New Arena Names At Creighton, Marquette
New names will be on the docket at a pair of Big East sites next season.
The new Milwaukee arena which will host Marquette home games has been named the Fiserv Forum, following a 25 year naming rights agreement with the Wisconsin-based financial services provider. The name change follows another arena change within the conference, where the former CenturyLink Center in Omaha was rebranded the CHI Health Center Omaha, following an agreement with a Denver-based health care firm, Catholic Health Initiatives.A third Big East arena will also get a naming upgrade. Formerly known as the John E. DuPont Pavilion and simply The Pavilion, the newly renovated Finneran Pavilion will reopen this fall on the Villanova campus, though the Villanova-Georgetown game is expected to remain at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.
Jersey Numbers Announced
Jersey numbers for the 2018-19 season have been announced. Two freshmen will be wearing new numbers from that which they wore in high school, two will keep the numbers.
Mac McClung wore #0 at Gate City (VA), but that belongs to Jahvon Blair, so he will wear #2 this season. Likewise for James Akinjo, who wore #11 at Salesian HS in Oakland but will wear #3 instead. Josh LeBlanc will wear #23 as he did at Baton Rouge (LA) Madison Prep, while Grayson Carter's #35 from Denton (TX) Guyer will follow him to the Hilltop. Carter will be the first Georgetown players to wear #35 in 70 years, last worn by forward Johnny Brown from 1947 to 1949.Fifth year senior Greg Malinowski was issued #11 last season and will wear this in 2018-19. Transfer center Omer Yurtseven is ineligible for 2018-19 but has been assigned #44 during his year in residence before becoming eligible in 2019-20.
For a complete review of jersey numbers through the years, visit the Georgetown Basketball History Project.
McClung: Electrifying, Dynamic, And...
Well, you knew this was coming.
Freshman guard Mac McClung hasn't been on campus a month and the first of many press articles expressing the range of passive curiosity to sheer amazement that a white player is going to Georgetown has arrived. Chris Powell's feature in The Undefeated makes for plenty of attention for anyone who was following college basketball during the 1980's, but for someone like McClung, who was born in 2000, it's a different era."I just had a great feeling about Coach [Ewing]," said McClung. "He outlined everything I could accomplish if I put in the work, and Georgetown just felt like home."
"I loved his ability, his effort, tenacity and athleticism," said Ewing. "I knew right away that he'd be a good fit for us. He was a Georgetown guy."
"I think they tried to pin a racial tag on Georgetown in the '80s," said Gate City head coach Scott Vermillion. "Ewing is not prejudiced. He wants the best players. You need talent to win.
"But signing Mac makes a statement to the country."
Local writer Chris Powell's article is recommended reading, but his reference that Georgetown has a "complicated history with race" falls into a journalistic trap that never looks beyond the 1980's as a point of contrast. The story of white and black athletes on the Georgetown Hoyas is a story much more interesting than merely citing names like McClung, Nate Lubick, or even Matt Causey to make a point.
Talk Of the 'Town:
McClung, Akinjo Star In Kenner League Week One
The Kenner League rules makes it clear that video coverage is not allowed, but such was not the case this weekend, where Mac McClung and James Akinjo combined for 64 points in Sunday's games during week one of the 37th annual Kenner League. Highlights below:
McClung and Akinjo combined for a more modest 37 in their opener Saturday. Highlights below:James Akinjo and Mac McClung just scored 34 and 30 points respectively in a 94-89 win for Tombs. Here’s a breakdown of their overall numbers pic.twitter.com/TzscYmu3ML
— Adam Ayalew (@AyalewAdam) July 8, 2018
Jeff Green Signs With Washington Wizards
Former Georgetown forward Jeff Green (C'12) signed a one year minimum offer contract with the NBA's Washington Wizards, returning back to the Washington DC area for what could be the last stop on his 12 year NBA career.
Green, 31, has played on eight different NBA teams since 2007 and four in the last four seasons, most recently with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he averaged 10.8 points per game.The one year contract will pay Green $2.5 million, though due to his status as a 10-year NBA veteran, the Wizards will only be charged $1.5 million against its salary cap.
Alumni Team: One & Done
A team of (mostly) Georgetown alumni was an first round knockout in The Basketball Tournament, a 72 team bracket of college alumni teams that began play this weekend.
The tournament is designed as a $2 million, winner-take-all tournament for teams featuring alumni from variou schools. While GU would be considered a prime contender based on its alumni reputation in pro basketball, most were unable or unwilling to participate, leaving its team with just five former players: Bradley Hayes, Austin Freeman, Trey Dickerson, Aaron Bowen, and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. As a result, this necessitated the addition of former players from schools such as Austin Peay, Southern Mississippi, Detroit Mercy, and Texas-Permian Basin to fill out the Georgetown roster.The Georgetown entry known as "Jack Attack" fell to a team of Seton Hall alumni in the opening game at Marquette's Al McGuire Center, 88-77. Old habits died hard in the game. The GU five was a combined 6 for 26 from three point range and the team gave up 17 offensive rebounds.
The box score is below:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Dickerson 14 3-5 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 9
Smith-Rivera 35 4-6 4-13 4-5 7 4 3 24
Freeman 36 3-7 1-11 0-0 2 2 1 9
Bowen 32 6-7 0-1 1-1 6 2 3 13
Hayes 24 1-5 0-0 0-0 9 1 2 2
Reserves:
Bouette 22 2-4 1-6 0-0 5 8 2 7
Ramey 17 2-2 3-7 0-0 1 0 3 13
Team Rebounds 3
DNP: Murray, Francis
TOTALS 200 21-36 10-39 5-6 35 18 17 77
Georgetown Drops In Learfield Cup Rankings
The lean years of Georgetown in the post-season continued in 2017-18, as it finished the academic year with the lowest national score in nearly a quarter century, according to one ranking.
Once ranked as high as 44th nationally, Georgetown finished 2017-18 ranked 93rd in the Learfield Directors Cup, a measure of post-season performance among Division I schools co-sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Learfield Sports. The finish was down 21 places from a 72nd place finish in 2015-16 and 2016-17.Points are awarded based on a school's participation and progress through 20 NCAA men's and women's championships events. Even though Georgetown programs like soccer, track, golf, and men's lacrosse qualified for post season competition, Georgetown did not advance very far relative to other schools, whose teams appeared in more tournaments and made gains where GU did not. Basketball, once a regular in the calculation, has not offered any points to the total over the last three years.
A total of 289 Division I teams qualified for some post-season competition in 2016-17.Stanford won the award for the 25th consecutive year after winning four national championships and post season competition in 26 of its 38 team sports.
Seven of ten Big East schools saw declines in the rankings, as follows:
1. Villanova (66th, up from 94th)
2. Georgetown (93rd, down from 72nd)
3. Providence (107th, down from 77th)
4. Butler (130th, down from 102nd)
5. St. John's (136th, up from 184th)
6. Creighton (138th, down from 93rd)
7. Marquette (152nd, down from 123rd)
8. DePaul (189th, down from 146th)
9. Xavier (217th, down from 184th)
10. Seton Hall (217th, up from 260th)
Georgetown's finishes since 1994 are below.
| Year | Finish | Among Big East Schools |
| 1994 | 47th | 3rd of 10 |
| 1995 | 44th | 3rd of 10 |
| 1996 | 55th | 2nd of 13 |
| 1997 | 63rd | 5th of 13 |
| 1998 | 62nd | 6th of 13 |
| 1999 | 45th | 3rd of 13 |
| 2000 | 55th | 4th of 13 |
| 2001 | 42nd | 3rd of 14 |
| 2002 | 51st | 3rd of 14 |
| 2003 | 61st | 5th of 14 |
| 2004 | 53rd | 3rd of 14 |
| 2005 | 74th | 6th of 16 |
| 2006 | 68th | 5th of 16 |
| 2007 | 76th | 7th of 16 |
| 2008 | 77th | 5th of 16 |
| 2009 | 84th | 7th of 16 |
| 2101 | 70th | 8th of 16 |
| 2011 | 55th | 6th of 16 |
| 2012 | 63rd | 6th of 16 |
| 2013 | 63rd | 4th of 15 |
| 2014 | 66th | 1st of 10 |
| 2015 | 59th | 3rd of 10 |
| 2016 | 72nd | 1st of 10 |
| 2017 | 72nd | 1st of 10 |
| 2018 | 93rd | 2nd of 10 |