Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball

Infobox CBB Team
name = Georgetown Hoyas

logo_size = 150px
university = Georgetown University
conference = Big East Conference
conference_short = Big East
division =
city = Washington
stateabb = DC
state = District of Columbia
coach = John Thompson III
tenure = 4th
arena = Verizon Center
capacity = 20,173
nickname = Hoyas
color1 = Blue
color2 = Gray
hex1 = 003366
hex2 = 999999
NCAAchampion = 1984
NCAAfinalfour = 1943, 1982, 1984, 1985, 2007
conference_tournament = 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2007
conference_season = 1984, 1989, 2007, 2008
h_body=999999 |h_shorts=999999 |h_pattern_b=_thindkbluesides
a_body=003366|a_shorts=003366|a_pattern_b=_thingreysides

The Georgetown University Men's Basketball team (which, like all sports teams at Georgetown University, is named the Georgetown Hoyas) is a well-known basketball program in the NCAA Big East. Georgetown's first intercollegiate men's basketball team was formed in 1907. John Thompson III, son of the accomplished Hoyas coach John Thompson, is the current head coach. The Hoyas historically have been well regarded not only for their team success, but also for their ability to generate players that after graduation succeed both on the court (such as Patrick Ewing) and off (such as Henry Hyde).

The team has reached the NCAA Tournament Final Four 5 times, has won the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament 7 times, and has won the Big East regular season title 4 times. Its most recent trip to the Final Four and tournament championship was in 2007. On March 8, 2008, the Hoyas won the regular season title after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 55-52.

Current Team

The current coach is Thompson's son, John Thompson III, who took over from Craig Esherick. Leading the team are Big East 2007 pre-season player of the year Roy Hibbert and pre-season All-Big East first team guard Jonathan Wallace. [cite news|title=Big East Takes Note Of Hibbert, Wallace|author=Camille Powell|publisher=Washington Post|date=2007-Oct-25|page=E08|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102401906.html] The team will also introduce freshmen Austin Freeman [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1571081] , Chris Wright [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1573138] , and Omar Wattad [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=2551458] .

The Hoyas currently employ their own variant of the Princeton offense, a slow, cerebral style of play that is very rare in the modern college game. The hallmark of the offense is the "backdoor" pass, where a player on the wing suddenly moves in towards the basket, receives a bounce pass from a guard on the perimeter, and (if done correctly) finds himself with no defenders between him and a layup. Coach Thompson learned the style while serving under then-Coach Pete Carril of the Princeton University Tigers. Georgetown has been lauded in the sports media for destroying the "warped stereotype" that "African American kids don't want discipline" as well as for proving that the typically brawny Georgetown team can excel by emphasizing offensive efficiency rather than defense. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032202551.html "Princeton Offense Keeps Hoyas on the Move"] , "Washington Post", Mike Wise, March 23, 2006; Page E12.]

Recruiting

Class of 2008 players signed to the Hoyas:
*Greg Monroe-the top ranked prospect for 2008 [http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1726748]
*Jason Clark [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=433&p=8&c=1&nid=2434276]
*Chris Braswell [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=433&p=8&c=1&nid=1824891]
*Henry Sims [http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=433&p=8&c=1&nid=1970123]

History

The Early Years

The Georgetown men's basketball team played its first game February 9, 1907, defeating the University of Virginia by a score of 22-11. In its first 60-some years, the program displayed only sporadic success.cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/02/10/GR2007021000283.html| title=A Century of Georgetown Basketball| publisher="Washington Post| date=2007-02-10] Until McDonough Gymnasium opened on campus for the 1950-51 season, the team moved its home court frequently, playing in McKinley Tech High School, Ryan Gymnasium, Uline Arena, and the National Guard Armory. The team recruited its first All-American, Ed Hargaden, in 1931-32. In 1942, a Hoya went pro for the first time, when three seniors, Buddy O'Grady, Al Lujack, and Don Martin played professionally upon graduation. The next year the team, led by future congressman Henry Hyde, reached new heights by going all the way to the NCAA championship game. The team's coach, Elmer Ripley, would be inducted into the basketball hall of fame 30 years later.

World War II suspended the program, however, and it was rarely successful over the next three decades, with only two postseason appearances (1952-53 and 1969-70). Top players from that period include Tom O'Keefe, the first Hoya to reach 1,000 career points in 1949-50, and Paul Tagliabue who would graduate #2 in Hoya career rebounds in 1962.

The First Thompson Era

The Esherick Years

Craig Esherick coached the Georegetown Hoyas basketball squad from 1999 to 2004. Craig was the lead assistant coach under John Thompson Jr. for the previous 17 years. He was named head coach after Thompson abruptly resigned in 1999.

In Esherick's first season the team finished with a 15-15 record before losing to Princeton in the first round of the NIT tournament. They improved in 2000 going 19-15 and advanced to the second round of the NIT tournament. After winning the first round game in quadruple overtime over the University of Virginia the Hoyas lost in the second round game to the University of California.

In 2001 led by a future top 10 NBA Draft pick in Mike Sweetney, they made the NCAA tournament after finishing 23-7 in the regular season. In the opening round of the NCAA tournament the 7th seeded Hoyas advanced past the 10 seed Arkansas on a game winning shot at the buzzer by Nat Burton. The Hoyas then beat Hampton University in the second round to set up a sweet sixteen match with local rival Maryland. They lost to the third seeded Terrapins 76-66 to end their season. The Hoyas were ranked 23rd in the final AP poll. [http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0882633.html]

In 2002 the Hoyas went 19-11, barely missing a NCAA tournament bid and then rejecting a NIT bid. In response to the controversy about that decision, both Esherick and NIT organizers claimed that Georgetown declined the bid because of travel issues associated with the players' ability to attend classes. [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/hoyas-decline-bid-nit-announces-field] [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1DC1739F932A25750C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=] In 2003 the Hoyas finished the regular season with a 19-15 record. They accepted a bid to the NIT and made it to the finals where they then lost to big east rival St. Johns. Esherick was fired 5 days after the loss and was replaced by John Thompson III.

2005-06 Season

John Thompson III's first notable win with the team took place on January 21, 2006 when unranked Georgetown upset No. 1 Duke University. This was Georgetown's first win over a No. 1 ranked team in 21 years. An interesting item of trivia is that the last time the Hoyas beat a number one ranked team, John Thompson Jr. was coaching and Patrick Ewing was playing. In their win against Duke, John Thompson III was coaching and Patrick Ewing, Jr. was sitting on the bench (as a redshirt transfer sophomore). ["Washington Post", Jan. 22, 2006, Page E-1, " [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012100759.html Hoyas KO the Big 1] "]

2006-07 Season

The 2006-07 Hoyas were led by juniors, forward Jeff Green, center Roy Hibbert, and point guard Jonathan Wallace. The team's freshmen were DaJuan Summers (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh), Vernon Macklin (Hargrave Military Academy), and Jeremiah Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.). Other regular players are Tyler Crawford, Jessie Sapp, and Patrick Ewing, Jr.

The 2006-07 season marked the centennial of Hoya hoops, which was celebrated by honoring some of the team's most famous alumni at the Georgetown-Marquette game on February 10 (Georgetown won, 76-58).

On March 3rd, 2007, the Hoyas completed their first regular-season Big East Championship since 1989. On March 10th, 2007, the Hoyas defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers (65-42) to win the 2007 Big East Tournament Championship for the first time since 1989. Jeff Green was named the Big East Player of the year and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Hoyas advanced to the 2007 Final Four before losing to an Ohio State team led by Greg Oden. In the NCAA tournament's first weekend, the Hoyas defeated Belmont (1st rd) and Boston College (2nd rd). The Hoyas' games in the second weekend were some of the closest and most-watched contests of the tournament -- the Hoyas defeated Vanderbilt on a last-second bank shot by Jeff Green, then beat North Carolina in the Regional Final when their defense caused North Carolina to suffer an improbable collapse in which UNC missed 22 of their final 23 field goal attempts. [http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard?confId=100&date=20070325]

After the season, Assistant Coach Sydney Johnson left to become the head coach at Princeton University and Assistant Coach Kevin Broadus left to become the head coach at SUNY-Binghamton. [cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042001399.html|title=Princeton Tabs Georgetown Assistant|date=April 21, 2007|page=E2] Jeff Green also left the team, entering the NBA draft. Green was drafted fifth by the Boston Celtics but was ultimately traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. [cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003775072_soni05.html|title=Durant, Green, All Signed for Summer Fun|date=July 5, 2007]

2007-08 Season

The 2007-08 Hoyas finished with a regular season record of 27(Wins)-5(Losses), winning the regular season title. [cite news |url= http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92555&SPID=11228&DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=1408429 |title= Georgetown Claims Regular-Season Crown |work= Big East Conference |date= March 9, 2008 |accessdate= 2007-07-20] They lost to the University of Pittsburgh in the conference championship game. This placed them as a number two seed in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they lost their second round game.

Titles and Banners

The Men's basketball team is the most successful and well-known sports program at the university. They won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1984 (over the University of Houston) under coach John Thompson, Jr. The Hoyas also reached and lost the Championship game in 1943 (to Wyoming), 1982 (to Michael Jordan's North Carolina), and 1985 (to Big East rival Villanova). The Hoyas also recently made it to the Final Four in 2007.

The team has been very successful in the Big East: it won or tied for the regular-season titles in 1980, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1992, 2007, and 2008. The team was even more dominant in the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: it won in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 2007. [ [http://www.bigeast.org/schools/gu/bige-gu-body.html Big East Official Georgetown Page] ]

Results

Famous alumni

Hoyas in the Pros

The Hoyas have an excellent history of preparing players for the NBA. Two Hoyas were the NBA first overall draft picks: Patrick Ewing in 1985 and Allen Iverson in 1996. Other Hoyas to make the NBA include Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Sleepy Floyd, Jeff Green, Othella Harrington, Jaren Jackson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Don Reid, Charles Smith, Michael Sweetney, Jahidi White, Jerome Williams, Reggie Williams, and David Wingate. [ [http://guhoyas.cstv.com/ Georgetown University Official Athletic Site] ] Victor Page, who led the Big East in scoring during the 1996-'97 season, played in the CBA and NBDL. Page was one of the greatest players in Sioux Falls Skyforce history.

NBA Draft Picks from Georgetown include: [cite news|title=Georgetown Hoyas in the NBA|author=statsheet.com|publisher=statsheet.com|date=2007-Oct-25|url=http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/georgetown/nba_draft]

Basketball players famous in other areas

Several Hoya basketball players are famous purely for their off-court accomplishments:
*Brendan Gaughan, who walked onto the basketball squad, is a driver in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series and also raced one season in the Nextel Cup series.
*General James L. Jones (SFS '66), USMC, is the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and current Special Liaison to the Mideast peace talks.
*Paul Tagliabue (C '62), who played for the Hoyas in the early 1960s and was one of the leading rebounders in school history [ [http://guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/gu-m-baskbl-recordsandawards.html#career-rebounds Basketball Record Book, Georgetown University Official Athletic Site] ] , was Commissioner of the National Football League from 1989-2006.
*Henry Hyde- (C 1943), former Chairman of House Judiciary Committee. Recipient of U.S. Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor granted by the U.S. Government.
*Barry Sullivan- (1952 transferred to Columbia)-President, First Chicago Corporation.
*William Shea-(C1929), (L1931)-New York Attorney, brought New York Mets to city. Shea Stadium named in his honor.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/gu-m-baskbl-body.html Georgetown Hoyas Basketball]
* [http://www.hoyasaxa.com/sports/bball.htm HoyaSaxa.com Basketball]