- Big East Blog: Hoyas 5th
- Hoop Club Pre-Season Practice
- Fixing The NBA's Problems
- Villanova Planning New Practice Facility
- Big East Media Day: Hoyas 6th
- Pre-Season Articles
- Gen. Jones Feature
- Big East Exhibition Games
- New Home For "Big Mike"
- Media Day At McDonough
- Midnight Madness
- Season Ticket Information
- Sneak Peek Of New Uniforms?
- NBA: Sweetney Traded
- Big East Previews
- Big East Game Times
- Athletic Recognition Dinner
| Big East Blog: Hoyas 5th | 10/31/05 |
From the Big East Hoops blog, Georgetown is picked fifth in its 2005-06 preview of teams.
| Hoop Club Pre-Season Practice | 10/30/05 |
The Hoya Hoop Club hosted its annual breakfast and open practice with the team on Sep. 29 at McDonough Gym. Fan photos of the event are posted here.
| Fixing The NBA's Problems | 10/28/05 |
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson has a brief article in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend on five ways to fix the NBA. Among the suggestions: empowering coaches. "Most coaches have little or no authority to enforce their will, and the players know it," Thompson said.
"I consider myself fortunate to have received my education and made a living playing and coaching basketball, and I continue to work within the game," Thompson said in the article. "I love the game, and I beg everyone in the sport to take a little better care of it."
| Villanova Planning New Practice Facility | 10/28/05 |
Following construction of a basketball practice facility this year at St. John's, the Philadelphia Daily News discusses a similar project in development at Villanova.
Also in the discussion stages: a renovation of Villanova's 6,500 seat Pavilion, built in 1986.
| Big East Media Day: Hoyas 6th | 10/27/05 |
As was the case with a media poll conducted by the Syracuse Post Standard, the Big East coaches poll picked Georgetown sixth in its annual Media Day pre-season poll.
Villanova and Connecticut finished 1-2 in the coaches poll, though the media sided with UConn following a recent injury to Villanova's Curtis Sumpter. Only one of the five new conference teams polled in the top half of the conference, with Louisville a consensus choice for third.
No Georgetown players were selected to the first team all-conference selections. Brandon Bowman and Jeff Green received honorable mention status.
Here's the rundown of both polls, with first place votes in parentheses:
|
Coaches 1. Villanova (9) 2. Connecticut (7) 3. Louisville 4. Syracuse 5. W. Virginia 6. Georgetown 7. Pitt 8. Notre Dame 9. Cincinnati 10. St. John's 11. DePaul 12. Marquette 13. Providence 14. Rutgers 15. Seton Hall 16. S. Florida |
Media 1. Connecticut (9) 2. Villanova (7) 3. Louisville 4. Syracuse 5. W. Virginia 6. Georgetown 7. Pitt 8. Notre Dame 9. Cincinnati 10. DePaul 11. St. John's 12. Marquette 13. Providence 14. Rutgers 15. Seton Hall 16. S. Florida |
Four schools were polled to finish out of the 12 team Big East tournament come March: Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and South Florida. It's no predictor, though: in the last two years, for example, only one of the four teams predicted for the bottom actually finished in the bottom four.
So how have previous polls matched the final season standings? Here's a comparison over the past two seasons:
|
2004-05 |
2003-04 | |||
| Predicted | Actual | Predicted | Actual | |
| 1. Syracuse | 1. BC | 1. UConn | 1. Pitt | |
| 2. UConn | 2. UConn | 2. Syracuse | 2. UConn | |
| 3. Pitt | 3. Syracuse | 3. Notre Dame | 3. Providence | |
| 4. Notre Dame | 4. Villanova | 4. Pitt | 4. Syracuse | |
| 5. BC | 5. Pitt | 5. Providence | 5. BC | |
| 6. Providence | 6. Notre Dame | 6. Seton Hall | 6. Seton Hall | |
| 7. Villanova | 7. Georgetown | 7. Villanova | 7. Notre Dame | |
| 8. Seton Hall | 8. W. Virginia | 8. BC | 8. Va. Tech | |
| 9. W. Virginia | 9. Providence | 9. W. Virginia | 9. Rutgers | |
| 10. Rutgers | 10. Seton Hall | 10. St. John's | 10. W. Virginia | |
| 11. Georgetown | 11. St. John's | 11. Miami | 11. Villanova | |
| 12. St. John's | 12. Rutgers | 12. Georgetown | 12. Georgetown | |
| 13. Rutgers | 13. Miami | |||
| 14. Va. Tech | 14.St. John's | |||
Links from major Big East papers follow below. (The Providence Journal is not included in the links below because it requires registration to view its stories.)
| Pre-Season Articles | 10/24/05 |
With the 2005-06 season approaching, here's a list of some recent articles:
| Gen. Jones Feature | 10/24/05 |
Forty years ago, James Jones was a reserve forward for the Georgetown Hoyas. As many Hoya fans now, today's he's General James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Stars & Stripes has a brief Q&A with Gen. Jones.
Jones is clear where his fan support is. "In football, Washington Redskins. In baseball, Washington Nationals. In basketball, Georgetown University."
| Big East Exhibition Games | 10/24/05 |
Since 2003, NCAA Division I teams have had the opportunity to schedule up to two exhibition games each season against lower division opponents. Three years later, Georgetown may be one of a handful of teams to have never done so.
Prior to 2003, Georgetown usually played a combination of traveling military or international teams at McDonough Gym each November. In 2003 and 2004, Georgetown passed on these exhibition games in favor of a closed scrimmage, which by NCAA rule are done in private. As of mid-October, there is no listing of exhibition games on the 2005-06 schedule.
Here's a review of exhibition games elsewhere in the Big East. All of the games are home contests for the conference schools and almost all are against NCAA Division II teams unless noted below--two Division III opponents are in italics plus a Canadian university team playing at Providence.
| Game 1 | Game 2 | |
| Cincinnati | Hillsdale (MI) | N. Kentucky |
| Connecticut | Bryant (RI) | Concordia (NY) |
| DePaul | St. Edward's (TX) | Trinity (CT) |
| Georgetown | None announced | |
| Louisville | Bellarmine (KY) | S. Indiana |
| Marquette | Michigan Tech | Wisc.-Whitewater |
| Notre Dame | Lewis (IL) | Quincy (IL) |
| Pittsburgh | Slippery Rock (PA) | Indiana (PA) |
| Providence | Laval (Quebec) | |
| Rutgers | Caldwell (NJ) | |
| St. John's | Queens (NY) | |
| Seton Hall | None announced | |
| S. Florida | St. Leo (FL) | |
| Syracuse | St. Rose (NY) | LeMoyne (NY) |
| Villanova | W. Chester (PA) | |
| W. Virginia | None announced | |
| New Home For "Big Mike" | 10/17/05 |
The Chicago Sun-Times has a feature in Monday's edition welcoming Mike Sweetney (ex'04) to the Bulls via a trade.
He's a hard working guy, and he's done everything that we've asked," said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. "We're making what I think is a pretty good assumption that he's going to continue to get better and better as the year goes on. He's a very likable guy. We just really need to focus on his conditioning. He's got a tremendous upside, there's no doubt about that. But he's got to really, really work on his conditioning and get to a level where he could be a big-minute player for us."
"[Coach] Skiles is going to make you the best player you are," Sweetney said. "I'm glad to have a coach who has faith in me to keep me out there, to get me in tip-top shape so I can be able to run all day. I think that's good for me."
| Media Day At McDonough | 10/14/05 |
Thursday was Media Day for the coaching staff and players, providing quotes in advance of the 2005-06 season previews. The Washington Times has a feature in Friday's edition talking to members of the the 2005-06 team.
"We're excited to get this year going," said head coach John Thompson III. "I think we worked very hard across the board in the off season...Those guys who were here last year have a much better understanding of the structure of our system. They know what to expect, and they're ready to add to that and grow."
Photos from the event were posted at the HoyaTalk board via links from ESPN.com.
| Midnight Madness | Updated 10/13/05 |
Plans have been announced at GUHoyas.com for the eighth Midnight Madness Friday at McDonough Gym.
The event, born at the University of Maryland in 1970, was held only once at Georgetown in the John Thompson, Jr. era, but since 1999 it has become an annual event for the men's and women's teams. This year's activities include an outdoor activities tent prior to the practice, giveaways, and the introduction of the teams.
| Season Ticket Information | 10/07/05 |
A note at GUHoyas.com provides updates on the season ticket mailing. If you are a season ticket holder and have not received this information, contact the ticket office.
| Sneak Peek Of New Uniforms? | 10/07/05 |
The roster bios on the official site provide a sneak peek at the new Georgetown jerseys to debut this year.
Modeled on the Nike "Jumpman" brand, the jerseys are the first substantive change to the uniform style in a number of years, and appear to have jettisoned the unpopular white, black and/or teal color scheme of recent seasons.
For a review of jersey styles over the years, visit the history pages.
| NBA: Sweetney Traded | 10/05/05 |
For the first time since the 1984-85 season, there will not be a Georgetown player on the New York Knickerbockers roster this fall, as former Hoya forward Mike Sweetney (ex '04) has been traded to the Chicago Bulls in a multi player deal.
The Knicks traded Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson, its first round pick in 2006, and two future second round picks to Chicago for Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis. Curry refused a DNA test with the Bulls over concerns with an irregular heartbeat.
"It looks like the start of a new [Knicks] era. You just hope it doesn't end in tears," writes the New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence.
Sweetney, the ninth pick in the 2004 draft, averaged 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds last season in New York.
| Big East Previews | 10/05/05 |
October marks the arrival of numerous pre-season preview articles. A extensive series from September, however, is worth a closer look.
The Louisville Courier Journal published an entire section on the conference that is now available online. Included are profiles of each school written by Kentucky alumni of each school, including a profile of Georgetown by Marc Samuel (L'04), a former placekicker for the Hoya football team who attended high school east of Louisville.
"The basketball players are visible on campus and have no choice but to hold their own academically at a world-renowned university. There are no easy classes," writes Samuel.
| Big East Game Times | 10/03/05 |
The Big East web site has posted game times and updated television information. for all conference games.
In addition to three ESPN/ESPN2 appearances announced earlier, three conference games will be picked up by the Big East syndicated network (BES), which could include local and/or cable systems. At this point, 10 Big East games remain without television listings.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Time | TV? |
| Thu | 01/05 | PROVIDENCE | 7:30 | No |
| Sun | 01/08 | at St. John's (MSG) | 7:00 | No |
| Wed | 01/11 | at W. Virginia | 7:00 | No |
| Sat | 01/14 | at Connecticut (Hartford) | Noon | BES |
| Tue | 01/17 | SOUTH FLORIDA | 7:30 | No |
| Tue | 01/24 | at Notre Dame | 7:30 | No |
| Sat | 01/28 | CINCINNATI | Noon | ESPN2 |
| Tue | 01/31 | at DePaul | 8:30 | No |
| Sun | 02/05 | PITTSBURGH | Noon | No |
| Wed | 02/09 | ST. JOHN'S | 9:00 | ESPN2 |
| Sun | 02/12 | W. VIRGINIA | 7:00 | No |
| Thu | 02/16 | at Marquette | 9:00 | ESPN |
| Sun | 02/19 | at Villanova (Pavilion) | Noon | BES |
| Wed | 02/22 | RUTGERS | 7:30 | No |
| Sat | 02/25 | SYRACUSE | Noon | BES |
| Sat | 03/04 | at S. Florida | 7:00 | No |
| Athletic Recognition Dinner | 10/03/05 |
Saturday evening, some 200 guests gathered in the Leavey Center to celebrate the 19th annual Hoyas Unlimited Athletic Recognition Dinner, which recognizes the team captains, team MVP's, and award recipients representing the student, coaching, alumni, and volunteer communities.
The dinner comes during a time of change for athletics at Georgetown. This link to the View From The Hilltop blog discusses some of the ongoing changes and why it makes a difference in the continuing evolution of the student-athlete at Georgetown. These changes are not a reaction to one coach or one team, but an long term commitment to improve the experience for all 27 intercollegiate teams.
One award recipient, J. Gregory Carroll Memorial Award winner David Don (F'93, L'96), noted the long standing message that Georgetown "does more with less" than any of its peer schools. But as David put it, it's time for Georgetown to do more with more. To assist in this effort, contact Hoyas Unlimited and ask how you can help--for men's basketball, for athletics in general, or just for Georgetown as a whole.
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