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Georgetown Basketball: September 2013 News Archive

Georgetown Announces $100M Gift 9/19/13

Major news on the development front for Georgetown, where the University announced Wednesday morning a gift of $100 million to form a school of public policy.

The McCourt School of Public Policy will be formally announced on October 8, following a commitment from Frank McCourt, Jr. (C'75), the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The gift commitment will support faculty initiatives and graduate level scholarships for the school, which will absorb the existing programs of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, currently under the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Read the full announcement here.

J. Gregory Carroll Awardee Announced 9/18/13

Ceremonies during the 74th Homecoming Weekend will recognize a familiar volunteer to fans and friends of Georgetown Basketball, even if you don't him first hand.

Over the past seven years, Dr. Thomas Wong (C'82) has led the Hoya Hoop Club's social media efforts, including frequent use of Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages to promote the program. The Hoop Club's Facebook page now numbers over 3,000 followers.

"Dr. Wong has been a tireless advocate and ambassador for Georgetown Athletics, promoting membership and fundraising on behalf of Hoyas Unlimited," said Chris McArdle (B'93), president of Hoyas Unlimited. "He's an inspiring leader and example as to how others can carry the spirit and tradition of Georgetown athletics." Dr. Wong, a "double Hoya" (Georgetown Prep '78, Georgetown College '82) is a member of the Alumni Association's Board of Governors and volunteers annually for the John Thompson III Foundation and the Washington Jesuit Academy.

The award will be presented Friday, Sept. 27 as part of Homecoming Weekend. For ticket information, visit this link.

The J. Gregory Carroll Memorial Award is presented for outstanding service to Hoyas Unlimited, the official support group for Georgetown Athletics. The award is named in honor of Greg Carroll, a member of the class of 1971 and a former director of Hoyas Unlimited.

2014 Recruiting Class Reviewed 9/18/13

Georgetown's upcoming recruiting class is attracting its share of attention, per an article at Five Star Basketball.

"The Hoyas already had a good group committed from his class, but bringing [Paul] White on board bumped up their talent level and put them on a different plateu [sic]. UNC has three top-20 guys coming in with Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson and Joel Berry, but the Hoyas now possess the deepest recruiting class in 2014."

"With the aforementioned [Isaac] Copeland being the highest rated recruit of the group, you can almost be sure that none of the players are one and dones," notes the web site. "2014 is a deep class and has roughly 8 to 10 kids who could make the big boy leap after one year in college. None of them have committed to Georgetown, which isn't a knock on their talent level. It simply means the players will have time to develop and Coach John Thompson III and his staff will have players to build on for the few years."

Georgetown Voice Podcast 9/17/13

The Georgetown Voice has launched a weekly podcast covering issues in Georgetown sports. Check out this week's installment of the "Voice Box" at http://blog.georgetownvoice.com.

Recruiting: Fourth Verbal for 2014 9/15/13

The Chicago Sun-Times and other media sources report a verbal commitment from Paul White, a 6-8 forward from Chicago, IL, for the class of 2018. White made a commitment following his visit to Georgetown this weekend, per the reports.

"While on my visit here it made me realize this is the place for me," White said. "I felt that comfort level I was looking for with the coaching staff, the players and the environment here. It's a wonderful school with a great basketball tradition and atmosphere. This was the place I could easily see myself going to school and playing."

"They showed film of Jeff Green, a player they believe has capabilities similar to what I have," he said. "They showed how he excelled in their system and in their style of play."

White played alongside another Georgetown recruit at Chicago's Whitney Young HS, shooting guard L.J. Peak, but Peak has returned to his hometown of Gaffney, SC for his senior season. Georgetown's last pair of recruits from the same high school were Ashanti Cook and Brandon Bowman, recruited from Los Angeles' Westchester HS in 2002.

This is Georgetown's fourth verbal commitment of 2014, joining Peak, point guard Tre Campbell, and small forward Isaac Copeland. The breakdown by class:

Class of 2014 Class of 2015 Class of 2016 Class of 2017 Class of 2018
Guards Markel Starks Jabril Trawick D. Smith-Rivera Tre Campbell
 
Forwards Aaron Bowen
Nate Lubick		 Greg Whittington Stephen Domingo Reggie Cameron Isaac Copeland
L.J. Peak
Paul White
 
Centers Moses Ayegba Tyler Adams1
Mikael Hopkins
Josh Smith2		 Bradley Hayes
1 Sidelined due to medical condition.
2 2014-15 eligibility pending NCAA review.
  
Syracuse Refutes Contract Claim Updated 9/13/13

Syracuse officials have retracted a claim by its athletic director that Syracuse had signed a 10-year men's basketball scheduling agreement with Georgetown.

At a radio appearance Wednesday, Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross said he had signed a 10-year contract to play Georgetown in men's basketball that merely awaits Georgetown's signature, per multiple reports. In fact, there is no contract: late Wednesday, a Syracuse official told the Syracuse Post-Standard that there is no contract, only a "concept" of a 10 year series.

"Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Communications Officer for External Affairs Joe Giansante clarified that no official contract has been signed, but Syracuse has agreed to the "concept" of the series and is waiting to hear back from Georgetown," said the newspaper.

Syracuse prefers to stay within the state of New York for non-conference games and has scheduled "neutral" games in New York to accommodate its fan base, which has pushed Gross for more traditional non-conference games following its move to the Atlantic Coast Conference. A recent three year series with Villanova provides only one of the three games in Philadelphia, for example.

"We have had some conversations with their administration about continuing the series over the course of the last year, but nothing has been finalized," said Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed in a statement to the Washington Post.

Recent attempts by some to force Georgetown's hand on basketball scheduling have backfired. In 2012, Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson publicly stated that his athletic teams would no longer schedule Georgetown in any sport if the men's basketball team did not accede to a scheduling deal; as a result, Maryland still does not play Georgetown in basketball. BB&T Classic promoter John Feinstein has regularly disparaged Georgetown for not participating in that tournament, and Georgetown continues not to participate.

Thompson Joins NABC Board 9/11/13

Head coach John Thompson III was selected to the board of directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches, reports a release at GUHoyas.com.

Thompson will fill the vacancy left by former Butler coach Brad Stevens when he left for the NBA this past July.

US News: #20 9/10/13

Just announced this morning: a #20 ranking for Georgetown University in the annual US News guide to the top colleges nationwide, up from #21 in 2012 and from #22 in 2011.

Here are the 2013 totals, with the 2012 rankings in parentheses.

1. Princeton (2) 7. MIT (6) 17. Vanderbilt (17)
2. Harvard (1) 10. Cal Tech (10) 18. Rice (17)
3. Yale (3) 10. Dartmouth (11) 18. Notre Dame (17)
4. Columbia (4) 12. Northwestern (12) 20. Georgetown (21)
5. Stanford (6) 12. J. Hopkins (12) 20. Emory (20)
5. Chicago (5) 14. Brown (15) 20. California (21)
7. Duke (8) 14. Wash., MO (14) 23. Carnegie-Mellon (23)
7. Penn (8) 16. Cornell (15) 23. UCLA (24)

Also included at #23: Wake Forest and Virginia.

Among Big East schools, Marquette (#75) is the only other university ranked nationally in the top 100. Other nationally classified schools include DePaul (#121), Seton Hall (#128), and St. John's (#152). Villanova, Providence, Creighton, Xavier, and Butler are all ranked in regional categories.

Sporting News: Big East Picks 9/10/13

From this link at 247 Sports, the early pre-season picks from the Sporting News:

  1. Marquette
  2. Georgetown
  3. Creighton
  4. Villanova
  5. Xavier
  6. Butler
  7. St. John's
  8. Providence
  9. DePaul
  10. Seton Hall
Xavier AD: Big East Should Expand to 12 9/9/13

The newest generation of the Big East conference hasn't even played its first basketball game, but an athletic director at Xavier has stirred the realignment stew once again.

"I think the Big East will expand...I'm not sure it's actually codified in stone, but it does appear things are headed that way," said Xavier AD Greg Christopher at an online interview. "I don't know that it's next year, but it's probably some time in the next five years. That would be the time window I would say."

None of the four schools Christopher cites have any rivalry ties to Georgetown:

"The four schools, the only thing I can tell you as someone new walking in the door is exactly what's been in the media. I don't think I'm telling you anything that anybody who follows this doesn't already know. It's Saint Louis, Dayton, Richmond and [Virginia Commonwealth], who are the four schools who always get mentioned.

"The last part I'll say is this decision is going to be made at the presidents' level, frankly, and that's the way it should be."

The commissioner's office has not commented on Christopher's interview.

2013-14 Schedule Finalized 9/6/13

The Big East Conference has announced dates and times for conference games, with Georgetown following suit by releasing the remainder of its 2013-14 schedule. Among the items of note:

  • As in 2012-13, Georgetown will have nine Big East home games, four on Saturday (Jan. 4, Jan. 18, Feb. 8, Feb. 22) three on Monday, and two on Tuesday.
  • The Big East has set Georgetown-Villanova as one of its "protected" rivalry games, which has led some to report that the Hoyas and Wildcats will play at season's end going forward. This year's finale will be at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
  • Of the 29 games scheduled, 28 will be televised, with 20 games on Fox Sports 1, including five home non-conference games.
Non-Conference Games 9/6/13

The Hoyas will play six opponents at Verizon Center prior to Big East play:

  • Wright State (22-13 in 2012-13, RPI 128)
  • Lipscomb (11-18 in 2012-13, RPI 238)
  • High Point (15-14 in 2012-13, RPI 248)
  • Colgate (11-21 in 2012-13, RPI 258)
  • Elon (19-12 in 2012-13, RPI 181)
  • Florida International (18-14 in 2012-13, RPI 116)

Previous reports of games with Rhode Island and UTEP did not materialize.

What's the cost of inviting these teams? According to a link at the WSU Guardian, Wright State will be paid $85,000 for its Nov. 13 visit to Washington.

Buses To Return To Verizon Center 9/6/13

Responding to student concerns, the Georgetown athletic department will offer bus services to home games this season, reports The HOYA. Students that attend two of the first three games or up to half the six game non-conference package will be eligible for the free service the remainder of the season, reports the paper.

Bus services were provided throughout the Capital Centre era (1981-97) and into the early years of what was known as MCI Center, but large numbers of students opted for Metro or taxi service to the arena, leaving the buses empty and leading to losses for the department.

“It is important to note that this is a pilot program that, if found to be enjoyed by the majority of student season ticket holders, can be expanded in the future,” said senior director of marketing Pete Kirschner.

Jack VII? New Bulldog Mascot Selected 9/2/13

Over the weekend, news that a committee at Georgetown has selected a two month old bulldog pup to be the next Georgetown mascot and the seventh Jack The Bulldog since 1962.

"The concerns with J.J. were kind of isolated to him specifically and not a general trend. This is the only one that’s caused an issue like this,” said student representative Joe Fiorica (C'14) in this link to The HOYA. “While obviously concerns are there and we’re extra careful now, I don’t think there’s any worry it’ll be the exact same thing all over again because we kind of learned from the past.”

“I personally had tremendous problems with the way J.J.’s dismissal was handled,” said faculty representative Diana Owen. “Was it the right decision? I don’t know. But I think right now, J.J.’s in a happy place and we have a new puppy and we’re on the way to having this more open process.”

 

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