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Georgetown Basketball: September 2006 News Archive

Street & Smiths: #8 9/29/06

An item at the LSU web site lists the Street & Smith's pre-season top 25, debuting October 10. Georgetown is listed at #8 in the poll, its first pre-season top 10 listing in 11 years.

NCAA Posts Graduation Rates 9/27/06

Men's basketball continues to trail other GU sports in graduation rates, but shows improvement from 2005, according to the  Graduation Success Rate (GSR) results announced Wednesday by the NCAA.

The study tracks the overall GSR by sport for the entering classes from 1996 through 1999. Men's basketball scored a GSR of 64 percent, up from 50 percent in 2005. While higher than the national average of 61%, it is the only Georgetown team with a GSR below 89%.

Here's the recap by sport, with the change from the GSR report in 2005. Current teams in women's golf and softball were not active during the recruiting period listed, and sports such as rowing and sailing are not counted for NCAA purposes.

Men's Sports 2006 2005 Chg. Women's Sports 2006 2005 Chg
Baseball 92 95 -3 Basketball 90 80 +10
Basketball 64 50 +14 CC/Track 94 100 -6
CC/Track 100 100 --- Field Hockey 100 96 +4
Football 98 99 -1 Lacrosse 100 100 ---
Golf 100 100 --- Soccer 89 91 -2
Lacrosse 100 100 --- Swimming 100 95 +5
Soccer 100 100 --- Tennis 100 100 ---
Swimming 92 100 -8 Volleyball 100 100 ---
Tennis 100 100 ---    

Among Big East schools, Georgetown ranks sixth in basketball graduation rates, up from ninth in 2005.

School 2006 2005 Chg.
1. Notre Dame 91 90 +1
2. Villanova 90 100 -10
3. Marquette 80 86 -6
4. Syracuse 75 75 ---
5. St. John's 71 86 -15
6. Georgetown 64 50 +14
7. Seton Hall 62 55 +7
8. Pittsburgh 57 29 +28
9. Providence 50 54 -4
10. DePaul 46 50 -4
10. Cincinnati 46 31 +15
12. South Florida 44 31 +14
13. West Virginia 43 67 -22
14. Rutgers 42 42 ---
15. Louisville 33 38 -5
16. Connecticut 30 50 -20
 
Scheduling In Pro Arenas 9/27/06

As many as eight Big East schools schedule all of part of its schedule at pro arenas where these schools do not receive scheduling priority. This affects the quantity and quality of non-conference games and the perception of the program for future scheduling.

ESPN.com takes a look at examples at Marquette and Seton Hall where arena availability makes a big difference in the scope of non-conference schedules.

Georgetown is mentioned briefly, but the article does not detail Georgetown's issues in scheduling around the NBA's Wizards, NHL's Capitals, and other events.

Bowman Selected In CBA Draft 9/27/06

While Brandon Bowman (C'06) seeks a free agent opportunity in the NBA, he was nonetheless drafted Tuesday in the third round of the CBA draft to the Yakima Sun Kings.The first pick in the draft went to Syracuse's Dayshawn Wright, despite averaging only 1.3 points per game in his only college season.

According to the Newark Star Ledger, Bowman will be invited to the New Jersey Nets' training camp next week.

Student Interest Builds for 06-07 9/25/06

Columnist Raymond Borgone discusses the growth in student tickets (and interest) in a link to Friday's issue of The HOYA.

"Beyond the raw ticket sales data, there's undoubtedly an atmosphere of excitement on campus," writes Borgone. "Every freshman I've spoken with has been enthusiastic about the upcoming season, as are the sophomores, juniors and seniors, all of whom got their first taste of post-season sweetness last season and are hungry for more."

100th Anniversary Reception Held 9/25/06

Over the weekend, alumnus Ted Leonsis (C'77) and his wife hosted a private reception in honor of the upcoming basketball centennial, receiving coverage on the gossip columns of the Washington Post. The paper described the scene as "Hoya cheerleaders and pep band at the front door, cocktails by the pool, and a huge tent with Georgetown ice sculptures and b-ball centerpieces."

A new page archiving links to centennial year articles is found here.

Update On Gaughan's Gift 9/18/06

A follow-up from last week's story that racer Brendan Gaughan (B'97) planned to donate 100% of his winnings to Georgetown from the New Hampshire 200 race this past weekend: unfortunately for Gaughan (and the University), Gaughan's truck collided with Mark Martin early in the race, and Gaughan finished 34th of 36 drivers. Gaughan's winnings were $7,530, according to TruckSeries.com.

"It could have been something special and we would have been able to donate some good money to Georgetown but now we're going to give them a small check,” said Gaughan in a release at RacingWest.com.

100th Anniv. Plans Announced 9/18/06

The University has announced a formal effort to celebrate the 100th anniversary of men's basketball at Georgetown.

The athletics web site at GUHoyas.com has announced fan voting for an All-Century team, the members of which will be presented at a gala dinner on Saturday, February 10th. The dinner will follow an ESPN telecast earlier that day at Verizon (MCI) Center, where the Hoyas play Marquette. Together, the game and dinner is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Hoya fan.

The Feb. 9-10 weekend is also significant because of the date-- Georgetown's first game was a 22-11 win over Virginia on Saturday, February 9, 1907.

Our Top 100 List 9/18/06

With the announcement of an All-Century team in mind, the Georgetown Basketball History Project introduces a new list of the top 100 players in the 100 years of Georgetown basketball.

Each weekday between September 18 and January 25, a player and his career statistics will be added to the list. Players will be selected based on a number of objective and subjective criteria, including statistical records, their impact upon the program at the time of their play, and the individual records set during their career. The overall goal is to honor the efforts of many generations of players for their contributions to the history of the men's basketball program at Georgetown.

Check the banner above each day for the latest entry. A previous list of the Top 50 Players of the Thompson Era is also available.

Prov. Journal Feature On Coach Thompson 9/18/06

Over the weekend, head coach John Thompson III was honored by a reception at Brown University. Bill Reynolds, a veteran Providence Journal columnist and a Brown basketball Hall of Famer, talks about the Georgetown coach in a Sunday column

"He came across Friday night in his acceptance speech as nothing if not comfortable," said Reynolds. "Comfortable with who he is. Comfortable with where he is. Comfortable with the basketball legacy that's always been his life. Comfortable in his own skin."

More on the reception follows in this link to the Brown Daily Herald.

Lockhart Joins GW Staff 9/16/06

Former walk-on guard Tyrone Lockhart (B'87) has been named director of basketball operations at George Washington, as reported by its athletics web site.

Lockhart, a former coach at Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I), has spent the last 13 years with the U.S. Olympic Committee. Lockhart scored nine points in 15 games during the 1984-85 season, his only season as a walk-on for the Hoyas.

Strength of Schedule 9/11/06

With 13 of the 16 Big East schools having posted its schedules, it's time to look at the relative strength of non-conference schedules.

After three consecutive years of improved out of conference numbers in the  Ratings Performance Index (RPI), Georgetown's 2006-07 average increased, moving from 207.0 (2003-04) to 188.6 (2004-05) to 160.9 (2005-06) but up to 182.3 in 2006-07. Over half of Georgetown's non-conference games are against teams ranked 200 or above among  334 Division I teams last season.

Using the end of regular season RPI , Georgetown's 2006-07 schedule ranks eighth  among the 13 Big East schools which have announced schedules to date (Seton Hall, and South Florida have yet to do so, while the St. John's list is generated from other schools' announcements.) The RPI review does not include non-Div. I opponents, later round opponents at in-season tournaments (only those identified in the first round are counted), and any a new or provisional Division I opponent is assigned an RPI of 335.

  Non-Conf. Opponent RPI at end of 2005-06 Season
Team 1-50 51-99 100s 200s 300+ Mean 2005-06
DePaul 4 3 3 1 1 107.7 97.7
Rutgers 2 3 3 3 0 132.4 130.5
Villanova* 3 2 3 2 1 137.2 134.5
Louisville 2 3 4 1 1 138.0 159.7
Syracuse 2 4 4 4 0 150.4 162.7
Pittsburgh 1 3 6 3 1 155.8 157.0
Providence 3 1 3 5 1 164.9 153.4
Georgetown 2 2 2 6 1 182.3 160.9
Cincinnati 3 5 1 2 2 196.2 122.5
Connecticut 1 1 3 5 2 196.2 196.6
W. Virginia* 1 2 0 3 4 211.7 193.0
Notre Dame 1 2 2 3 4 214.0 169.1
Marquette* 1 1 2 3 3 214.7 137.7
St. John's (1) 1 0 1 7 2 237.8 188.7
Seton Hall NA 183.5
S. Florida NA 192.7
*One game vs. non-Div. I opponent, not included in RPI.
(1) Averages based on 11 games announced by other schools.
 
Gavitt Joins Hall of Fame 9/10/06

Over the weekend, former Providence coach Dave Gavitt was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The founder of the Big East conference, Gavitt recalled to Newsday how the original schools formed.

"We played St. John's every year," he said, "so I knew Looie [Carnesecca] and [athletic director] Jack Kaiser. I did not know Frank Rienzo [at Georgetown], but I was an assistant coach at Providence when John Thompson played. We had a meeting at St. John's in May 1978... Looie was very cautious. John said if the commitment was to make it the best league in the country, he was for it."

With Providence, St. John's, and Georgetown on board, Syracuse was added to the original four. From this core group, UConn, Holy Cross and Rutgers were subsequently approached, but the latter two declined, quickly replaced by Boston College and Seton Hall.

Big East Schedule Announced Updated 9/8/06 9:00 pm

Georgetown has announced the final three non-conference games for the schedule being tracked here at HoyaSaxa.com over the summer.

Georgetown opens Nov. 11 at home versus Hartford, followed by a Nov. 22 game at Bridgeport, CT versus Fairfield, and a Nov. 27 game versus Ball State, coached by Ronny Thompson (C'92). Dates and times for the 16 Big East games were announced by the league Thursday.

The Hoyas open Big East play with two home games before the return of students, which have traditionally seen smaller crowds as a result. A Jan. 6 game with Notre Dame and an Big Monday (ESPN) appearance with Villanova account for one-fourth of the Big East home schedule. Three road games with Pitt (ESPN), Rutgers, and Seton Hall follow, with the Hoyas returning home for a pair of late January games with DePaul (ESPN2) and Cincinnati.

February opens on the road at Madison Square Garden with St. John's, the Hoyas' 132nd appearance all time at the Garden and its 28th game versus the Redmen. The following week, Georgetown travels to Louisville (ESPN) before a Saturday afternoon game with Marquette on Feb. 10 and a Big Monday game with West Virginia two days later, both at Verizon (MCI) Center.

The end of the conference schedule promises to be a major challenge--the five opponents were a combined 127-42 (.751) last season, and all posted 20 or more wins.

Georgetown begins this stretch on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Wachovia Center, the Hoyas' first game vs. Villanova at that arena since 2002. GU remains on the road for its first visit ever to Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena on Feb. 21, where the Bearcats are 349-70 (.833) at home since 1997. Georgetown then returns home to met Pitt on Feb. 24, (CBS), travels to Syracuse for a Feb. 26 Big Monday (ESPN) at the Carrier Dome, and ends the regular season hosting Connecticut on March 3 (CBS), hoping to end an 0-11 streak against the Huskies dating to since the 1996-97 season.

The list of games is as follows (home games in CAPS)
Sat. January 6: NOTRE DAME, time TBA
Mon. January 8: VILLANOVA, 8 pm (ESPN)
Sat. January 13: at Pitt, 9 pm (ESPN)
Wed. January 17: at Rutgers, time TBA
Fri. January 19 at Seton Hall, time TBA
Wed. January 24: DEPAUL, 7:30 pm (ESPN2)
Sat. January 27: CINCINNATI, time TBA
Thu. February 1: at St. John's, 7:00 pm (ESPN)
Wed. February 7: at Louisville, 7:00 pm (ESPN)
Sat. February 10 MARQUETTE, Noon (ESPN)
Mon. February 12: WEST VIRGINIA, time TBA
Sat. February 17: at Villanova, Noon (ESPN)
Wed. February 21: at Cincinnati, time TBA
Sat. February 24 PITT, 2:00 pm (CBS)
Mon. February 26: at Syracuse, 7:00 pm (ESPN)
Sat. March 3: CONNECTICUT, Noon (CBS)

The composite schedule and information is available at this link from the conference.

Gaughan's Gift 9/8/06

Former walk-on guard Brendan Gaughan (B'97) has come a long way from his days at McDonough Gym, and next weekend plans to give back to the school where he played football and basketball.

Gaughan, a driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, plans to donate 100% of his winnings at next week's New Hampshire 200 to the University. In last year's race at New Hampshire Speedway, driver Rick Crawford won the race and received $58,910 in prize money, while Gaughan earned $12,325 for finishing in 10th place.

I'm really excited to go back to the Hilltop, where I earned my degree and played both football and basketball," said Gaughan, who will be exhibiting his truck at the game. "[This] is just my way to donate to the school and my way to give back to the University. I'm just going to have fun and show my Hoya pride," he said. A photo of the truck can be found at this link to GUHoyas.com.

Student Media: Expand Student Seating 9/6/06

Both Georgetown newspapers are calling upon the Department of Athletics to increase student seating for the 2006-07 season.

Thursday's Georgetown Voice wrote: "The Athletic Department and Hoya Blue have stated that students will still have the opportunity to buy tickets, though it seems not all can buy season-long ones. Because no student should be denied a seat, officials should expand the student area by opening up other sections, either in the lower bowl or the upper deck.. There is space for all 6,000 Hoyas. The Verizon Center holds 20,600 seats; the Hoyas drew an average of 10,352 fans last season."

From Friday's HOYA, this editorial: "The university has an obligation out of fairness to provide all interested students with the opportunity to buy student section season tickets. These ticket sales will resume early next week, and the university has opened up another student section in the Verizon Center to help meet demand. If all season tickets are sold out, additional student tickets will be made available on a game by game basis in a designated section for the cheaper student price. This is very important, and the athletic department deserves praise for making sure no Hoya will be turned away unless the entire arena is sold out."

Schedule Updates Updated 9/8/06

Two more schedule updates:

  • The Oral Roberts web site has announced a Dec. 9 game at Georgetown, replacing a game scheduled earlier with Southwest Oklahoma State. The Eagles were 21-12 last year and finished as regular season co-champions of the Mid-Continent Conference. ORU posted an RPI of 130 last season.
  • The events calendar at VU Commodores.com lists a Nov. 15 home game with Georgetown, broadcast on the Sunshine Network. The Commodores were 17-12 last season, including a win over Georgetown, and finished the season with an RPI of 72. The game was confirmed in a press release issued Thursday by Vanderbilt.
Causey Enrolls At Georgia Tech 9/6/06

From the HoyaTalk board, here's a link to the Georgia Tech athletics web site, where former Georgetown guard Matt Causey has enrolled as a walk-on at Tech for 2007-08, his final year of college eligibility.

Causey transferred from Georgetown in 2004 to North Georgia College & State University, averaging 23.3 points per game in 2005-06 alongside his brother Mark, who transferred to North Georgia from Duke in 2003.

Early Big East Previews 9/5/06

One of the early conference previews is available at Collegehoops.net, which is counting down its pre-season Big East picks. Georgetown is one of four teams yet to be previewed, but you can follow the links to previews of teams predicted from 5-16 in the conference this season.

 
 

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