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Georgetown Basketball: August 2006 News Archive

Ewing Resigns From NBA's Rockets 8/31/06

Former Georgetown All-America Patrick Ewing (C'85) has resigned as assistant coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets, to be closer to his family.

"It was a difficult decision to resign because I enjoy coaching," Ewing said in a team release. "I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids." Ewing's oldest son, Patrick (C'08), makes his debut for the Hoyas this upcoming season.

Big East Announces ESPN Deal 8/30/06

The Big East conference has announced a seven year agreement with the ESPN networks, according to the conference's web site. The Hartford Courant reports the deal will extend the present contract through 2014 and include all Big East conference games not shown on CBS to be carried by one of the ESPN networks.

No Alabama On 2006-07 Schedule 8/30/06

Many schools continue to work on open dates in their 2006-07 schedules. The Mobile Register reported Tuesday Alabama officials are talking with Georgetown and Seton Hall on a home and home series to begin in Tuscaloosa in late November.

Wednesday's Register confirms that it will be Seton Hall, not Georgetown, to play the Crimson Tide on or about November 30.

Georgetown Licensing Ranking Falls 8/28/06

Royalties from licensed Georgetown merchandise underwent another decline in 2005-06's annual rankings, according to a release from the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC).

Georgetown, which in 1991 was ranked #1 in college merchandise royalties, fell out of the top 50 list for the first time ever in 2006. Georgetown's #54 ranking (down from #49 in 2005 and #44 in 2004), reflects a continuing erosion of merchandising royalties, and not just against BCS schools, either. Schools such as Montana (46), Boise State (49) and even Gonzaga (50) have passed Georgetown on the CLC list.

Other Big East schools in the top 75 include Notre Dame (3), Louisville (32), Syracuse (33), Connecticut (36), Pitt (37), Cincinnati (42), Villanova (59) and Marquette (74).

Schedule Update 8/25/06

The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot has reported a Nov. 19 game at Verizon (MCI) Center with Old Dominion, with a return visit to ODU next season. The Monarchs were 21-9 in 2005-06 with a 69 in the RPI.

Also on the schedule front, Oklahoma State will play Pitt in the All-College Classic Dec. 21, not GU as previously reported by an Oklahoma City newspaper.

Louisville To Open New Arena 8/24/06

Around the Big East, officials at the University of Louisville have announced plans for a 22,000 seat, $450 million downtown arena, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. The arena will open in 2010.

"The arena deal with UofL spells out more perks beyond money," writes the paper. "It calls for a practice court as part of a multipurpose staging area; four university hospitality rooms with 40,000 square feet; separate training rooms for men and women; separate offices for men's and women's team coaches; and a basketball museum."

Seven Athletes, One Family 8/23/06

USA Today has a cover story feature on the Paulus family of Syracuse, NY, which has sent six of its sons into Division I sports, four at Georgetown.

Fans may remember the oldest of the group, David, who played quarterback at Georgetown and walked on to the basketball team from 1999-2001. Following Dave was Matt, Dan, and Chris, all of whom played football at the Hilltop.

Unfortunately for Georgetown, the recruiting line ended with Chris, as the next brother, Greg, was recruited for football at Notre Dame but eventually committed to play basketball at Duke. The next brother, Mike, is a senior in high school who has verbally committed to North Carolina. The lone sister in the group, Sarah, is a junior in high school who could eventually be the seventh Paulus to play at the Division I level.

"We have a lot of good times," said Greg. "We're kind of spread around these days, but it's great when we can all get home. No matter what we do, all of us, we all have to come back and answer to the house."

2006-07 Prospectus 8/22/06

While the schedule is not quite ready for release, the Sports Information office has posted a 39 page online prospectus at GUHoyas.com which is recommended pre-season reading.

"Georgetown will be challenged to replace five seniors, including three seniors who accounted for more than 40 percent of the team’s minutes played and 45 percent of the team's points," writes the prospectus, and coach John Thompson III is trying not to inflate expectations after last season's regional semifinals appearance.

“There is always another step,” said Thompson. “We need to always be focused on the next small improvement we can make. I'll leave it to others to make large judgments about how far we've come, or our place in history. I just want to make sure that we do the next little thing to make the program more successful.”

The prospectus has also announced the jersey numbers of the team. All ten returning lettermen from 2005-06 keep their jersey numbers, with Vernon Macklin wearing #1 (last worn by Brandon Bowman from 2002-06), Dajuan Summers wearing #3 (last worn by Omari Faulkner from 2000-04), and Jeremiah Rivers wearing #5 (last worn by Ray Reed in 2004).

Which leaves Patrick Ewing Jr...who will be assigned #33, the jersey number his father wore from 1981-85. In the interim, the jersey number has been worn by two others: Alonzo Mourning from 1988-92, and Jahidi White for a single season in 1996-97.

Ewing is also listed at 6-10, a two inch increase from the 2005-06 media guide. Heights and weights for all other returning players remain unchanged from 2005-06.

For a full rundown of the names behind the jersey numbers dating back to 1934, check the Basketball History Project pages.

Brick Joins GMU Staff 8/19/06

Former interim athletic director Adam Brick (B'86, L'90) was named as senior associate AD at George Mason, according to a GMU release. Brick spent nearly 20 years with the Georgetown athletic department and served as interim director between Joe Lang's retirement in 2004 and the hiring of bernard Muir in 2005.

Brick is the third former Georgetown official to join the Mason athletic department, joining former Hoyas Unlimited director Jennifer Montgomery and former soccer coach Diane Drake on the Fairfax campus.

US News: Georgetown #23 8/18/06

Off the sports pages, US News has released its annual America's Best Colleges list, with Georgetown University remaining 23rd in the poll, one place ahead of Virginia, with which it tied last year.

The schools comprising list is largely unchanged from last year, with minimal changes in rankings between the schools. Athletically speaking, nine are Division I-A, nine I-AA (Georgetown is the only I-AA entry outside the Ivy League), with none from Division II and seven from Division III. All 25 play men's basketball, while 23 of the 25 play college football (Emory and CalTech do not).

By Division I conference, eight are from the Ivy League, two Pac-10, two Big 10, two Big East, two ACC, one SEC, and one from Conference USA.

Big East schools ranked in the national Top 120 included Notre Dame and GU (below), along with Syracuse (52, down from 50 in 2005), Pitt (57, up from 58), Rutgers (60, unchanged), Connecticut (67, up from 68), and Marquette (81, up from 85). Villanova and Providence finished 1-2 in the regional rankings for northern universities.

 
1. Princeton 9. Columbia 17. Rice
2. Harvard 9. Dartmouth 18. Vanderbilt
3. Yale 9. Chicago 18. Emory
4. CalTech 12. Cornell 20. Notre Dame
4. Stanford 12. Wash., MO 21. California
4.MIT 14.Northwestern 21. Carnegie-Mellon
7.Penn 15. Brown 23. Georgetown
8. Duke 16. J. Hopkins 24. Virginia
25. Michigan
 

Here's a second look at the Top 25, based on year-end performance in the NACDA Directors Cup (Division I schools only):

1. Stanford 7. Northwestern 13. Georgetown
2. Notre Dame 8. Princeton 14. Harvard
3. California 9. Vanderbilt 15. Yale
4. Duke 10. Rice 16. Brown
5. Michigan 11. Cornell 17. Penn
6  Virginia 12. Dartmouth 18. Columbia
 

Finally, how do these schools rank on endowment? Here's the list, in 2005 assets (number in billions of dollars):

1. Harvard ($25.2) 9. Emory ($4.38) 17. Rice ($3.61)
2. Yale ($15.2) 10. Penn ($4.37) 18. Virginia ($3.22)
3. Stanford ($12.2) 11 Wash, MO ($4.26) 19. Dartmouth ($2.71)
4. Princeton ($11.1) 12. N'western ($4.21) 20. Vandy ($2.63)
5. MIT ($6.71) 13. Chicago ($4.14) 21. J. Hopkins ($2.18)
6. California ($5.22) 14. Duke ($3.82) 22. Brown ($1.84)
7. Columbia ($5.19) 15. Cornell ($3.77) 23. CalTech ($1.42)
8. Michigan ($4.93) 16. ND ($3.65) 24. C-Mellon ($0.84)
25. G'town ($0.74)
 
Schedule Update: Duke 8/18/06

Duke University has announced its 2006-07 schedule, confirming a Dec. 2 home game with Georgetown.

The game will be played at 7:00 on the Duke campus and seen on ESPN2, part of a busy sports day that will see the game battling for viewers against the Big 12 football championship on ABC and the second half of the SEC championship game on CBS.

Schedule Update: Michigan 8/16/06

The University of Michigan has announced a Dec. 30 home game with Georgetown, to be seen on ESPN2.

This will be the first meeting between the schools.

More On Possible OSU Game 8/16/06

Oklahoma State University officials are still negotiating for a Georgetown appearance in Oklahoma City in December, reports the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Oklahoman suggested Georgetown is a "likely" opponent for Oklahoma State in the Dec. 21 All-College Classic. The Dec. 21 doubleheader is only one day after a reported matchup between Georgetown and Towson, so the date could be an issue before any opponent is formally announced.

Kinshasa Hospital To Open Sept. 2 8/15/06

The long awaited Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa, Congo is scheduled to open Sept. 2, reports USA Today and a number of media sources. The hospital is named for the mother of Dikembe Mutombo (SLL'91), who has personally funded $15 million of the $29 million raised over the last eight years.

"He's working night and day to get this done. I have new found respect for him," said forward Juwan Howard, who donated $100,000 of the $500,000 raised from Mutombo's fellow NBA players and, according to the article, plans to be at the opening. "Athletes, myself included, we give back. We do things like build centers, give money, buy books, buy warm clothing for the homeless. But here you have a guy doing something even bigger."

I'm proud ...that he's applying his education, applying the values his parents taught him and helping people," said former head coach John Thompson.

Mutombo learned first hand the struggles Congolese have in fighting disease. Per the Associated Press, Mutombo was diagnosed with malaria in 1999 after visiting the Congo.

Kenner League Finals 8/7/06

Roy Hibbert scored 32 points as the team sponsored by Clyde's Restaurant Group walked away with the 2006 Kenner Summer League title, a 108-91 win over "Electro-Lite 02" Sunday at McDonough Gymnasium.

An unofficial recap of the game from the HoyaTalk board gave Hibbert 32 points (8 of 11 from the field and 16 of 19 from the line), nine rebounds and two assists, with Jessie Sapp scoring 10 points. Georgetown players on Electro-Lite 02 included Tyler Crawford (four points) and Josh Thornton, who did not play in the final.

Thompson To Travel To Japan 8/4/06

Head coach John Thompson III will travel later this month in a goodwill tour of Japan, as announced by a USO press release.

The tour, to be held Aug. 23-30, also features coaches Jim Calhoun (Connecticut), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Karl Hobbs (George Washington), Dave Leitao (Virginia), Darrin Horn (Western Kentucky), and ABC/ESPN analyst Steve Lavin, a former coach at UCLA.

NBA Schedules 8/3/06

The Washington Wizards have announced its 2006-07 schedule, another one of the annual steps necessary to finalizing the 2006-07 Georgetown schedule.

Overlaying the NBA's Wizards and the NHL's Capitals schedules, fans can begin to get an idea of the difficulty Georgetown has with matching its open dates to other schools' non-conference plans, as well as watch which open weeknights and weekend afternoons may be available to fill. Here's a calendar below--NBA and NHL games are in gray, while Georgetown games previously announced in the press are in blue. Other events (concerts, etc.) are not included.

S M Tu W Th F Sa

November
          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      
March
        1 2 3
4            
 
Local Recruiting Heats Up 8/3/06

A new daily blog at Sports Illustrated.com discusses the influx of recruiting in the local area from schools outside the Washington area. Staff additions at Kansas State and Pittsburgh are featured.

MASN To Carry Six Games In 2006-07 8/1/06

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), a regional network created to carry Washington Nationals baseball games, has announced an expansion of coverage that will feature six Georgetown basketball games in 2006-07, according to the Washington Post and other media reports.

Over 100 NCAA basketball games are scheduled to be offered on MASN, many from ESPN Plus or other conference networks. The network, found on channel 626 on DirecTV, has been largely unavailable in the Washington area to date, due to ongoing litigation between MASN and Comcast.

Schedule Update 8/1/06

A midweek game with James Madison is the latest addition to the 2006-07 Georgetown schedule, as reported by the the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. The Dukes (5-23 in 2005-06, 299 RPI) will play at Verizon (MCI) Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Georgetown is one of only two non-conference teams on the Dukes' schedule that finished above .500 in 2005-06, reports the paper.

ESPN Big East Preview 8/1/06

In a series of conference previews, ESPN.com has posted a feature article on the upcoming Big East season, with Georgetown as a major contender for the 2006-07 season.

"Teams are fearful that Georgetown is simply too talented, too productive with the ball on offense, and too distracting on defense to slip any lower than a top-three league finish," writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Junior forward Jeff Green joins Pitt center Aaron Gray as early candidates for conference player of the year, according to the article.

HS Summer Tournaments 8/1/06

Summer tournaments are beginning to wind down in the high school ranks. HoopsReport.com has sent along some links to AAU tournament play in which a number of Class of 2007 prospects are participating in.

 
 

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