Georgetown 91, Longwood 83
Collin Holloway scored a career high 23 points as the Georgetown prevailed with a late win over Longwood, 91-83, at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
The Lancers (4-4) were without its leading scorer, Leslie Nkereuwem, but didn't play that way, and the game was not settled until the final minute.The first half was a three point shooting exhibition, with the teams combining for 29 attempts in 20 minutes. Longwood took the early lead on a Georgetown team that looked a little ragged at the opening. The Lancers hit its first three to go up 9-0 before a pair of threes from Kaiden Rice steadied the Hoyas and began to tighten the game. Georgetown trailed by as many as seven midway in the first half when a lineup change featuring Collin Holloway and Jordan Riley off the bench began to provide more steady play in the frontcourt. The two freshmen combined for nine first half points as Georgetown closed off its defensive issues on the perimeter and began to move the ball inside. Rediscovering that it had a five inch height advantage inside, Timothy Ighoefe scored the last six minutes of the period as the Hoyas took a 36-31 lead a the break, part of an 18-7 run to close the first half. However, Ighoefe suffered a hand injury which sidelined him for the remainder of the game. After a shaky start by the Hoyas to open the second half, Holloway was back in the lineup and scored eight of 11 points to carry Georgetown to a 51-40 lead five minutes into the half. The Hoyas' inattention to defense allowed the Lancers opportunities to stay close, however. A 13-0 Longwood run closed to 56-55 midway through the half before baskets by Holloway and Aminu Mohammed stretch the lead to five, 64-59. A foul shooting contest dominated much of the half, with both teams matching each other at the line. Longwood scored inside on four consecutive possessions entering the final two minutes to close to 83-79 when Holloway drove for a basket with 1:19 left, followed by a basket from Dante Harris and a three from Kaiden Rice to put the game away, albeit much less comfortably than the small crowd at the arena might have hoped for entering the building this evening. Longwood had a 36-28 advantage in the points in the paint despite holding a significant height disadvantage, and was not afraid to go inside when it counted. The Lancers were led by 21 from DeShaun Wade, with five threes. The Lancers finished with nine threes but were just 3 for 9 after halftime. Georgetown put five players in double figures, including Rice and Mohammed with 15 points apiece, 14 from Harris, and 12 from Donald Carey. Without Holloway, however, Georgetown would not have won this game. His 23 points in 24 minutes eclipsed the 15 points he scored all last season and came at critical stretches of the game that the Hoyas needed him most. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 32 3-6 1-4 5-8 7 5 3 14
Carey 38 1-2 1-4 7-7 2 5 0 12
Mohammed 31 4-9 1-1 4-7 11 0 4 15
Rice 21 0-2 5-10 0-0 5 1 4 15
Ighoefe 8 2-2 0-0 2-2 2 0 1 6
Reserves:
Beard 8 0-0 0-1 2-2 1 0 0 2
Billingsley 18 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 0
Riley 16 2-4 0-1 0-0 1 0 3 4
Mutombo 5 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Holloway 24 5-7 2-2 7-7 4 2 3 23
DNP: Azinge, Clark, Muresan, Wilson
Team Rebounds 3
TOTALS 200 17-37 10-23 27-33 40 13 21 91
Tuesday's attendance was the smallest crowd ever at Capital One Arena and the lowest turnout of an off-campus home game since Georgetown left McDonough Gymnasium in 1981.Through four games, Georgetown is averaging 5,040 per game.The 10 smallest off-campus home crowds since 1981:
St. Joseph's 77, Georgetown 74
Twenty eight points from Taylor Funk led the St. Joseph's Hawks to a 77-74 upset of Georgetown in the consolation bracket of the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, CA.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
In Thursday's opener, Georgetown could only manage points from its guards, but for this game the opposite was true. Nine of the first 14 points came from interior play from Timothy Ighoefe and Ryan Mutombo, as Dante Harris and Aminu Mohammed were conspicuously absent from the early scoring. Both teams struggled from three point range throughout the first half, combining for 2 for 11 in the first four minutes. Mohammed finished 0-10 from the field.From a 17-16 deficit midway in the first half, the Hoyas hit another wall, abandoning its successful interior play for long distance misses, failing for to score for over four minutes as the Hawks reeled off a 12-0 run to lead 29-16 at the 6:19 mark. As befitting a game with echoes to last night, head coach Patrick Ewing called out a full court press defense which had proven successful against San Diego State. The press forced a rattled St. Joe's offense into turnovers on each of its next five possessions, four of which did not get out of its backcourt. The Hoyas scored five straight until a three from Funk, his third of the evening, ended the rally, and the Hawks carried a ten point lead to halftime, 36-26, holding the Hoyas to 30 percent shooting and 23 percent from three point range, with Harris and Mohammed combining for just 3 for 15 from the field. That St. Joe's only averaged 30 percent on its own three point shooting was a generous gift to keep Georgetown this close. The Hawks opened the second half flat, as GU scored the first seven points of the half and promptly cut the margin to three, 36-33, before Funk hit a fourth three, settling down the Hawks early. Better shooting helped the Hoyas across the board, as a 64 percent shooting number and back to back threes from Kaiden Rice and Collin Holloway tied the score at the 12:05 mark, 51-51. Georgetown took its first lead of the second half at 54-53, but Funk was there yet again with his seventh three of the evening, 56-54. Following a St. Joe's basket and a subsequent Georgetown timeout, Dante Harris scored the next five to put the Hoyas up one at the eight minute time out, 59-58, setting up a finish that was dependent on ball control. Enter Taylor Funk. Another three carried St. Joe's to seven straight, answered by eight from the Hoyas with a pair of Mohammed free throws, 66-66, part of a run where GU was 10-12 from the field. The Hawks then went inside with six of its next eight from Vanderbilt transfer Ejike Obinna for SJU to take a 74-69 lead into the final minute. A missed three from Harris with 0:38 appeared to be the end, but Obinna missed the front and of a one and one, with Rice hitting a long three to close to 75-72, but, as to script, Funk was there to extend the lead at the line, 77-72. A quick layup from Harris closed to 77-74 with 0:08 remaining, where the Hoyas nearly stole the ball under the St. Joe's basket. One the ensuing foul, junior Cameron Brown missed both free throws, setting up the Hoyas for the tie, but Collin Holloway's three was deflected at the buzzer. Georgetown finished shooting 58 percent in the second half, but six turnovers in the second half, including a Donald Carey miscue with 20 seconds remaining, proved decisive. Kaiden Rice, with seven threes, led all Georgetown scorers with 25, but it was Funk that was nearly magical with his shooting, four times ending Georgetown runs that threatened to take over the game at various times in the games. Funk finished the game 9 for 11, 3-3 from the line, and collected seven rebounds. Had Georgetown pulled off the win, there were a number of individual superlatives. Rice's seven threes tied a school record for a single game, while Timothy Ighoefe had his most productive defensive game of his career, with 14 rebounds and four blocks. The Hoyas were at one point seven for nine from three point range in the second half before missing two of three in the final minute, any one of which could have been a game winner. "I'm disappointed that we lost, but I do think there's a lot of lessons to be learned and hopefully we'll learn from them," said head coach Patrick Ewing. "As the weeks go on, we'll forget about this." Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 34 8-15 0-3 1-2 1 6 3 17
Carey 38 2-6 2-5 2-2 3 2 3 12
Mohammed 32 0-9 0-1 6-8 9 2 0 6
Rice 29 2-2 7-13 0-0 3 0 1 25
Ighoefe 26 2-2 0-0 0-1 14 1 4 4
Reserves:
Beard 5 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Billingsley 12 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 1 0
Riley 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Mutombo 9 1-2 1-1 0-0 3 0 2 5
Holloway 6 1-1 1-1 0-2 0 0 1 5
Wilson 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
DNP: Azinge, Clark, Muresan
Team Rebounds 3
TOTALS 200 16-37 11-25 9-15 38 12 15 74
San Diego State 73, Georgetown 56
The Georgetown Hoyas ran out of gas at the Wooden Legacy, missing its last 10 shots of the game in a 73-56 loss to San Diego State in Anaheim, CA.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Six ties and four lead changes illustrated a competitive first half for both teams. Aminu Mohammed and Dante Harris combined for all of Georgetown's points over the first ten minutes of play as GU led 21-17 midway in the first half. The Hoyas were hot inside (8-9 from two) but ineffective from three, shooting 1 for its first 9 from outside and finishing 2 for 14 at halftime.A patient Aztec team took advantage of Georgetown foul trouble and went to work inside. Senior Tahirou Diabate, who had scored just two points this season to date, came off the bench for SDSU center Nathan Mensah and was effective inside, with nine points in eight minutes during a stretch where the Aztecs had eight assists with 12 field goals and avoided the lure of the three pointer. But three pointers came in to play late in the half, as a pair of threes keyed a late run to give SDSU a 14-4 run and a 40-32 lead at the break. The Hoyas managed just five points outside of Harris and Mohammed, who combined for 27 in the first half on 63 percent shooting. A 7-0 run in the early moments of the second half brought the Hoyas to five, 44-39, before SDSU guard Lamont Butler answered with eight of his own, 52-39, part of a 10-0 run keyed on defense. Free throws from Donald Carry and Jalin Billingsley closed the deficit to 56-45 at the 12:11 mark, as both teams went cold from the field over a three minute stretch. Georgetown climbed back in the game with a full court trap on defense and getting to the foul line, hitting 4 of 5 from the line and setting up Mohammed for a driving layup to close to 57-53 with 9:39 remaining. A pair of Harris misses were turned into points on consecutive possessions by the Aztecs, which pushed the lead back to eight, 61-53. The cold shooting took hold for the Hoyas, missing three consecutive from outside. A three from Keith Dinwiddie and a basket and foul from Bradley extended the lead back to 68-54 at the five minute mark. From then, the Hoyas could not connect from the field, missing all their remaining shots as SDSU put the game away at the line. Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 18 points, as SDSU scored a season high seven threes in 16 attempts for a team averaging 24 percent from outside entering this game. Harris (20) and Mohammed (19) combined for 39 of GU's 56 points on the evening. The two were a combined 16 for 29 from the field, the rest of the team managed just 4 for 28, as the Hoyas shot 27 percent from then field after halftime. Georgetown's centers were particularly challenged this evening. The trio of Timothy Ighoefe, Malcolm Wilson, and Ryan Mutombo combined for 1 for 6 in the game, while SDSU collected seven blocks inside despite a season low four points from Mensah and no points inside for Diabate after halftime. The stat of the game: the Hoyas were 4-20 from three. "They got to our shooters," said head coach Patrick Ewing. "They didn't give us any breathing space, we got shots but we didn't make them. They made everything tough for us. One of the things we need to keep working on is when we penetrate, we got to be able to find our shooters. We got to be able to read where the defense is and make the right play." "That was a big emphasis in the game," said SDSU coach Brian Dutcher. "College basketball games are hard to win if you don't make the three. Our first four opponents didn't make very many and they're all good shooting teams. We're not giving up the three point shots. If you take away the fast-breaks and you don't give up the three, all of a sudden, those layups and dunks are not enough to win games. We made a couple of timely ones and they missed a few, that was a big part of the game." Georgetown will play St. Joseph's in the consolation game at 6:00 PST (9:00 EST) Friday. The Hawks lost to Southern California 70-55 in Thursday's opener. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 35 7-11 1-6 2-2 2 3 3 19
Carey 32 0-5 0-2 4-4 9 3 1 4
Mohammed 32 7-8 1-4 3-5 4 0 2 20
Rice 29 0-2 2-7 2-3 4 0 2 8
Ighoefe 17 0-2 0-0 0-0 7 0 2 0
Reserves:
Beard 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Billingsley 12 1-2 0-0 1-2 1 0 5 3
Riley 9 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Mutombo 13 1-4 0-0 0-1 4 0 1 2
Holloway 9 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 5 0
Clark 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Wilson 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
DNP: Azinge, Muresan
Team Rebounds 2
TOTALS 200 16-37 4-20 12-18 38 6 21 56
Georgetown 83, Siena 65
A strong effort from grad transfer Kaiden Rice led the way in a 83-65 win over Siena Friday at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Rice suffered through a grisly 0 for 7 from three point range Tuesday but rebounded in a big way in this game, hitting 7 of 10 for 23 points in a game where the Hoyas were never threatened.
Three pointers led the way early. Long distance shooting from Rice and Donald Carey led the Hoyas on an 8-0 run to lead 21-13, but Siena (0-4) stayed close with six threes in the first half, including a 40 foot three at the buzzer to close to ten at the break, 44-34. The Hoyas shot 57 percent in the first half and was a sterling 7 for 11 from outside. Siena's good fortune from three point range evaporated after halftime, and that was the story of the second half. The Saints missed 13 consecutive three point attempts of the second half, and by the time it made its first three at the 4:40 mark, GU led by 17 and the Saints had no answer to make a run. Georgetown matched its first half shooting at 57 percent for the second half and shot 5 of 7 from outside. Aminu Mohammed had a down evening, shooting just 2 for 10, but the most experienced of the Georgetown players - Carey and Rice, combined to shoot 11 of 14 from three point range to put this game well out of reach. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 27 3-5 2-2 2-3 3 4 0 14
Carey 30 4-5 4-4 3-3 4 4 0 20
Mohammed 30 2-9 0-1 7-9 7 2 3 11
Rice 30 1-1 7-10 0-0 4 1 2 23
Ighoefe 15 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 3 0
Reserves:
Beard 12 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 4
Billingsley 15 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 2 2
Riley 15 1-1 0-0 2-4 2 2 0 4
Mutombo 13 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2
Wilson 11 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 0 0 3
DNP: Azinge, Holloway, Clark, Muresan
Team Rebounds 2
TOTALS 200 16-31 12-18 15-21 29 15 11 83
Georgetown 79, American 57
An 18-0 second half run provided the Georgetown Hoyas a much-needed 79-57 win over American University before 4,327 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Both teams struggled from outside to open this game, combining to shoot 4 for 22 from three point range in the first half. American opened the game 1 for 7 from the field overall, yet stayed close through much of the first half due to eight Georgetown turnovers.Trailing 23-22 at the 7:04 mark, American's inside game fell prey to a pair of inside dunks from Timothy Ighoefe, which set the Hoyas on a 13-3 run, much of it from the free throw line where GU was 12-17 from the line. With a 30-17 advantage on the boards, Georgetown's nine point lead at the break probably should have been larger, holding the Eagles to 28 percent shooting overall in a 37-28 score at halftime. American opened the half on a 5-0 run, which led to a quick Ewing time out, something that was successful last year in calming down a young team. The Eagles closed to 44-41 five minutes into the second half before the Hoyas began to pick up the pace. A 9-2 run led by Donald Carey brought the Hoyas to 53-45 at the 11:11 mark before the roof caved in on the Eagles. A team with spotty scoring all evening. the Eagles missed its next nine shots, while its defense allowed Georgetown a run of 7 for 7 from the field, part of a 18-0 run that put the game well out of reach. The run masked an otherwise poor second half for the Hoyas from the field, shooting 37 percent in the period outside that four minute streak. Aminu Mohammed led the Hoyas with 14 points, 10 in the fist half. By contrast, Donald Carey scored 10 of his 12 in the second half, as 11 of 12 players scored in the game, including a combined 37 points from the five Georgetown freshmen. The Eagles suffered mightily on defense. While it held GU to 29 percent from three point range, AU managed just nine points off 13 Georgetown turnovers and collected just two second chance points all evening, as a 50-31 rebound edge by the Hoyas proved decisive. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 28 3-6 1-3 4-6 4 4 1 13
Carey 22 3-6 2-3 0-0 4 6 2 12
Mohammed 27 2-8 2-3 4-9 10 2 2 14
Rice 21 1-2 0-7 0-0 3 0 0 2
Ighoefe 21 3-3 0-0 0-1 11 2 4 6
Reserves:
Beard 16 1-2 1-5 3-4 1 1 0 8
Billingsley 27 3-5 0-0 2-2 6 1 3 8
Azinge 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2
Riley 17 2-3 1-3 1-2 3 0 5 8
Mutombo 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 2
Wilson 10 1-2 0-0 2-2 3 0 0 4
Muresan 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
DNP: Holloway, Clark
Team Rebounds 3
TOTALS 200 21-39 7-24 16-26 50 16 17 79
Men's Basketball Team At NIL Event
Twelve members of the men's basketball team participated in a name, image, and likeness (NIL) event Saturday evening in Washington, DC.A meet and greet known as the Pins and Wins Bowling Event was held at Pinstripes Georgetown, a restaurant and entertainment center on Wisconsin Ave. NW. Players signed autographs and participated in bowling with a small set of invited guests in an event coordinated by G3 College/ProCampsU.Since name, image, and likeness legislation passed this summer, group events such as this have lagged behind individual deals because universities are not allowed to arrange for such events, leaving players to work with third parties to organize such events. A further complication: international players like Timothy Ighoefe and Aminu Mohammed are not participating since any NIL revenues could negatively affect their student visa status. Future events are pending. Dartmouth: How Bad Was This?
If and when Georgetown is seated comfortably in the 2022 NCAA field in five months, we can look back upon Saturday's 69-60 loss to Dartmouth as a bump in the road. For now, however, this game ranks as one of the worst losses in the last 40 years of Georgetown basketball.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Coming off its loss to Boston College, the Big Green were rated 309th of 358 teams and as low as 348th in the NET, the NCAA calculation for post-season selections. At present, the game is considered in NCAA parlance as a "Quad 4" loss, a distinction for home losses against teams ranked 161 or below. Since the implementation of the NET in 2018, Georgetown had never suffered a Quad 4 loss and had never lost to a team 300 or below in RPI records dating to 1987. RPI and NET ratings are still very early, and with a successful season, Dartmouth could certainly move up on those lists and out of Quad 4 entirely, but is currently projected for a 9-17 record at season's end. The only recorded losses by Georgetown to teams with an RPI below 150 since 2008 include the following:
Dartmouth 69, Georgetown 60
Sixteen three pointers shredded the Georgetown Hoyas in a humbling 69-60 loss against Dartmouth at Capital One Arena Saturday.The win was the first win for Dartmouth over any major college opponent since 1989, and the first regular season loss by Georgetown to an Ivy League opponent since a 1981 game versus Pennsylvania.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Dartmouth (1-1) scored the first five points of the game and never looked back. From an 10-8 score in the first four minutes of the first half, the Big Green shredded a young and inexperienced Georgetown defense, which was already missing three players to injuries suffered in practice. Guard Taurus Samuels scored seven straight to push the lead to 17-8 at the 12:26 mark, followed by a three from freshman Cameron Krystkowiak, 20-8. Georgetown was a combined 0 for 7 in that stretch, with three turnovers. One of the shining lights for Dartmouth was freshman guard Ryan Cornish, a lightly recruited 6-3 guard from Sidwell Friends in Washington. Cornish's alert playmaking opened the door for six of Dartmouth's next eight points and a surprising 28-10 lead at the 6:50 mark, completing an 18-2 run. Georgetown, with Aminu Mohammed scoring nine of the Hoyas' first 14 points, trailed by as many as 19 in the firt half to a team that had not scored a field goal in the first seven minutes of its game Tuesday versus Boston College. A there pointer by Cornish, part of an 11 point first half, extended the lead to 22, 36-14, before Georgetown scored seven of the final eight points of the half, cutting the lead to 16 at the break, 37-21. Georgetown's perimeter defense was nowhere to be found in the first half, with head coach Patrick Ewing preferring a run and gun attack which the Big Green patiently turned into big opportunities. Dartmouth connected on seven threes in the first half while Georgetown shot 28 percent from the field in the first half, with just three of 12 from three point range. As has been the case with many of the early games among Big East schools, the pendulum swung wildly to open the second. The Hoyas opened with baskets on nine of its first 11 attempts, taking the lead at 50-48 on a Jordan Riley dunk with 10:58 to play and giving the opening day crowd of 8,641 renewed confidence that the Hoyas had turned the corner. The game turned over four possessions midway in the second half. Dartmouth's three point shooting had evaporated coming out of halftime, with just three in ten attempts. But when the Big Green needed a shot they got it, with Samuels hitting the three to regain the lead at the 10:40 mark, 51-50. On the next series Mohammed missed a short shot and Ryan Mutombo lost the ball off a rebound, whereupon Wade Garrison drove to the basket, 53-50. On the third series, Mohammed gave up a turnover at the 9:55 mark, where Samuels nailed another three, 56-50. Following a third turnover in four possessions, guard Brendan Barry nailed a long three to put Dartmouth up nine, 59-50, at the 9:06 mark. Georgetown would never be as close until the final three seconds of the game. The energy of Georgetown's second half blitz was noticeably absent down the stretch. Georgetown scored just two field goals over the next eight minutes as the likelihood of a Dartmouth win became ever more palpable among the disspirited Capital One Arena crowd and those watching on Fox Sports 2. A pair of three pointers by Barry in the final seven minutes were all Dartmouth needed as the Hoyas continued to misfire on offense and could not force turnovers to get Ewing's up-tempo game back in business. Samuels led all scorers with 23 points, 18 from three point range. Barry had 19 points with six threes, while Cornish finished with 14. Together, these three were a combined 19 for 42 against Georgetown versus a combined mark of six for 22 against Boston College four days earlier. "As we go along, hopefully we look back at this game and say this is the launching point of our season," said Ewing, who said that "We did not play the way that I would have liked for us to play both offensively and defensively." "When I talked to people before the season started, I said it's going to be peaks and there's going to be valleys. Right now is a valley." Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 34 2-10 1-3 1-2 4 5 1 8
Carey 32 1-3 3-6 3-3 7 3 2 14
Mohammed 33 7-11 1-4 0-0 6 2 3 17
Rice 21 0-1 3-8 0-0 2 0 2 9
Wilson 22 1-3 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 2
Reserves:
Beard 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Billingsley 19 0-1 0-0 0-0 3 1 2 0
Riley 22 2-3 0-2 0-2 4 0 0 4
Mutombo 11 2-4 0-0 2-2 3 0 2 6
DNP: Ighoefe, Azinge, Holloway, Clark, Muresan
Team Rebounds 5
TOTALS 200 15-36 8-23 6-9 39 12 13 60
Women's Basketball Gets Off-Campus Game
For the first time in the 52 year history of women's basketball at Georgetown, the Hoyas are playing a home game off campus.Georgetown has announced its Jan. 5 home game with Connecticut will move from McDonough Gymnasium to the 4,200 seat Entertainment & Sports Arena in southeast DC, home of the WNBA's Washington Mystics. "We are so excited to be playing in a WNBA arena here in the District," said women's coach James Howard. "We can't wait to pack the house with Hoya supporters and to develop some new women's basketball fans from a different part of the city. This is a great opportunity for us to showcase what the Big East has to offer."The game will be during Christmas break so it should have no impact on students. The game, which generally draws more UConn fans than Hoya fans, will be played on the former grounds of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a much rougher DC neighborhood when compared to those fans who could drive to McDonough instead. Georgetown is coming off a 2-15 season in 2021-21. Connecticut was 28-2 in 2020-21 and has won the last 30 in the series dating to the 1993-94 season. Georgetown Secures Second 2022 Recruit
A second verbal commitment has been received for the 2022 recruiting cycle.The latest commit comes from 6-6 forward D'Ante Bass, from Savannah, GA. Bass averaged 16 points and seven rebounds as a junior at Windsor Forest HS and is ranked #252 in the 247Sports.com national survey."They stayed consistent throughout my recruitment process the most and I feel like it's the best fit for me," Bass told 247Sports.com. "Their message has not been straightforward; it was really diverse because I'm a versatile player. I told them I just want to play so wherever they need to put me in to help my team win is good to me. I'll really be playing the two-three and sometimes the four for them." Bass joins 6-1 guard Denver Anglin as verbal commits for the 2022 signing class, with one open scholarship (barring transfers or unforeseen exits) remaining. The early signing period for men's basketball is November 10-17. 2021-22 Video Preview
The phrase "work in progress" was front and center across Thursday's Hoya Hoop Club virtual preview from McDonough Gymnasium.Two interviews with head coach Patrick Ewing formed the bulk of the one hour pre-recorded presentation, with one from Washington TV personality Rick Walker and one from Big East announcer John Fanta. Fanta also participated in a brief interview with athletic director Lee Reed. Much of the coverage highlighted the 2021 Big East Tournament.Ewing took note to say that the 2021-22 season "is going to take some time" but stressed the team will improve during the season, noting the aforementioned work in progress, with Georgetown picked 10th of 11 in many pre-season polls. He also noted that the Dec. 5 game with South Carolina was scheduled for junior Malcolm Wilson and grad student Kaiden Rice, each of whom attended high school in Columbia, SC. Team captain Donald Carey encouraged fans to "stick with us through the highs and lows." "It's all about us against the world," Ewing added. "Hoya Paranoia, baby." Big East Guidance On COVID
The Big East has issued guidance on COVID-related issues for teams in the 2021-22 season.Last year, Georgetown lost four games to a COVID outbreak, which were officially listed as postponed. Going forward, any team with a COVID issue during the conference season will issued a forfeit loss. If both teams are affected, both teams will be issued a loss in the standings.Commentary: The Loss Of Pre-Season Basketball
Traditions aren't taught, they are learned. And traditions don't end as much as they are lost and soon forgotten.Georgetown's history is replete with campus traditions that faded from view and then no one noticed. One was the Glee Club, a prominent part of campus life from the early 1900's, with annual concerts at Gaston Hall, appearances at the White House, the Ed Sullivan Show, and even producing its own albums. The Glee Club ceased appearances after 1977 and is now long forgotten.Or Ye Domesday Booke, the campus yearbook founded in 1901. Since the printed word is anathema to today's students, it failed to publish in 2012 and no one noticed. A decade later, it's long gone and no one cares. Since men's basketball supplanted football as the dominant Georgetown sport in the early 1950's, pre-season promotion has been part of the fabric of the fall calendar. In the 1950's and 1960's, students were introduced to the season with a Saturday night game between the varsity and recently graduated alumni, often at Homecoming. The 1970's and 1980's kicked off the basketball season with a full intra-squad scrimmage, known as the Blue-Gray Game. When John Thompson frowned on public scrimmages, a series of exhibitions against traveling international teams and U.S. Army teams followed. And in 1999, head coach Craig Esherick debuted Midnight Madness to campus, which despite some recent no-shows by its paid entertainers, remained popular among students: A vacant campus during COVID-19 took the wind out of any 2020 pre-season event, but such is not the case in 2021. There's no ban on indoor events - even at its most restrictive, Georgetown asks non-students to register in advance with proof of vaccination. If COVID is a hurdle that cannot be overcome, first, say so; but then make it a student-only event given 98% on-campus vaccination compliance. But it's also possible the University and/or the basketball office simply doesn't see promotion as a priority and/or the coaches aren't interested in participating. Georgetown basketball has never been fan-centric and people understand this. John Thompson never warmed to alumni relations the way other coaches did, and his successors followed suit. One could not imagine the kind of outreach at Georgetown as in this example with Oklahoma coach Porter Moser:
But with half the student body having never seen a game in person during their years at Georgetown, this was the year for student outreach and recommitment. Ten of 11 Big East schools scheduled public scrimmages and/or exhibitions over the last two weeks. One did not. Today's students are tomorrow's ticket holders...and for some, benefactors. How many are committing to buying season tickets after graduation for five, 10, or 20 more years based on the good times they enjoyed following the teams as students? How many are going to pay $600 for tickets for the Big East every year, or tell their spouse they're making plans to travel to Raleigh or Cleveland for the regionals? When asked to be an annual donor to Georgetown basketball, how many will answer in the strong affirmative, the kind that adds an extra zero to their annual gift with every passing decade? Otherwise, fervent student support for men's basketball will continue to drift towards another lost tradition. |