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Georgetown Basketball: September 2007 News Archive

ESPN Big East Feature 9/27/07

ESPN.com's pre-season conference previews features the Big East this week, discussing the expanded schedule and expanded expectations surrounding the league in 2007-08.

"Replacing Jeff Green will be more difficult than people realize," writes Jay Bilas, picking Georgetown second to Louisville entering the pre-season. "But Jonathan Wallace is the most efficient point guard in the country and one of the very best. DaJuan Summers is ready to explode, and Roy Hibbert may be the best true center in the nation. Add in freshmen Chris Wright and Austin Freeman, and you have another Final Four-caliber team."

HOYA Discusses Possible Practice Facility 9/24/07

The long discussed issue of a dedicated practice facility for men's basketball is back in the news, as Friday's edition of The HOYA reports that Georgetown has petitioned local zoning authorities for clearance to build a 90,000 square foot athletic training facility on what is now the McDonough tennis courts.

The project would consist of "locker rooms, a sports medicine department, weight-training facilities, coaches' and administrative offices and a basketball court," according to the article. The court would be for practice purposes and would not likely be configured for spectator seating.

"Some believe men’s basketball Head Coach John Thompson III’s future on the Hilltop is closely tied to the construction of a new practice facility," notes the paper. An initial zoning vote is expected in October.

Izzo Signs Pro Contract 9/21/07

Congratulations to former forward Kenny Izzo (B'07), who has signed a professional contract in the Irish pro league.

"Izzo is a big guy of real quality", said Merry Monk Ballina coach Terry Kennedy in this link to the Mayo Western People. "Nobody goes to Georgetown for four years without being a serious player."

Seniors Visit Wall Street 9/20/07

Seniors Jonathan Wallace and Tyler Crawford got a first hand look at Wall Street during a recent visit, according to GUHoyas.com.

The seniors met a number of alumni in finance and investment banking. "It was great exposure for both Tyler and myself to see the Stock Exchange floor and all of the different avenues and how the financial system works," said Wallace. "It was great to get an inside look on everything."

"The Georgetown family is great. You can see connections up and down the East Coast, out on the West Coast and out in the Midwest," said Crawford. "Seeing all of the alumni that worked at Merrill Lynch, it's wild to think that they came from the same place that we did and that everything they did is possible for us too."

Blue Ribbon Yearbook: #3 9/19/07

From an article at Tigernet.com, Georgetown will be ranked #3 in the pre-season edition of Blue Ribbon yearbook, due on newsstands shortly. The top 10 includes North Carolina, UCLA, Georgetown, Tennessee, Memphis, Michigan State, Kansas, Louisville, Indiana and Marquette.

Student Season Ticket Drive 9/19/07

An effort to set a new record on student season tickets is underway, according to GUHoyas.com.

The promotion, titled "Fill The Phone Booth", aims to break the record of 2,459 student season tickets set in 1982-83.

An editorial in The HOYA praised the efforts to date. "It seems that the Athletic Department and Hoya Blue actually listened to students’ concerns, took them into consideration and developed a better program, a program that, at least for the time being, makes sense," it said. "It’s both breathtaking and encouraging that the administration is listening to students; hopefully other parts of the administration will follow the lead of the Athletic Department. High fives and fist pumps all around."

Non-Conference RPI's Updated 9/13/07

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

Using the end of regular season RPI , Georgetown's 2007-08 schedule ranks fourth  among the Big East schools in average RPI.

The RPI average does not include non-Div. I opponents (Marquette has one Division II opponent), later round opponents at in-season tournaments (only those identified in the first round are counted), and any new or provisional Division I opponents, which are assigned an RPI of 337.

  Non-Conf. Opponent RPI at end of 2006-07 Season
Team 1-50 51-99 100s 200s 300+ Mean
DePaul 4 2 3 2 0 123.8
Louisville 3 3 2 2 1 135.1
Syracuse 0 1 8 1 0 144.6
Georgetown 3 1 3 3 1 148.2
Connecticut 1 2 3 3 0 152.0
Villanova 0 4 2 3 0 158.6
Providence 2 0 5 2 1 161.7
Cincinnati 2 1 4 4 1 164.3
St. John's 1 0 5 2 1 165.7
Pittsburgh 1 5 0 5 1 165.8
W. Virginia 0 1 3 3 2 198.2
S. Florida 1 0 5 5 2 200.1
Rutgers 2 0 4 4 3 203.4
Notre Dame 0 1 4 4 3 213.4
Seton Hall 0 1 4 4 3 218.5
Marquette 1 0 1 5 2 221.9
 
Freshman Jersey #s 9/6/07

The Big East web site has posted a preview of the 2007-08 Hoyas, including jersey numbers for the incoming freshmen. A review of jersey numbers over the years can be found at the Basketball History section.

2007-08 Schedule Finalized 9/5/07

The final two pieces of the non-conference schedule have been set as Georgetown University announced its 2007-08 schedule late Wednesday.

The Hoyas open its 101st year of basketball Nov. 10 against William & Mary (15-15 in 2006-07, RPI 196), the first meeting between the Hoyas and the Tribe since the 1971-72 season. The final non-conference game has been set for Dec. 31 versus Fordham (18-12, RPI 107), marking the 50th meeting in basketball between the two schools, but the first since the 1978-79 season.

The Big East schedule begins Jan. 2 with a pair of road games prior to the conference home opener on Jan. 12 versus Connecticut. The UConn game is book ended with a night game at Pitt on ESPN the following Monday. The Saturday-Monday tandem returns a week later, in a pair of challenging home games featuring Notre Dame and Syracuse. Georgetown goes back on the road to finish January at West Virginia and at St. John's.

In past years, Georgetown's home games were somewhat front loaded due to Verizon Center schedule availability, but february will see five home games for GU. The Hoyas host Seton hall and South Florida early in the month before a nationally televised game at Louisville on Feb. 9, and a Monday night home game with Villanova on Feb. 9, where the Wildcats have never lost at Verizon Center. A week alter, Georgetown travels to Syracuse, followed by a rare Monday afternoon game at Providence within the Presidents Day weekend.

The schedule winds down with three of its final four games at home, finishing February with Cincinnati and St. John's, a March 1 game at Marquette, and an action packed finale with Louisville.

Georgetown's Out Of Conference RPI 9/5/07

There was a time not long ago when Georgetown's non-conference schedules were often chided by the local and national press for being less than competitive, with considerable RPI implications. John Thompson III isn't falling into that trap, however, assembling one of the more competitive non-conference slates in many years.

While some strong schools have cycled off the schedule from last year (Duke, Oregon, Vanderbilt), Georgetown has avoided the trap of scheduling the "sunken logs" from which to build a fat December record. In fact, this year's schedule features three top 50 teams from 2006-07 and only two teams ranked below #205 in the 2006-07 RPI.

Here's a comparison of the non-conference schedules of recent seasons by RPI:

  Non-Conf. Opponent RPI
Team 1-50 51-99 100s 200s 300+ Mean
2002-03 4 0 1 5 1 171.3
2003-04 1 0 4 5 1 207.0
2004-05 1 1 4 1 4 199.8
2005-06 2 2 1 2 3 160.9
2006-07 2 2 2 6 1 182.3
2007-08 3 1 3 3 1 148.2
 
 
 

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