Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball

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Georgetown Hoyas
®
University Georgetown University
Conference Big East
Location Washington, DC
Head Coach John Thompson III (3rd year)
Arena Verizon Center
(Capacity: 20,173)
Nickname Hoyas
Colors Blue and Gray

             

Uniforms
   
Image:Kit shorts.png
Home
   
Image:Kit shorts.png
Away
NCAA Tournament Champions
1984
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1943, 1982, 1984, 1985, 2007
Conference Tournament Champions
1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2007
Conference Regular Season Champions
1984, 1989, 2007

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 3 times; in each of these cases, it most recently achieved the feat in 2007.

Contents

[edit] 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.[1] The team will also introduce freshmen Austin Freeman [1], Chris Wright[2], and Omar Wattad[3].

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. [2]

[edit] Recruiting

Class of 2008 players verbal commitment to the Hoyas:

  • Greg Monroe-the top ranked prospect for 2008[4]
  • Jason Clark[5]
  • Chris Braswell[6]
  • Henry Sims [7]

[edit] History

[edit] 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.

[edit] The First Thompson Era

[edit] The Esherick Years

[edit] 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).[3]

[edit] 2006-07 Season

Image:Hoya basketball.jpg
Jeff Green attempts to pass during the 2007 Big East Championship game against the University of Pittsburgh.

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.[8]

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.[4] 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. [5]

[edit] 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, and 1992 and 2007. 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.[6]

[edit] Results

Season Overall Record Con. Record Coach Postseason
1906-072-2-Maurice Joyce-
1907-086-2-Maurice Joyce-
1908-099-5-Maurice Joyce-
1909-105-7-Maurice Joyce-
1910-1113-7-Maurice Joyce-
1911-1211-6-James Colliflower-
1912-1311-5-James Colliflower-
1913-1410-6-James Colliflower-
1914-158-8-John O'Reilly-
1915-169-6-John O'Reilly-
1916-178-4-John O'Reilly-
1917-188-6-John O'Reilly-
1918-199-1-John O'Reilly-
1919-2013-1-John O'Reilly-
1920-2110-4-John O'Reilly-
1921-2211-3-James Colliflower-
1922-238-3-Jackie Maloney-
1923-246-3-John O'Reilly-
1924-256-2-John O'Reilly-
1925-265-8-John O'Reilly-
1926-275-4-John O'Reilly-
1927-2812-1-Elmer Ripley-
1928-2912-5-Elmer Ripley-
1929-3013-12-Bill Dudack-
1930-315-16-John Colrick-
1931-326-11-Fred Mesmer-
1932-336-113-5Fred Mesmer-
1933-3412-115-5Fred Mesmer-
1934-356-133-7Fred Mesmer-
1935-367-115-5Fred Mesmer-
1936-379-83-7Fred Mesmer-
1937-387-115-5Fred Mesmer-
1938-3913-96-4Fred Mesmer-
1939-408-10-Elmer Ripley-
1940-4116-4-Elmer Ripley-
1941-429-11-Elmer Ripley-
1942-4322-5-Elmer RipleyNCAA Finalist
1943-44----
1944-45----
1945-4611-9-Ken Engles-
1946-4719-7-Elmer Ripley-
1947-4813-15-Elmer Ripley-
1948-499-15-Elmer Ripley-
1949-5012-12-Buddy O'Grady-
1950-518-14-Buddy O'Grady-
1951-5215-10-Buddy O'Grady-
1952-5313-7-Buddy JeannetteNIT 1st Round
1953-5411-18-Buddy Jeannette-
1954-5512-13-Buddy Jeannette-
1955-5613-11-Buddy Jeannette-
1956-5711-11-Tommy Nolan-
1957-5810-11-Tommy Nolan-
1958-598-15-Tommy Nolan-
1959-6011-12-Tommy Nolan-
1960-6111-10-Tom O'Keefe-
1961-6214-9-Tom O'Keefe-
1962-6313-13-Tom O'Keefe-
1963-6415-10-Tom O'Keefe-
1964-6513-10-Tom O'Keefe-
1965-6616-8-Tom O'Keefe-
1966-6712-11-Jack Magee-
1967-6811-12-Jack Magee-
1968-6912-12-Jack Magee-
1969-7018-7-Jack MageeNIT 1st Round
1970-7112-14-Jack Magee-
1971-723-23-Jack Magee-
1972-7312-14-John Thompson-
1973-7413-13-John Thompson-
1974-7518-10-John ThompsonNCAA 1st Round
1975-7621-7-John ThompsonNCAA 1st Round
1976-7719-9-John ThompsonNIT 1st Round
1977-7823-8-John ThompsonNIT Semifinals
1978-7924-5-John ThompsonNCAA 1st Round
1979-8026-65-1John ThompsonNCAA Elite 8
1980-8120-129-5John ThompsonNCAA 1st Round
1981-8230-710-4John ThompsonNCAA Finalist
1982-8322-1011-5John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1983-8434-314-2John ThompsonNCAA Champion
1984-8535-314-2John ThompsonNCAA Finalist
1985-8624-811-5John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1986-8729-512-4John ThompsonNCAA Elite 8
1987-8820-109-7John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1988-8929-513-3John ThompsonNCAA Elite 8
1989-9024-711-5John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1990-9119-138-8John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1991-9222-1012-6John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1992-9320-138-10John ThompsonNIT Finalist
1993-9419-1210-8John ThompsonNCAA 2nd Round
1994-9522-1011-7John ThompsonNCAA Sweet 16
1995-9629-813-5John ThompsonNCAA Elite 8
1996-9720-1011-7John ThompsonNCAA 1st Round
1997-9816-156-12John ThompsonNIT 2nd Round
1998-9915-166-12John Thompson/Craig EsherickNIT 1st Round
1999-0019-156-10Craig EsherickNIT 2nd Round
2000-0125-810-6Craig EsherickNCAA Sweet 16
2001-0219-119-7Craig Esherick-
2002-0319-156-10Craig EsherickNIT Finals
2003-0413-154-12Craig Esherick-
2004-0519-138-8John Thompson IIINIT Quarterfinals
2005-0623-1010-6John Thompson IIINCAA Sweet 16
2006-0730-713-3John Thompson IIINCAA Final 4

[edit] Famous alumni

[edit] 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.[7] Victor Page, who led the Big East in scoring during the 1996-'97 season, played in the CBA (now NBDL). Page was one of the greatest players in Sioux Falls Skyforce history.

[edit] Basketball players famous in other areas

Several Hoya basketball players are famous purely for their off-court accomplishments:

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

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