to the 2016 induction class.

"I never could be Iverson, who was born with a natural athleticism bordering on the unbelievable," writes Nate Scott at USA Today. "He famously hated practice. He ran during games and that was about it. He didn't work out in the offseason. He was blessed with a physical gifts we might never see again, and combined those with the skills he picked up in the streets of Hampton, Virginia, where he'd stay out every night playing football and basketball until everyone else had gone to bed and he had to go find somewhere to sleep."

The press release noted his accomplishments as follows: "An 11-time NBA All-Star (2000-06, 2008, 2009), Iverson played 14 NBA seasons averaging 26.7 points and 6.2 assists per game. A three-time All-NBA First Team selection (1999, 2001, 2005), he led the league in scoring average four times (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005), steals per game three times (2001-03) and minutes per game seven times (1999, 2001-04, 2006-08). Iverson was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1997 and NBA MVP in 2001. The Hampton, Virginia native attended Georgetown University (1994-1996) where he set the school record for career scoring average and earned consensus First Team All-America honors (1996)."

"Allen Iverson is so much more than the thug some of the media portrayed him to be and, simultaneously, less than the hero he was in my eyes," said Scott. "We all want him to be a symbol for something. He is a man, though, a flawed one, who played basketball as beautifully and bravely as anyone I've ever seen. That will have to be enough."

The awardees will be recognized at a Sept. 9 ceremony in Springfield, MA.

Georgetown Selections In The Hall Of Fame:

Elmer H. Ripley (1892-1982) Coach, 1927-29, 1938-43, 1947-49 Inducted 1973	Harry E. Jeannette (1930-2009) Coach, 1952-56 Inducted 1994
John R. Thompson, Jr. (1941-  ) Coach, 1972-99 Inducted 1999	Patrick A. Ewing (1962-  ) Player, 1981-85 Inducted 2008
Alonzo H. Mourning, Jr. (1970-  ) Player, 1988-92 Inducted 2014	Dikembe Mutombo (1966-  ) Player, 1988-91 Inducted 2015
Allen E. Iverson (1975-  ) Player, 1994-96 Inducted 2016

A verbal commitment late Sunday may signal the first junior college signing in the John Thompson III era.

Various recruiting sources reported the commitment of 6-4 Jonathan Mulmore, 22, a New Orleans guard who completed high school at Redemption Christian Home School Academy in Houston and played junior college basketball at Allegany (MD) CC. Mulmore averaged 26 points per game last season.

This is the second verbal commit announced in the last two weeks, but appears to be more secure. Two weeks ago, a commitment from 5-11 guard Denzell Hosch was dismissed when it was suggested the recruit did not have a formal offer.

Georgetown has not signed a junior college player since Lee Scruggs in 1999. The last junior college guard was George Butler (1993-95), who averaged 13 points a game for the Hoyas in 31 games as a junior and nine games as a senior.

Various fans grumbling over the recent performance of the Georgetown men's basketball team has not altered the support of the University toward 12th year head coach John Thompson III, reports the Georgetown Voice.

"President DeGioia's expectations remain the same-that the program will continue to represent our university with the integrity that has always characterized Georgetown: our student athletes will achieve academically, we will prepare young men for the future beyond Georgetown and that the team will be competitive on a national level," read a statement.

Thompson, 50, saw his 2014-15 salary climb to $3,121,883 in IRS filings by the University, which would rank ninth nationally according to a USA Today survey. Thompson is 263-125 (.678) at Georgetown but 55-45 in his last 100 games, with one NCAA bid in the past three seasons.

It could be difficult for a Georgetown fan to say, but the results are self-evident: the best program in the Big East over the past three years is Villanova.

Since a rocky 13-19 season in 2012, the Wildcats turned things around with a 20-win campaign in 2013 and a combined record of 97-13 in the last three seasons: three Big East regular season titles, capped off by the 2016 NCAA title. With a recruiting base firmly in Georgetown's back yard, Villanova's mix of steady guard play and outside shooting propelled it to the top. And they're likely to stay there.

• Wins over last three seasons: 97 (average of 32.3)
• Big East conference wins: 48 in three seasons
• Big East tournament wins: Four since 2014
• Number of players named to All-Big East teams: Five
• Average RPI ranking: 5.3
• Total weeks ranked in Associated Press poll: 52
• Wins in NCAA tournament since 2014: Eight
• Three year home attendance average: 8,503, with a majority of games played on campus at its 6,500 seat arena
• Number of NBA games played by alumni or former students since 2014: 676
• Cost of wins (wins vs. total budget): $240,790.27 per win since 2014

On a 10-100 scale (10 being the minimum score across all ten categories), Villanova received 80 points.

Who gained the most from Big East realignment? Xavier, without question.

But no program in any conference has consistently raised the bar over the past two decades has has Xavier From its days in the Midwestern City Conference, then to the Atlantic 10, and finally to the Big East, the track record of the Musketeers has been remarkable, even more so by the turnover on coaching which has provided a pedigree of success like none other. Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser, Thad Matta, Sean Miller, and now Chris Mack have led Xavier to 25 NCAA bids in the past 30 years, and 14 straight including the 2016 season.

• Wins over last three seasons: 72 (average of 24)
• Big East conference wins: 33 in three seasons
• Big East tournament wins: Four since 2014
• Number of players named to All-Big East teams: Five
• Average RPI ranking: 30.6
• Total weeks ranked in Associated Press poll: 17
• Wins in NCAA tournament since 2014: Three
• Three year home attendance average: 10,056
• Number of NBA games played by alumni or former students since 2014: 299
• Cost of wins (wins vs. total budget): $208,948.25 per win since 2014, the fewest dollars per win over any Big East school.

On a 10-100 scale (10 being the minimum score across all ten categories), Xavier received 72 points.

While Georgetown has stumbled in its first three years of the reconstituted Big East, Providence College has made the most of it, giving it a seat at the top tier of the conference for the first time since the Big East was founded in 1979.

The Friars had gone ten years without an NCAA bid from 2004 through 2013, but have made it three years since, including its first Big East title in 20 years in the 2014 season. PC ranks in the top half of the Big East in all but one category as part of this analysis and ranks in the top three in five of them.

• Wins over last three seasons: 69 (average of 23)
• Big East conference wins: 31 in three seasons
• Big East tournament wins: Five since 2014
• Number of players named to All-Big East teams: Six
• Average RPI ranking: 36.3
• Total weeks ranked in Associated Press poll: 14
• Wins in NCAA tournament since 2014: One
• Three year home attendance average: 8,503
• Number of NBA games played by alumni or former students since 2014: 58, fewest of all Big East schools
• Cost of wins (wins vs. total budget): $297,246.03 per win since 2014

On a 10-100 scale (10 being the minimum score across all ten categories), Providence received 60 points.

After three seasons in the Big East, a conference tailor-made for Georgetown has been anything but a slam dunk.

In its last 100 games, Villanova was a combined 88-12, including a 43-2 record at home. In its last 100 games, Georgetown is just ten games over .500: 55-45, 35-14 at home. To put that number into further context, the last 100 games prior to coach John Thompson III becoming coach in 2004 was a combined 56-44.

So where does Georgetown rank among the current Big East teams? Here's the survey among the following categories:

On a 10-100 scale (10 being the minimum score across all ten categories), Marquette received 41 points.