John Thompson Retires from Nike Board
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson announced he is retiring from the Nike, Inc. Board Of Directors, effective Sunday.In a statement at the Portland Business Journal, Nike co-founder Phil Knight said that "I've known John Thompson for almost 50 years and Nike would not be the company it is today without his many contributions. He's long been recognized as a pioneer, a leader and a hall of famer in the game of basketball. For Nike, it's his wisdom that sets him apart and I know as director emeritus he'll continue to provide the board with the unique insights that have defined him."Thompson first worked with Nike as a coach in 1979 and Georgetown was one of the original schools to wear Nike merchandise on the court. He has served on the board of the company for 29 years, one of the longest tenures of anyone outside of Knight himself. "We'd like to thank Coach Thompson for his countless contributions to Nike and to the world of sport. His leadership transcends all arenas, and we will forever be grateful for his insights, experience and example," said executive chairman Mark Parker. Thompson has issued no comment as to the decision. McClung Transferring To Texas Tech
Former Georgetown guard Mac McClung has announced a transfer to Texas Tech.McClung announced his transfer on May 13, becoming the fifth transfer in 2019-20 and eighth in the past three years. McClung leaves the Hilltop 29th all time in scoring average at 14.2 points a game and is the highest ranked player by career average ever to transfer from Georgetown.As a junior at Texas Tech, McClung will have two years eligibility remaining beginning in the 2021-22 season, although it is expected that he will apply for a hardship waiver which could make him eligible immediately for the Red Raiders, which advanced to the 2019 NCAA finals and finished 18-13 in 2019-20. Ewing Released from Hospital
Head coach Patrick Ewing was released from hospital care this weekend after testing positive for COVID-19.A Georgetown statement posted on Friday read as follows:"Georgetown University's Head Men's Basketball Coach Patrick Ewing has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Ewing has elected to share his diagnosis publicly to emphasize that this virus can affect anyone. "I want to share that I have tested positive for COVID-19. This virus is serious and should not be taken lightly," Ewing said. "I want to encourage everyone to stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Now more than ever, I want to thank the healthcare workers and everyone on the front lines. I'll be fine and we will all get through this." Ewing is under care and isolated at a local hospital. He is the only member of the Georgetown men's basketball program to have tested positive for the virus." The story was covered nationally, with numerous well wishes sent on social media, ranging from Spike lee and Dick Vitale to Jim Boeheim and Jay Wright. On Monday, a statement from his son, Patrick Jr. (C'08) read as follows: "I want to thank all of the doctors and hospital staff for taking care of my father during his stay, as well as everyone who has reached out with thoughts and prayers to us and since his diagnosis. My father is now home and getting better. We'll continue to watch his symptoms and follow the CDC guidelines. I hope everyone continues to stay safe and protect yourselves and your loved ones." Big East: Who's Opening This FallWhat is the status of 2020-21 openings at Big East schools? Here's the latest:Butler University: Plans to reopen, no date given.Creighton University: Opens Aug. 17, semester ends Nov. 25. University of Connecticut: No announcement to date. DePaul University: Planning to open, no date given. Georgetown University: No announcement to date. Marquette University: Plans to reopen, no date given. Providence College: No announcement to date. St. John's University: No announcement to date. Seton Hall University: Opens Aug. 24, semester ends Nov. 30. Villanova University: No announcement to date. Xavier University: No announcement to date, but has confirmed Nov. 10 as its first basketball home game of the season, versus Morehead State. Schedule Update
NCAA Academic Progress Rate Scores
Men's basketball moved from eighth to tenth among Big East schools in the annual NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores.The Academic Progress Rate, or APR, is a four year weighted average of each men's and women's sports team at NCAA member schools. A 1,000 score connotes a 100% graduation rate. The rate consists of one point for each eligible student-athlete and one point for each graduated student-athlete, an index that penalize schools with students that either are ineligible, or who leave school early.Georgetown president Jack DeGioia is chairman of the Division I Committee on Academics, and commented in an NCAA press release that "The Committee on Academics commends Division I students engaged in intercollegiate athletics for their hard work and depth of commitment to success in both academic and athletic pursuits The strong academic standards provided by the Academic Performance Program have led to thousands of students graduating and gaining access to the lifelong benefits of a college education. We are proud of them for their accomplishments and Division I member institutions for their dedication to a common framework for sustained student achievement." 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. As such, it is not a pure graduation rate. Due to transfers and early entry departures to pro basketball, 15 of 23 men's players earned degrees from 2015-16 through 2018-19, or 68%. The APR does not count this past season, and as such it is likely to take a further step down in the May 2021 report given a record five transfers over the season. But the numbers count over the next four APR years, meaning any further attrition in future seasons will be compounded by the 2019-20 totals. Four year scores below 930 may subject schools to a variety of penalties, beginning with a loss of authorized practices, and future scores at or below this level could result in a loss of scholarships or in some extreme cases, post-season ineligibility.
The Georgetown results among all sports are below (note that men's rowing and sailing are not included in that they are not recognized NCAA sports.)
Web Site Ranks Big East Athletic Departments Plenty of writers will give their opinions on where Georgetown fits in within the Big East, but a study of athletic administrators is favorable about where Georgetown is situated.The survey, undertaken by Athlete Viewpoint, was completed in 2019 and data was updated this past week. Its web site takes care to note that "the Athletic Department Power Index is not intended or developed to analyze the performance or potential of the current Athletic Director at the respective institutions." In fact, Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed is viewed favorably at this site, which named him 10th nationally among all Division I AD's in a 2019 article.The sample size and focus of the survey does not apply across the board, but is an interesting look at how professionals within the sports management community view Georgetown relative to its conference peers. The survey asked participants to rate the schools on a 1 to 7 scale across various categories. How did Georgetown fare?
Mac McClung Transfers"I really wanted to stay, but things throughout my career made me realize that I couldn't."--Matthew (Mac) McClung In the modern era of Georgetown basketball, there are three reasons why players transfer: They are asked to leave. They don't get along with teammates. They want to be a starter somewhere else. Now, a fourth: the inability to realize an NBA career while playing at Georgetown University.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
Mac McClung's transfer is the latest in a series of misfortunes in the Patrick Ewing era, with the Hoyas coming off a third consecutive non-winning season and a seven game losing streak to end the season. McClung becomes the eighth transfer in Ewing's three seasons at Georgetown and the fifth this season.McClung's decision to apply for transfer status rather than continue with the NBA draft is not only a sign that he would not be drafted, but also speaks to McClung's view of elevating his draft profile on a Hoyas team in its worst five year stretch (78-82) in a half century. He has applied for immediate transfer status, which if accepted by the NCAA would have him playing for a Top 25 team in 2020-21 instead of a Georgetown team that may be projected for a last place Big East finish for the first time in program history. "Mac was an integral piece of our program and when he let me know his decision I was disappointed, but he needs to do what's best for him, I want to wish him luck in his future endeavors," said Ewing. "Moving forward, our focus is the core that we have coming back and our incoming class." Ewing returns two starters from last season's 15-17 team, but loses a considerable 63 percent of its scoring from that squad due to graduation and/or attrition. Just three players (Jahvon Blair, Jamorko Pickett and walk-on Jaden Robinson) remain from the team as little as two seasons ago. The 6-2 McClung was already an Internet sensation when he decommitted from Rutgers and signed with Georgetown in October 2017. He passed Allen Iverson as the all time leading scorer in the state of Virginia during his senior season at Gate City HS, employing a high flying style that impressed fan and foe alike. The signing also helped end a period of racial stereotyping against Georgetown as a place where white basketball players were allegedly unwelcome or unwilling to attend the school. McClung was an all-Big East freshman selection in 2018-19, averaging 13.1 points a game with a season high 38 against Arkansas-Little Rock, breaking the Georgetown freshman scoring record set by Victor Page in 1995-96. As a sophomore, he took over the backcourt leadership following James Akinjo's unexpected departure on November 2019, averaging 15.7 points in 20 starts, but suffered through two mid-season injuries and missed the final six games of the season, to which Georgetown lost all six and ended their post-season hopes as a result. In March, he declared for the NBA draft but maintained his eligibility for a return back to Georgetown. That return was strained, however, during an interview where Ewing reported that McClung was returning to the team for his junior season, only to have his agent deny it. "The podcast with Andy Katz was not the deciding factor to my decision to transfer," McClung told ESPN. "I think it affected my pre-draft process, and seemed to confuse a lot of teams." McClung leaves the Hilltop 29th all time in scoring average at 14.2 points a game. He is the highest ranked player by career average ever to transfer from Georgetown. Athletic Director Offers Support For Ewing Athletic Director Lee Reed was quoted as voicing support for head coach Patrick Ewing, according to the Washington Post.The quotes were cited in the context of the McClung transfer, linked above, even though the interview predated it."Coach Ewing has done a really good job during his time here," Reed said. "You have to take into account where we were and how far we've come in all aspects." "We knew it would take some time to get us back to where we wanted to go." Hoyas Sign 4th PG For 2020 The Georgetown coaching staff added more depth to its lineup Tuesday with the addition of 6-3 PG Tyler (T.J.) Berger from the Westtown School in West Chester, PA.Berger, son of the Westtown coach, was a decommit from Pennsylvania after selecting the Quakers over offers from Columbia, Yale, Lafayette, Bryant, and Kennesaw State. Berger scored 14 points in a win over Malvern Prep as Westtown captured the 2020 PAISAA title for smaller independent schools in the state of Pennsylvania. He has no national ranking by any of the three recruiting services.Westtown has become a popular stop on recruiting visits in the last seven years. Former players in the program include Daniel Ochefu (Villanova), Cam Reddish (Duke) and Mo Bamba (Texas). A former teammate of Berger, Jalen Gaffney, started 11 games for Connecticut as a freshman last season. This brings the Georgetown recruiting class for 2020-21 to seven, the largest group since the 1999-00 season. Patrick Ewing Q&A Head coach Patrick Ewing sat down (virtually, of course) for a question and answer session with the Washington Post."Our future is still bright, in my opinion," he said. "We still have a long way to go. We were doing extremely well the first year, did well the second year. Third year, it was a hiccup in terms of the four guys that left kind of set us back from where I thought that we would have been. But it's all about improving and growing from that."Ewing admitted that "I spoke too soon" about Mac McClung's pre-draft status, adding "He's still trying to get feedback from the NBA to decide if he's going to try to go the NBA route. That's about it. That's all I know right now." "We want guys to be locked in academically. No nonsense. Making sure that they're doing all the things that they need to do, both academically and athletically. Smart, resilient and definitely staying out of trouble. 150 Years Of Georgetown Athletics May 10 marks the 150th anniversary of intercollegiate athletics at Georgetown University.After at least two years of intramural baseball competition following the Civil War, the College's two competing teams, the Stonewalls and Quicksteps, formed a team to meet Columbian College (now known as George Washington University) on the diamond. The two teams met in the first of a six games series which extended into the fall. Columbian won the opener, 23-17.Baseball is recognized as the first intercollegiate sport at Georgetown. Early programs in football (1874) and crew (1876) soon followed. (Basketball began in 1907.) In 2020, 29 intercollegiate teams now represent the University, with women's squash becoming the 30th sport this fall. More than one in ten Georgetown undergraduates are a member of an intercollegiate team. A celebratory event in conjunction with the 150th anniversary was scheduled to be held this weekend but was cancelled during the shutdown of on-campus activities earlier in March. Ewing, McClung At Odds On Return A comment by head coach Patrick Ewing on the draft status of Mac McClung led to an awkward denial by the sophomore's NCAA approved agent.During a video clip with basketball reporter Andy Katz, Ewing noted that "Both Mac McClung and Jamorko Pickett decided to test the waters. I think, well, they both told me that both of them will be coming back."The news that Pickett, a junior in 2019-20, had tested the NBA waters might have been a story all its own, since he never declared as an early entrant. But two hours after the clip was posted, Hazan Sports Management, the NCAA-authorized agent working with McClung, posted this message, retweeted by McClung: "With the nucleus of guys we have coming back and the new guys coming in, we should have a pretty good team," Ewing added. |