In Memoriam: 2020Remembering those members of the Georgetown University basketball family that died in 2020:
Colin Cowherd: "I Miss The Hoyas"Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd discussed what is missing in today's college sports climate, and one of these is Georgetown."Last night I was watching the Miami Hurricanes play and I was thinking to myself, God, I wish they were great again", he said in a segment titled "Five Things That Would Make Sports Awesome in 2021". "College football was so much more fun when they were villains, when they were polarizing, and when they were obnoxious.""I miss the Georgetown Hoyas when DC was a college basketball power," he continued. "I miss USC and Miami. They were cool. I used to joke with Kirk Herbstreit, and he was like 'you go to those games as the Game of the Week, and you're in the big city, the dinners are better, the parties are better, it FEELS different.' " Seton Hall 78, Georgetown 67 A winnable game went right into the Christmas freezer, as Seton Hall's experience ensured another win over Georgetown at Newark's Prudential Center, 78-67.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
"Yes, a big-time recruiting class is on the way. But the Hoyas looked abysmal," wrote veteran Big East reporter Jerry Carino. This one got out of hand early. A Jahvon Blair three pointer was Georgetown's only field goal in ten tries over the first six minutes of the game, 12-3, and his only points of the half. A Jamorko Pickett basket, the first of his three field goals in 13 attempts on the evening, closed to 12-5, the closest Georgetown would be for the rest of the evening. Georgetown missed six more before a Chudier Bile basket, 17-7, then missed six more to a count of 3 for 24 to open the game and a 21-7 deficit. Were it not for some equally suspect outside shooting by Seton Hall in the first half, they might have called it right there. Fans expecting a big output from All-America candidate Sandro Mamukelashvili were mistaken. The 6-11 forward seemed disinterested the whole evening, taking one shot in 11 minutes and sitting for early foul trouble. In his place, up stepped a trio of Pirates to carry the load. 6-6 forward Jared Rhoden moved with ease inside the Hoyas' loose defenses for 14 first half points, followed by 11 from Myles Cale. The star of the first half was junior center Ike Obiagu, who collected seven first half blocks against the Hoyas inside, including a pair of swats against 6-10 Qudus Wahab. Offensively, Seton Hall shot just 36 percent from the field but its 10 assists on 12 field goals led the Pirates to a comfortable 33-19 halftime lead, with Georgetown posting its fewest first half of points this season. The first half deep freeze bore echoes to a game nearly 17 years ago, then at the Meadowlands. On Feb. 27, 2004, the Hoyas shot 3 for 22 in the first half versus the Pirates en route to a 75-48 rout. This game had no such rout, in part because contemporary Big East teams can't hold big leads, but in larger part to the fact that for all its first half slumber, Georgetown played well enough in the second half to make a run and contend. When they did, the Hall was there at every turn. Georgetown opened the second half hitting on four of its first six attempts; unfortunately, the Pirates hit on five of its first six, including four from three point range, and extended the lead to 17 at the 14:57 mark, 45-28. With both teams picking up the pace, Georgetown closed to 12 midway in the second half, 61-49, but allowed consecutive baskets by Bryce Aiken, Mamukelashvili, and Rhoden to remain out of range, 68-51. Trailing by as many as 18, Georgetown went on a 9-0 run to get under single digits at the 2:25 mark, 70-61, the closest it had been since the 13:20 mark of the first half. The Pirates answered with a Rhoden jumper, the Hoyas gave it back via a Pickett offensive foul, and reserve forward Tyrese Samuel drove for an easy layup to put the Hall back up with 1:06 to play, 74-61. Shooting 47 percent after halftime, and 5 of 10 from three, this was the recipe for a Georgetown run which never developed. But basketball is a two half game, not one, and for a team which has struggled to put 40 minutes together, the mistakes of the first could not be overcome in the second. Qudus Wahab's 13 second half points led him to lead all Georgetown scorers by game's end with 16 points, but it paled in comparison to 30 points from Pirates guard Myles Cale, 26 points and 12 rebounds from Jared Rhoden, and nine rebounds and nine blocks from center Ike Obiagu, the most blocks by a Georgetown opponent since former Pirate and 15 year NBA veteran Samuel Dalembert did it to the Hoyas on January 8, 2000. Mamukelashvili finished with a season low two points one one for five shooting. But in the end, it didn't matter much. "When you have a new team, things like this are going to happen," said Patrick Ewing in post-game remarks. But this is not an isolated case, as Carino's article noted. "Seton Hall is now 10-2 against Georgetown since 2015-16 and has taken seven straight home games in the series," he said. "These programs are in different stratospheres." The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 31 1-9 1-1 2-2 6 3 3 7
Blair 37 1-4 3-7 3-3 3 2 3 14
Carey 28 1-4 2-3 0-0 1 3 1 8
Pickett 40 3-11 0-2 2-2 9 2 3 8
Wahab 31 6-14 0-0 4-5 13 0 4 16
Reserves:
Bile 13 2-4 1-4 1-1 2 0 4 8
Ighoefe 9 1-4 0-0 0-0 6 0 0 2
Sibley 7 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 4
Clark 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
DNP: Azinge, Robinson, Berger, Holloway, Wilson, Muresan
Team Rebounds 7
TOTALS 200 17-53 7-17 12-13 48 10 19 67
Hoyas Add 5th Recruit for 2021
Georgetown signed its highest ranked recruit in six years following the commitment of 6-3 guard Aminu Mohammed on Monday.A senior from Springfield, MO by way of Washington, DC, Mohammed selected Georgetown over Georgia, Indiana, Texas, and DePaul. He averaged 16.5 points per game as a junior and is ranked #16 nationally by ESPN.com, the highest ranked Georgetown recruit to have signed since Isaac Copeland did so in 2014."Ewing is putting together what looks to be his best class by a mile since he returned to take over the head coaching job at his alma mater in 2017," writes Kyle Boone at CBS Sports.com. "He's had varying levels of success in recruiting in previous years, including losing four-star recruit Tremont Waters days after his hiring in 2017 and losing former top 100 talent James Akinjo just games into his second season to transfer, but a top 10 caliber class could stem the tide of turbulence that's plagued [Georgetown] for years." "If anything, this class can serve as a beacon of hope for the future of the program despite what may be some dark times in the immediate future." Mohammed's addition to a recruiting class of Tyler Beard, Jalin Billingsley, Ryan Mutombo, and Jordan Riley puts the 2021-22 Hoyas at one scholarship over the possible returnees for next season; however, the NCAA has declared the 2020-21 season as not counting against the five year, four seasons of eligibility clock and any number of circumstances should shake up the lineup next season. St. John's 94, Georgetown 83
A week ago, St. John's lost a late lead at Georgetown and lost a game scoring 94 points. Not this time.Ten first half three pointers piloted St. John's to a 94-83 win over Georgetown Sunday night at Carnesecca Arena. But it was a second half rally that provided the knockout punch.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Georgetown opened the game with promise, with an early three pointer from Dante Harris and a pair of baskets from Donald Carey to lead 8-2 in the first two minutes of play. St. John's scored the next seven of eight to close to 10-9, but an inside basket by Qudus Wahab before the first media timeout seemed to steady the Hoyas. From a 12-9 Georgetown lead in the first four minutes, the Redmen went to work from outside. Over a 62 second period, consecutive threes from Vince Cole, Julian Champagnie, and Greg Williams put St. John's up 18-12, and they never trailed thereafter. Up five at 24-19, St. John's went on a 16-4 run keyed by threes from Isaih Moore, Marcellus Earlington, Cole, and Champagnie, 39-23. Three three pointers in the final 2:16 of the first half from Carey closed the Georgetown deficit to 48-41, but for a team which had held St. John's to just four threes in 45 minutes last weekend, a 10 for 19 barrage was as sudden as it was unexpected for the worst shooting team in the conference. St. John's went ice cold to open the second half, missing on each of its first seven attempts, allowing Georgetown to close to 51-49 at the 16 minute mark of the second half. Senior guard Greg Williams then led the Redmen back on an 18-5 run, 69-54, and the Hoyas never challenged thereafter. St. John's went 7 for 9 during the run, Georgetown just 1 for 9. Head coach Patrick Ewing went deep into his bench looking for some combination to reverse its fortunes, but none proved successful. Unlike recent games where Georgetown could be counted upon to rise to the occasion and make a quick strike into a late deficit, one never came in this one. Georgetown had only two three pointers for the first 18 minutes of the second half, and did not close within 14 until the final minute of play. The team lacked a sense of urgency and it seemed at a distance that the game was largely settled by the midpoint of the second half. Jahvon Blair led the Hoyas with 25, while fellow senior Jamorko Pickett suffered through an 0 for 7 first half and just 2 for 12 overall. Donald Carey finished with 19, but only five after halftime and none in the final 10 minutes of play. Strong performances a week earlier from Dante Harris and Qudus Wahab were nonexistent in this game: Harris finished with five points and four turnovers in 33 minutes, while Wahab fouled out with 4:43 to play, finishing with three field goals and six rebounds in 24 minutes. Reserve centers Timothy Ighoefe and Malcolm Wilson combined for seven points and six rebounds in limited action. Defensively, the Hoyas showed little consistency against the Redmen, particularly in the paint, where Georgetown allowed an inside and outside game from Williams and forward Julian Champagnie (20 points, 9 rebounds) to thwart any efforts by Georgetown to get the game under 10 points St. John's placed four starters and five overall in double figures, led by a career high 26 from Williams. "He is one of the more experienced players on our basketball team," said St. John's coach Mike Anderson on Williams' effort. "It is the evolution of a guy stepping up and being what we want him to become. When you listen and talk to him, he is really sharp, and it is starting to translate on the floor as well." "We have been in those situations and you guys have seen it where we have been up and down. Seven days ago down at their place, we were up five with under three minutes to go and they threw a little press on us and we threw it all over the yard. We were fortunate to get it into overtime and they ended up winning the game, but tonight they did the same thing, and our guys were in attack mode. They stayed together, we stayed in attack mode, got the balls in the hands of the ball-handlers and stayed in attack mode." The Redmen shot 47 percent for the game and despite just 3 of 13 from outside after the break, its 13 threes was a season high and the second game in its last three where GU allowed 13 or more three point field goals by an opponent, surrendering 15 to Villanova on Dec. 11. Despite playing a smaller lineup, St. John's allowed only eight second chance points by GU, four in each half. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 33 1-4 1-3 0-0 2 3 1 5
Blair 36 4-7 3-9 8-9 5 6 4 25
Carey 30 2-2 5-9 0-0 2 1 1 19
Pickett 33 2-10 0-2 2-4 11 2 2 6
Wahab 24 3-6 0-0 6-7 6 0 5 12
Reserves:
Bile 16 1-3 1-3 2-2 1 1 2 7
Ighoefe 5 3-3 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 6
Sibley 7 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 0 2 2
Berger 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0
Holloway 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Wilson 5 0-0 0-0 1-2 3 0 0 1
DNP: Azinge, Robinson, Clark, Muresan
Team Rebounds 4
TOTALS 200 17-36 10-26 19-26 38 14 18 83
Harris Takes Leave Of AbsenceFifth year guard Jalen Harris has taken a leave of absence to deal with a undisclosed family issue, according to head coach Patrick Ewing.The announcement came during a Friday media conference and was not presented via a press release.Harris started the first five games of the 2020-21 season with a 5.5 points per game average. Freshman Dante Harris is expected to start Sunday. Georgetown 97, St. John's 94 (OT)
A pair of late rallies steered the Georgetown Hoyas to a 97-94 overtime win over St. John's at McDonough Gymnasium Sunday, in a game both teams had ample opportunities to put it away.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
A new starting lineup awaited the fans at home, watching freshman Dante Harris take over for grad transfer Jalen Harris, sidelined with back spasms. The younger Harris went right to work, opening the Georgetown scoring with a three and adding a second at the 17:40 mark, 10-5. The Hoyas shot 5 for its first 7 from the field and shot 58 percent for the first half, but were crushed by St. John's work on the boards, with 13 offensive rebounds compared to just three for the Hoyas and a 22-17 edge overall. Five three pointers, the last three of which were added by grad transfer Donald Carey, helped the Hoyas to a 42-38 halftime lead, as the trio of Harris, Carey, and Qudus Wahab accounted for 31 of GU's 42 points at the break. Wahab, with 10 points, five rebounds, and five blocks at intermission, was a factor the smaller Redmen had no answer for all evening. The Hoyas started the second half off without much energy, however, and St. John's quickly took advantage. Georgetown shot 2 for its first 7 with four turnovers as St. John's took the lead at the 17:16 mark, and then went on a 13-2 run to take a game high lead, 55-46. Down nine with 15:19 to play, the naturally conservative Ewing called an coaching audible of sorts, bringing in little seen freshman T.J. Berger in place of Jahvon Blair. Berger's first sequences was awkward, picking up two fouls over the next three possessions. But Berger stepped up, hitting a three to close the margin to 55-51, and tied the game on a three at the 10:57 mark, 60-60. When Blair returned to the game, Berger had done his part in a big way. Six lead changes followed over the next three minutes, aided by nine Georgetown turnovers of the first 12 minutes of the second half. The Hoyas carried a 75-74 lead into the final 4:27, but it appeared the late game misfortunes of its three prior losses would return again. St. John's scored on an easy layup at the 3:55 mark. On it next series, Blair uncharacteristically missed two free throws, and the Redmen scored the next six points to lead 82-75, with Greg Williams driving past Dante Harris for yet another layup on a Georgetown defense that could not solve St. John's in the paint. it was the 16th layup of the game for St. John's. Williams' layup put St. John's in command with 2:36 to play. If this was a more disciplined opponent like Villanova or Creighton or even Xavier, this might have been the ball game, but the Redmen was sloppy on both ends of the court and the Hoyas soon took advantage. A pair of Harris free throws closed to 82-77, whereupon Blair stole the ball and Carey connected off an offensive rebound, 82-79. Julian Champagnie, an 87 percent free throw shooter for SJU, split at the line, 83-79, and Wahab did the same 16 seconds later, 83-80. St. John's had yet another chance to take time off the clock, but Vince Cole threw the ball away and Blair then stuck a drop-back three with 1:43 to play, 83-83. Blair returned the favor a minute later when, after a Isaih Moore jumper, he hit a second three to give GU an 86-85 lead. Back came the Redmen to the foul line and missed opportunities followed. Freshman guard Posh Alexander made just one of two from the line with 26 seconds remaining, only to see Carey drive past two St. John's defenders for a basket with :06 left, 88-86. "It was like right before [Carey] scored at the end of regulation, I mean the guy fell and we went to get the ball and all of a sudden, they get a basket where our guys are scrambling and getting on the floor", St. John's coach Mike Anderson said in post-game comments. "I think our guys just have to take a little more pride in [defense]." Down to one possession, St. John's got the ball inside to Vince Cole, whose shot was blocked by Wahab with 0.9 seconds left. But with the game all but in hand, Blair lost his position on St. John's guard Greg Williams under the basket, giving St. John's an unlikely layup to send the game into overtime at 88-88.
A longtime assistant at Arkansas, St,. John's coach Mike Anderson studied under Nolan Richardson and his "Forty Minutes of Hell" style of play. Unfortunately for the Redmen, this was a 45 minute game and after picking up two early free throws and a two pointer by Greg Williams, St. John's could not close the deal, missing its last six attempts of the overtime period and giving Georgetown the room to prevail. For its part, Georgetown wasn't much better from the field, shooting just 1 for 5, but making it count at the line. A pair of free throws by Jahvon Blair closed the gap to 92-90 with three minutes to play. Alexander split two free throws with 1:56 to play, 93-90, failing to put the margin above a single possession. Georgetown caught a break off a Harris missed three when Wahab got into the lane for an offensive rebound and Georgetown's only bucket of the period, 93-92. Alexander missed a three for the Redmen, and Donald Carey added two at the line, 94-93, with 0:32 to play. Looking to thread the needle on its last offensive series, Vince Cole opted for a three pointer with 0:16 that went off to the left, and Moore's subsequent shot off a missed free throw inside was blocked by Wahab. Harris put the game away at the line.
"We actually had an attack before that," Anderson said. "Of course, Vince saw a little light and thought he had a chance to knock it down. We were trying to get action at the basket." Georgetown got season's best games from Harris (22 points, 8-9 FT), Blair (20 points, 5 assists) Carey (7 for 9 from the field, 19 points), and Wahab, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks, the most since Alonzo Mourning picked up nine in 1991 versus Delaware State on Dec. 9, 1991. And not to be missed, T.J. Berger's seven points in eight minutes off the bench. Georgetown shot 54 percent from the field, made a season high 11 threes, and survived another run of turnovers (17), yet committed no turnovers in the overtime period. "I just didn't put them in the right position at the right time," Anderson said. "When the game was in the waning moments, I thought that we could have executed better, it was something that we went over, but again it is a team loss, a tough loss, because we were in position to win this game."
Anderson will get a second chance to do so as the teams return to action next Sunday at Carnesecca Arena (nee Alumni Hall) for Georgetown's first road game of the 2020-21 season. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
D. Harris 43 4-7 2-6 8-9 3 2 3 22
Blair 39 4-9 3-6 3-5 1 5 1 20
Carey 36 4-5 3-4 2-2 5 5 2 19
Pickett 34 2-5 1-2 0-0 4 2 3 7
Wahab 38 7-9 0-0 3-4 10 1 3 17
Reserves:
Bile 21 2-5 0-2 0-0 5 1 3 4
Ighoefe 5 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 1
Sibley 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Berger 8 0-0 2-3 1-2 0 1 3 7
DNP: Azinge, J. Harris, Robinson, Holloway, Clark,
Wilson, Muresan
Team Rebounds 4
TOTALS 225 23-40 11-23 18-24 33 17 19 97
Free Throws In Short SupplyGeorgetown tied a team record in Friday's game with Villanova.The Hoyas were 4 for 4 from the free throw line in Villanova's 76-63 win. This was only the fifth game since 1978 that a Georgetown team shot 100 percent from the line, a feat most recently matched with a remarkable 18 for 18 effort in an overtime win versus Missouri in 2010.It's also the fewest free throws attempted in any Georgetown game since 2007, where the Hoyas were 2 for 4 versus Michigan, a 74-52 Georgetown win at Verizon Center. And the fewest in the modern era? On March 16, 2005, the Hoyas were 2 for 2 in an NIT game versus Boston University. Villanova 76, Georgetown 63
Twenty minutes of mastery, twenty minutes of mystery.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Villanova led for the first 48 seconds of the first half and was nowhere close for the next 20 minutes of this game. Poor shooting was almost comical for the Wildcats, who missed five of its first six from three and allowed Georgetown easy moves inside for baskets. Qudus Wahab and Jamorko Pickett traded baskets over a three minute run to put GU up 11-7 at the 15:43 mark, whereupon Pickett stuck back to back threes to go up 17-7. From a 24-18 lead midway in the half, Georgetown went on a 11-1 run as the Villanova long range game continued its unusual futility. Four different Hoyas scored in the run to put Georgetown up 16, 35-19, as the Wildcats extended its three point woes to 3 for 14 on the evening. Down 18, 40-22, with 4:47 to halftime, Villanova went on an 8-0 run to close to 46-33 at the half, with a three called off at the buzzer following instant replay review. Georgetown shot a season best 57 percent in the first half, with eight layups, six three pointers and a 21-14 advantage on the boards. The best number for the Hoyas was three--not in shooting, but in turnovers, a season low by any measure following a 16 turnover melee in the second half Tuesday versus Coppin State. And then, it disappeared. Georgetown missed its first three attempts after halftime as the Wildcats rediscovered the outside shot that had gone wanting in the first period. Senior guard Collin Gillespie, held to two field goals in the first half, went to work. Back to back threes closed the deficit to 50-41, a Caleb Daniels layup, 50-43, and a Cole Swider three to 50-47. The Wildcats eventually went on a 15-0 run and a stunning turnaround, leading 53-50 seven minutes into the second half. The play bogged down for both teams, with thee lead changes before a basket from Jamorko Pickett put the Hoyas up 59-55 with 9:19 to play, answered by a three from Swider, 59-58. After the teams traded a pair of traveling violations, baskets by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jahvon Blair held the Hoyas' advantage at 61-60 with 5:55 to play. A Daniels jumper put the Cats up two, 63-61, at the 4:23 mark, but the Hoyas turned it over on th next possession and Swider picked up the easy basket, 65-61. Georgetown's Dante Harris drove for a layup but missed, whereupon Daniels stuck the Hoyas with a three, 68-61. If there was any air left on the Georgetown bench, it was being exhaled at this point. A Jamorko Pickett jumper at the 1:31 was the lone field goal scored by GU down the stretch as the Wildcats ended the game on a crushing 16-2 run. Georgetown shot 26 percent for the second half and was 1 for 11 from three point range. The disparity between Georgetown's first and second half output is striking. Qudus Wahab had 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of the first half. After halftime? He ended 0 for 4. Dante Harris was 3 for 3 off the bench in the first half, 1 for 3 thereafter. Jamorko Pickett had 12 points and six rebounds at halftime, four points and four fouls thereafter. The Hoyas missed six layups on 14 attempts and missed ten of its final 11 shots of the game. What happened? On the other side of the stat sheet, a result striking in its own right. Collin Gillespie had no baskets in the first 17 minutes of the first half, but he finished with five threes and 18 points. Caleb Daniels was 2 for 7 in the first half, turning things up after the break with a perfect 4 for 4 in the second, including 3 for 3 from outside. And here's the kicker: Villanova avoided fouls in the second half, and was never in the bonus. The Hoyas did not take a single free throw in the second half, while the Wildcats scored 11 points from the foul line after the break. The margin? Thirteen points. Twenty of Villanova's 76 points came off Georgetown turnovers, including 11 points off nine second half GU turnovers. Georgetown had no points in the second half off four Villanova's turnovers. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
J. Harris 27 1-3 0-1 0-0 3 2 2 2
Blair 37 4-6 1-5 0-0 3 3 0 11
Carey 29 0-0 2-6 0-0 4 2 1 6
Pickett 36 5-7 2-4 0-0 10 1 5 16
Wahab 23 5-12 0-0 2-2 5 0 2 12
Reserves:
D. Harris 13 3-4 1-3 0-0 1 1 0 9
Bile 17 1-2 1-4 0-0 5 1 5 5
Ighoefe 9 0-1 0-0 2-2 3 0 2 2
Sibley 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Berger 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
DNP: Azinge, Robinson, Holloway, Clark,
Wilson, Muresan
Team Rebounds 2
TOTALS 200 19-38 7-23 4-4 37 10 17 63
2020-21 T-Shirt Design
Georgetown 80, Coppin State 48
Jamorko Pickett scored 19 points and 18 rebounds to lead Georgetown past an outmatched Coppin State team, 80-48, in the final non-conference game at McDonough Gymnasium this season.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
The Georgetown Hoyas have played an HBCU 99 times since 1975, and Tuesday's win over Coppin State was its 99th such win. But little else about this game was anything to remember. Georgetown needed a boost coming out of a tough loss to West Virginia but opened the game flat. With poor shot selection and trouble in its interior defense, Georgetown trailed 10-4 in the first four minutes, racking up turnovers as Coppin State (0-4) carried a lead halfway through the first period. Trailing 18-15 with 9:05 to halftime, the Hoyas regained its bearings from outside, thanks to a pair of three pointers from Jahvon Blair and one from Jamorko Pickett to take a 28-20 lead. The turnovers continued, as Georgetown picked up 13 by halftime. Nearly any other opponent would have pulled away in the scoring column as a result, but Coppin State's preternaturally poor shooting offered nothing to support its cause. With its center out for this game, the Eagles stayed outside and suffered as a result. Coppin State missed 15 of its next 16 shots down the stretch as Georgetown ended the half on a 23-5 run, 38-23. Coppin missed 15 of its 19 attempts from three point range and shot just 25 percent in the first half, while the Hoyas' 57 percent mark was a reflection of nine fewer attempts due to turnovers. Poor shooting on both teams followed into the second half. Both teams combined to miss its first seven threes of the second half. Coppin was just dead from the floor: it missed a run of 19 of 20 three point attempts after starting the game 3 for 6. After a pair of threes finally brought the Eagles within 16 midway in the second half, 54-38, Jahvon Blair scored eight straight and Georgetown never looked back. Apparently, neither did Coppin State, scoring three field goals in the final nine minutes. Jahvon Blair led all scorers with 22. "I was feeling good," he said in post-game comments. "I think I went something like 6 for 8 and my shot felt good." The Hoyas shot 54 percent for the game but deposited 26 turnovers that accounted for nearly half of Coppin's points. The Eagles finished 8 for 38 from outside, giving Georgetown a healthy rebound advantage of 53 to 29. Georgetown's first in-game injury of the 2021-22 season took place in the first half. Freshman guard Kobe Clark injured his ankle under the Coppin State basket with 10:37 to halftime; he returned to the bench in a protective boot and saw no further action. The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
J. Harris 25 1-2 0-2 0-0 6 3 1 2
Blair 35 2-2 4-8 6-7 5 4 1 22
Carey 28 2-6 0-4 0-0 8 3 4 4
Pickett 35 6-8 2-3 1-1 18 2 2 19
Wahab 23 2-3 0-0 3-5 4 0 4 7
Reserves:
D. Harris 18 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 3 0 5
Bile 26 3-6 2-3 1-2 8 2 1 13
Sibley 11 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Berger 3 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 5
Holloway 4 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 1 1
Clark 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2
Wilson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
DNP: Ighoefe, Azinge, Robinson, Muresan
Team Rebounds 3
TOTALS 200 19-32 10-23 12-17 53 17 16 80
Georgetown Adds Fifth Undergraduate School
Georgetown University has announced the creation of the Georgetown School of Health, to begin studies in the 2022-23 academic year.In 2019, the university began a Health and Health Sciences Strategy Initiative, an ongoing collaborative and deliberative process to envision the future of the health sciences at Georgetown," read a University statement. "The plan for the two schools, an initial result of this work, emerged after engagement with NHS faculty and staff.""This decision follows comprehensive engagement of our colleagues at NHS to reflect on the potential represented in nursing and health in the school and across our University community," wrote University president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95) in a letter issued Monday. "The formation of these two new schools will allow us to unlock new potential and achieve our ambitions in these disciplines." "This next phase of our work enables us to deepen our commitment to the largest healthcare profession, nursing, and develop new interdisciplinary and collaborative opportunities across the domains of health, both within our Medical Center, and also across our Main Campus and Law Center, to emphasize a shared focus on creating healthier communities." This is the first new undergraduate school at Georgetown since the School of Business Administration, now known as the McDonough School of Business, split from the School of Foreign Service in 1957. John Thompson Autobiography: A Review
In anticipation of the John Thompson autobiography due to release next week, the New York Times has posted a review."I Came as a Shadow, written with Jesse Washington, a writer for ESPN's The Undefeated, is a consequential book with a plainspoken tone," it writes. "Even after his success, Thompson preferred McDonald's to restaurants with white tablecloths, and his voice makes an authentic sound.""This book has its lacunae," it notes. "His wife and children are rarely mentioned. He wished he'd spent more time with them. He gives little evidence of his life outside of basketball, but perhaps he didn't have much of one. As he writes about Auerbach: 'I distinctly remember Red being perplexed by his friends who took vacations. His work ethic was so strong, he couldn't understand the concept. 'When they get there, what do they do?' he said.'" West Virginia 80, Georgetown 71
For 34 minutes Georgetown stood even with #11 ranked West Virginia before the Mountaineers pulled away late, 80-71, at McDonough Gymnasium Sunday.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Foul trouble was the story of the game, as West Virginia's two top players, Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver, were saddled with early foul trouble, keeping Georgetown within range all afternoon. But Culver emerged late to lead the Mountaineers on a 17-4 run down the stretch that proved the measure of the match. Viewers to the game on television might have experienced some visual dissonance as Georgetown uncharacteristically showed up in its road blue jerseys at McDonough, leading West Virginia to wear gray-toned jerseys more familiar to the look of the Hoyas in such games. But even in blue, the Hoyas came ready to play, with three early three pointers to stake an early 13-11 lead. Early foul trouble was felt on both ends of the court. Culver picked up his second at the 13:01 mark of the first half and sat thereafter; Georgetown's Qudus Wahab picked up his second 30 seconds later. Tshiebwe's second at the 8:22 mark also sent him to the bench, leaving it to sophomore Miles McBride to steady the WVU offense. McBride led the Mountaineers with 11 in the first half, battling through 10 different lead changes by halftime. Georgetown got seven points off the bench from Chudier Bile as the Hoyas led 34-32 at the break despite shooting just 36 percent at the half. A pair of three pointers from Jahvon Blair put the Hoyas up 40-37 early in the second, but it would be Blair's last three pointer until the final four seconds of the game. Georgetown led by as many as six, 50-44, before turnovers took its toll--WVU scored the next 10 of the game with only one foul committed to date in the second half. Georgetown answered with a 7-0 run of its own led by threes from Jalen Harris and Jamorko Pickett, 57-54, but no lead was safe in this game until WVU tightened on defense and pulled away for good. WVU's spurt was short but effective. Down in the shot clock with 5:23 to play, reserve guard Taz Sherman sent a three pointer over Don Carey for the lead, 65-62. Carey turned the ball over on the next series, and Timothy Ighoefe;s fifth foul extended the WVU lead at the line, 67-62. Culver came up big on the next series, with an offensive rebound and put back to put WVU up seven , 69-62, at the 4:26 mark, putting the game away for good less than a minute after Sherman's three. The Hoyas scored four points over a five minute stretch of the game, enabling WVU to take a 62-62 tie into a 79-66 lead into the final 30 seconds of play. The stat of the game was points off turnovers: West Virginia outscored Georgetown 21 to four. McBride led the Mountaineers in scoring with 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a game where Culver and Tshiebwe were a combined 8 for 18 inside. Blair's 19 and Pickett's 11 points led the Hoyas, who tied the Mountaineers on the boards at 43 which kept GU in the game, but late game mistakes helped the Mountaineers head home with a tougher than expected win. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
J. Harris 30 1-4 1-2 3-4 5 8 3 8
Blair 38 2-4 5-12 0-0 3 0 0 19
Carey 35 2-2 1-4 2-2 1 1 3 9
Pickett 30 1-2 3-7 0-0 8 0 4 11
Wahab 23 3-7 0-0 3-4 9 0 4 9
Reserves:
D. Harris 10 0-3 0-1 0-0 2 2 2 0
Ighoefe 17 2-4 0-0 1-1 7 0 5 5
Bile 18 3-6 1-4 1-4 6 0 3 10
DNP: Azinge, Sibley, Berger, Robinson, Holloway,
Clark, Wilson, Muresan
Team Rebounds 2
TOTALS 200 14-32 11-30 10-15 43 11 24 71
Post-Game Press ConferenceMore Details On Big East Insurance Policy
The story of the Big East Conference's prescience to secure business interruption insurance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was the talk of college basketball. Additional coverage from Yahoo Sports and Propublica provide additional details into the impact of that decision.As noted at this site in April, "The clause allows the insurer, not the Big East, to pay the cost of the tournament to Madison Square Garden, reportedly one of the most expensive agreements in the nation given its location and the rental fees charged by the facility. It is unknown which, if any, conferences were able to exercise a similar clause in their respective agreements. Those conferences that voluntarily shut down their tournaments absent a government order would not normally be eligible to invoke any business interruption clauses and thus would take a loss on their cancelled events."According to Yahoo Sports, "the Big East was able to recoup much of 2020's lost tournament money through a $10.5 million payout from its event cancellation insurance policy. A conference source not able to speak publicly on the private contract confirmed the final figure." This amount covered not only the expense on renting Madison Square Garden for the week (listed in the Big East's Form 990 public disclosure document at over $2.4 million) but the lost ticket revenues of $5.9 million, according to the story. Of current interest: the Big East also purchased insurance for the 2021 and 2022 tournaments should they be cancelled. "The week-long conference tournament in the Garden and the massive endeavor that is March Madness are where the Big East really makes its basketball money, though, making spring much more important than these first few weeks of non-conference contests," it concludes. "While the hope is not to have to tap into another year's insurance policy, the league is once again prepared should that become the case." < Former Coach Calls Into GU-Navy Broadcast
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson III was a surprise guest to CBS Sports Network's coverage of Tuesday's Georgetown-Navy game.Thompson, who has kept a low profile since his departure from Georgetown in March 2017, was not at McDonough Gymnasium, but called in to discuss his late father's autobiography, "I Came As a Shadow", releasing December 15. Thompson focused on the book and did not comment on the current team or that evening's game.When asked by CBS analyst Chris Walker when he is going to return to coaching, Thompson noted that he was "happy to be working with the Washington Wizards, and let's just leave it at that." Navy 78, Georgetown 71
Guards Cam Davis and John Carter combined for 48 points as the U.S. Naval Academy defeated Georgetown 78-71 at McDonough Gymnasium, controlling the second half with relative ease against a Georgetown team that visibly stumbled on defense when it counted.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Navy (3-1) took the lead at the 17:35 mark of the first half and trailed for only 18 seconds for the rest of the half. Davis accounted for 11 of the Mids' first 15 points before a Jamorko Pickett three gave GU a brief lead at 16-15. Georgetown shot poorly over a three minute stage of the first half, giving Navy a six point lead with 3:27 to intermission, only to see GU rally behind threes from Blair and Pickett to tie the score with 1:58 to play. But the late half defense was lax, giving Davis an open three pointer with seven seconds remaining to put Navy up 29-26. The Hoyas finished the first half shooting just 25 percent from the field and missing 10 of 15 from three point range. But the real story was inside, where the Midshipmen, starting no one taller than 6-7, held a 23-17 advantage on the boards. The Hoyas returned from the McDonough locker room with purpose, dropping consecutive threes and outscoring the Midshipmen 11-3 in the first three minutes of play, 37-31. The Hoyas were strong from outside but porous inside, allowing Navy to hang around for much of the second half. Down five at the 12:35 mark, Navy tied the score at 52 midway in the second half before baskets by Blair and Don Carey pushed the lead back to four, 56-52. But as the game progressed, Georgetown couldn't shake the sailors, and Navy's patience to look for the open lane paid dividends. Down two with 6:38 to play, Davis sank a long three to give Navy the lead it would not relinquish, 61-60. It extended it to three on a Timothy Ighoefe goaltend and a driving Davis layup at the five minute mark, 65-62. Off a missed three from Georgetown, guard John Carter sank a three pointer, 68-62, and the Mids shredded the Georgetown pivot with an easy basket at the 3:11 mark, 70-62. A three from Jalen Harris brought GU within six at the 2:43 mark, but consecutive Hoya turnovers were converted inside for a 76-68 lead entering the final minute. Navy shot a formidable 60 percent (20 for 33) in the second half, holding the Hoyas to just 5 for 16 from three, behind a season-high 28 from Davis. Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett scored 17 each for the Hoyas, with Qudus Wahab with a career high 16 points but just seven rebounds despite a four to five inch height advantage over his competition. This is Georgetown's first loss to a Patriot League school since the league was formed in 1990, and Navy's first road win over a Big East team since its upset of #2-seed Syracuse in the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Navy's last win in this series came in Annapolis on Jan 12, 1977, and its first win in Washington since Jan. 14, 1964. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
J. Harris 28 0-2 3-5 3-4 1 7 3 12
Blair 38 3-4 2-11 5-7 6 3 3 17
Carey 29 1-2 2-2 0-0 9 1 3 8
Pickett 34 4-4 3-8 0-0 6 1 2 17
Wahab 29 7-11 0-0 2-3 7 1 2 16
Reserves:
D. Harris 12 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0
Ighoefe 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 5 0 0 0
Bile 12 0-2 0-2 1-3 3 0 0 1
Clark 7 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
DNP: Azinge, Sibley, Berger, Robinson, Holloway,
Wilson, Muresan
Team Rebounds
TOTALS 200 15-29 10-31 11-17 38 13 13 71
Game Highlights
Georgetown's Keystones
Roster turnover has made the roles of seniors Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett even more important in 2020-21, writes the Washington Times."They had a very good freshman year, they took a step back as a sophomore," Ewing said of his inaugural recruits. "They kept fighting as juniors, and now we need for them to kick the door in and be great as seniors.""I talked to Coach Pat, the coaches, and they told me what I have to do, and what we have to do as a team, to be successful," Blair said. "I know my part, but everyone else just gotta dial it in and we're just going to grind it out, game-by-game, day-by-day." "We're going to need both [Blair] and Jamorko to play big," Ewing said. "They need to step up. They've been here for four years, so they know everything that I expect out of them." |