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Georgetown Basketball: July 2011 News Archive

Hoyas Unlimited Announces FY 2011 Totals 7/26/11

Hoyas Unlimited has announced it secured $4.5 million in annual giving from 5,196 donors in 2010-11, an increase of eight percent in donors and two percent in dollars. Details follow in this link from GUHoyas.com.

Hoyas Unlimited Names New Director 7/22/11

Hoyas Unlimited, the official athletics support organization for the Annual Fund, has named Kim Insalaco as its 14th director.

Insalaco, a 2003 graduate of Brown, won a bronze medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics in ice hockey, and most recently served as Associate Director of Annual Giving at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda.

"I'm thrilled to have Kim join our family," said athletic director Lee Reed. "She was one of the top collegiate athletes in her sport as a collegian and had the honor to represent her country at the highest level of competition during her career. Her work in fundraising will be a tremendous asset to our program."

Insalaco succeeds Bill Johnson, who left Georgetown in 2010 to join the staff at the University of San Francisco.

Founded in 1970, the director position began in 1979 and includes the following:

1979: Steve Bitter
1980: Joe Castiglione
1981-83: Pat McArdle (C'72, L'77)
1983-84: Jeff Craven (C'81, L'87)
1984-89: Greg Carroll (C'71)
1990-93: Don Hasseltine
1993-96: David Sears (F'89)
 
 1996-98: Leah Moorefield (G'01)
1998-99: Beth Johnson (C'91)
1999-04: Dan Cohen (C'98)
2004-06: Jennifer Montgomery (G'03)
2006-08: Allison Rubin
2008-10: Bill Johnson
 
 
NCAA To Examine Cost Of Attendance 7/22/11

Georgetown president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95) will be among a number of NCAA presidents meeting next month to discuss, among other things, a series of recommendations made by Southeastern Conference Mike Slive this week. Among the topics: increasing scholarship awards to meet the cost of attendance.

"The Big East does not have the riches that the SEC or Big Ten has, so you have to wonder whether the league can fully support a plan like this without getting concrete answers," writes Andrea Adelson at ESPN.com. "In essence, I think each Big East school would have a difficult time finding the money to increase scholarship dollars without help from someplace else."

Drew-Goodman Game Not Coming To GU 7/21/11 2:00 pm

Hold That Call: in other news, the Washington Post had been told (and subsequently reported) the date of August 20 and a location of McDonough Gymnasium for the Drew League-Goodman League exhibition featuring NBA players affected by the league lockout. The promoters actually never booked McDonough and now say it will be at Coolidge HS instead. Do not call the Georgetown ticket office for tickets for this event.

An exasperated Dan Steinberg at the Post adds "I’m gonna insert a Caveat Emptor on this whole thing pretty soon."

UNC-G Coming To Schedule? 7/21/11

The Greensboro News & Record is pointing to Georgetown and Tennessee as upcoming opponents for the University of North Carolina-Greensboro prior to the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21-23. A date for either game has not been announced.

The Spartans (2010-11 RPI: 294) lost its first 15 games last season before finishing 7-24.

Back On Campus 7/21/11

Good news from the Georgetown Patch: Greg Monroe is back on campus to continue his degree studies.

Monroe left after his fourth semester for the 2010 NBA Draft, and is working to complete his A.B. in Theology. Monroe played with some current Hoyas in the Kenner League and offers his thoughts in the article.

Mourning Investigated In FL Accident 7/21/11

Former Georgetown center Alonzo Mourning (C'92) is being sued by a Florida driver and is accused of leaving the scene of a weekend accident in Miami.

Confusing the situation is that Mourning was apparently part of a second crash at the same accident scene, reports the Associated Press.

"The question we have is how, why, would Mr. Mourning leave this accident?" said an attorney for 21 year old William Candelario, who allegedly sustained injuries in the initial crash. "We're not on a witch hunt trying to destroy one of South Florida's most respected and beloved celebrities. We're simply trying to get answers."

"There was a current accident already in progress," Mourning told WTVJ-TV. "There were cars already in the middle of the street, before I even got to the scene. Once I found out everybody was alright, I came back to the scene, spoke to the troopers and everything."

Mourning, 41, has not been charged in the case.

More Schedule Talk: Available Dates 7/20/11

Despite the likelihood of a prolonged lockout, the Tuesday release of a tentative schedule by the NBA opens the calendar on available dates for the Big East and its tenants at four pro arenas: Georgetown (Verizon Center), St. John's (Madison Square Garden), Seton Hall (Prudential Center), Marquette (Bradley Center).

Assuming Verizon Center holds dates open for the Wizards, an initial analysis for the Hoyas' scheduling windows are as follows:

  • November: With two pre-tournament games added in the Maui Invitational format against schools which will not travel to Hawaii for the Nov. 21-23 event, the Hoyas will almost certainly be limited to just three dates in mid November owing to NBA, NHL, and a Cirque de Soleil performance which will cover the arena in the intervening week. While McDonough Gymnasium remains a fallback, the revenue impact may be prohibitive to move the games to campus.
  • December: As many as seven non-conference games are pending this month but with plenty of weekend space to cover the games. To date, no non-conference home dates have been announced.
  • January: Big East season opens with a number of options, including Thursdays and Saturdays. In past years, Saturday nights have been the exclusive domain of the pro teams, such that Georgetown has not hosted a Big East home game after 6:00 pm on a Saturday night since February 8, 1992. If there was any season to find room for a Saturday night game (with or without the ESPN College Gameday promotion), this might be the year.
  • February: Excepting a week from Feb. 4-10 reserved for Caps and (assumed) Wizards games, the Hoyas will see a number of mid-week and weekend options.
  • March:Senior Day 2012 may or may not make it to the last weekend. Saturday, March 4 is open in the afternoon but could be moved back a week to accommodate a road game to end the regular season.

The calendar is below, with gray highlighting an NHL or scheduled NBA game, and green a concert or other event.

S M Tu W Th F Sa

November
          11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30      

December
        1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

January
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31        
February
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29      
March
        1 2 3
4            
 
NBA Stars Coming To McDonough? 7/19/11

With the NFL lockout coming to a close, the NBA lockout figures to be a long ordeal, so much so that NBA teams are being told to remove player photos from its web sites. In the meantime, various media are reporting that pro players from the West and East coast will stage an August exhibition at Georgetown.

One blogger is already dubbing it "the world's greatest summer game".

"The Goodman League and its Los Angeles version, the Drew League, are finalizing plans for a street ball showdown on Aug. 20 in D.C," according to David Aldridge at NBA.com. (The Goodman League is a open league that competes each summer at Barry Farm in southeast DC.)

"The game is tentatively set to be at Georgetown University's McDonough Arena," said Aldridge. "Compton native and Cavs guard Baron Davis is handling logistics at his end; the D.C. squad will likely feature Durant, Michael Beasley, Cousins, [Gary] Neal, [Brandon] Jennings and [Josh] Selby, maybe Ty Lawson and Nolan Smith, among others. The trash-talking has already begun."

The game figures to be a mix of NBA and streetball players, but rosters may not be finalized until game time. Stay tuned.

2011-12: Long Year Ahead? 7/18/11

Putting aside the healthy optimism of the Kenner League debuts of the freshmen, the online blog Rush The Court takes a more conservative approach on the Hoyas' prospects entering the 2011-12 season, placing Georgetown just 10th in its pre-season power ratings.

"Believe it or not, Georgetown is just 20-16 in Big East play over the past two seasons," the blog writes. "Without Austin Freeman and Chris Wright to turn to, we’re not sure Georgetown can move back into the top quarter of the league (where they were from 2006-08) or even just the top eight."

"Henry Sims could improve a lot this season, but there are too many question marks with this team to pencil them in as a sure-fire NCAA Tournament club."

New Verizon Center Seats 7/18/11

The Washington Post reports that verizon Center will add some lower cost box seats to the configuration at the arena this season.

Known as loge box seats, the six and eight person boxes are seen as a more economically viable option for small businesses than the current 18-24 seat boxes on sale. Four of the eight boxes have been sold.

What is the cost for this lower priced option? Between $125,000 and $150,000 per year.

Big East Divisions, Revisited 7/18/11

Thursday's blog article by Louisville coach Rick Pitino to parse the Big East into two separate divisions set off all sorts of discussions in the online community. The article drew criticism for its choice of divisions (namely, all I-A football schools in one division, everyone else in another) and for suggesting that the divisions not play at all all until the conference tournament. In Georgetown terms, the Hoyas would potentially never play Syracuse, UConn, Pitt, etc. again unless it was in the Big East tournament.

"Everything would be fair and level for everyone," Pitino writes, even though it reads as a precursor to splitting the conference entirely, and may be a follow-up from Pitino's criticism of the Cardinals' 2011-12 Big East opponents released last month. Other coaches, such as Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, weighed in to add that no Big East coach wants to shut off recruiting to half the league (including Washington DC) by putting a firewall between the divisions.

As the Big East continues its march towards a 12 team football conference, certain choices become clear. The league can add Notre Dame and football schools from within (Villanova possible, Georgetown less so, ND even more remote), it can drop schools without football (politically untenable at present), or it can expand the conference with new additions, such as TCU in 2012-13. An 18th team would complicate the basketball tournament, but add a 10th team for football purposes.

One suggestion is a geographic alignment--teams would still play 18 conference games, but with only one "rivalry" (home and away) series:

West Division East Division
Depaul - Marquette Providence - St. John's
Cincinnati - Louisville Georgetown - Syracuse
Pitt - West Virginia Connecticut - Villanova
TCU - Notre Dame Rutgers - Seton Hall
18th team TBA USF
 

USF and the 18th team (for example, Central Florida) would have its own rivalry series. In all but one case (TCU-Notre Dame) there is a natural rivalry within a division that could be maintained, and there is a healthy mix of schools with and without I-A football. Seedings by division could be used for the conference tournament.

This issue may not ultimately be settled until there is a 20 team conference, to which a lot more questions follow. But, for now, the Big East appears happy to follow Ben Franklin's sage advice to hang together, lest they all hang separately.

Thirty Days To China 7/14/11

The men's basketball team is 30 days away from its third overseas trip in program history and its first to mainland China beginning August 13. The Georgetown.edu web site has posted three videos and a pair of articles about the trip and details for those able to make the visit. Recommended reading (and viewing).

Leonsis: The Impact Of Georgetown Athletics 7/14/11

Washington entrepreneur and pro sports owner Ted Leonsis (C'77) isn't shy about noting the role of athletics at a place like Georgetown. In a speech at the National Press Club covered by the Washington Times, Leonsis told the group that "Sports is one of the three main drivers of reputation in an educational institution. Selectivity is number one, how difficult is it to get into the school; research dollars is second, and usually a major athletic program is number three."

“It’s no secret that the better the Georgetown men’s basketball program does, the more applications there are to attend the school. It’s like a three-hour infomercial when a team is playing on national television.”

'Zo's Big Challenge 7/11/11

Miami Heat vice president Alonzo Mourning (C'92) is preparing for his 15th annual "Zo's Summer Groove", a major fundraiser in the Miami area for Alonzo Mourning Charities. In speaking with the Miami Herald, Mourning reiterates the need for people to focus on education as a means of moving forward.

"A couple of months ago, there was a news story that said that 6,000 high school seniors in Dade and Broward failed the [state tests]. And almost 50 percent of Florida students don’t graduate from high school. That’s disturbing," said Mourning. "How do you react to this educational problem if you’re a business leader, a contributor to society, a working adult here in this community? Do you ignore it? You can’t ignore it. You have to do something to help. It’s just unacceptable that so many of our kids don’t get a decent education. None of us would be anywhere without an education."

"The most exciting day of my life was walking across the stage at the Georgetown campus to get my diploma and seeing my whole family there, my biological parents, my foster parents, my aunts. I was the first in my family to graduate from college and I made a vow then that I was going to support anybody else in the family who wanted to go to college. Over time, my wife and I easily put about a dozen family members through college."

The Kenner Scene 7/8/11

With its second weekend of play approaching, the Georgetown Patch introduces its readership to the Kenner subculture.

"The scene at the Kenner League, an annual summer basketball pro-am event at Georgetown’s McDonough Arena, is part competitive hoops, part friendly reunion," it writes. "The vibe is as much barbershop banter as it is intense hoops competition. In other words, it’s got a little something for the basketball lovers, the people watchers and the hanging outers."

"The play itself matters to those observing, but more for the aesthetics than the score- at least outside of the final moment or two of a close game. The intensity will rise as the league rolls on, but ultimately it’s more about summer entertainment in the city than the usual competitive angst. On a basketball scale, that is. No time for nervous stomachs here."

Freeman Faces Driving Charges 7/7/11

The Washington Times reports that former Georgetown guard Austin Freeman (C'11) faces a number of tickets from a June 25 stop in Prince Georges County, MD.

Freeman, 22, was driving 71 in a 55 mph zone during a traffic stop and also cited for driving while impaired, though the article does not disclose whether tests were proven conclusive for alcohol use or for hypoglycemia, which can impair drivers who are diabetic.

There was no comment from Freeman or his counsel from the article.

GU Improves In NACDA Standings 7/3/11

Georgetown University saw a second year of improvement in the Sports Directors Cup standings, a national measure of post-season competitiveness across NCAA intercollegiate sports. The University's teams finished 55th nationwide compared to 70th in 2010 and 84th in 2009. Overall, the 55th place Georgetown was the Hoyas best in seven years, and came without points participation in men's and women's lacrosse, where the school failed to place either team into NCAA tournament play.

Georgetown finished 14th among all Division I private schools, up from 20th in 2010 and was third among schools with football below the Division I-A level. For the 17th consecutive year, Stanford won the all-sports title.

The Big East rundown is as follows.

2011 2010 2009
Notre Dame 18 27 21
Louisville 34 41 32
West Virginia 40 37 50
Connecticut 44 62 52
Villanova 50 51 56
Georgetown 55 70 84
Syracuse 61 57 63
South Florida 86 106 116
St. John's 94 67 112
Marquette 96 204 173
Providence 113 137 91
Pittsburgh 123 112 93
DePaul 140 161 173
Cincinnati 150 116 129
Rutgers 158 96 92
Seton Hall 238 235 270
 

Here's a recap of Georgetown's past finishes per the NACDA web site:

Year Finish Among Big
East Schools
1994 47 3rd
1995 44 3rd
1996 55 2nd
1997 63 5th
1998 62 6th
1999 45 3rd
2000 55 4th
2001 42 3rd
2002 51 3rd
2003 61 5th
2004 53 3rd
2005 74 6th
2006 68 5th
2007 76 7th
2008 77 5th
2009 84 7th
2010 70 8th
2011 55 6th
 
Bolden: On Course For Georgetown 7/3/11

Class of 2012 verbal commit Brandon Bolden is still a year away from college, but tells the Charlottesville Daily Progress his focus remains on the Hilltop.

"There’s still [schools] that send out miscellaneous mail, but I don’t talk to anybody else,” Bolden said. "Everything I do from here, from this point on, is just to keep getting better for once I get [to Georgetown].”

Brandon transferred to the Miller school in Albemarle County, VA in the 2010-11 season.

 

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