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Georgetown Basketball: May 2008 News Archive

NBA Pre-Draft Camp 5/29/08

Patrick Ewing Jr. scored 14 points in the opening round of games for the NBA pre-draft camp, a three day tourney that showcases aspiring draft picks and free agents for the upcoming season.

"I feel like I'm able to help teams win games," said Ewing in this link to the Associated Press. "I'm willing to do whatever. Even if it doesn't involve me being on the court, I still want to win the games."

Rivers To Indiana 5/27/08

Former Georgetown guard Jeremiah Rivers, who announced his transfer earlier this month, will transfer to Indiana, according to the Associated Press.

Rivers chose Indiana over Georgia Tech and will have two years eligibility beginning in the 2009-10 season.

"It just wasn't a good fit for me at Georgetown and I didn't feel like the offense was really showcasing my talents," Rivers told the Indianapolis Star. "I had worked hard at becoming a defensive specialist and that's fine, but I feel like I'm capable of a lot more."

Basketball Attendance Up In 2008 5/19/08

Georgetown's men's basketball average of 12,955 per game was the 24th best in the nation, according to an NCAA news article. Fourteen Big East schools were among the top 100 in attendance, with St. John's (with a low of 5,886 a game), still outpointing eastern expatriate Boston College, who averaged only 5,778 per game in 2007-08.

The 2008 numbers were an increase of 2,514 a game from 2006-07, the second largest increase in the nation behind Southern California (+2,670).

Hoyas Secure Second 2009 Verbal 5/19/08

The CSTV web site is reporting a verbal commitment from the high school class of 2009, where 6-11 center DaShonte Riley has verballed to Georgetown for the 2009-10 season.

Riley, from Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, MI, is ranked as the #5 center prospect among the class of 2009 by Scout.com.

Georgetown received an earlier 2008 verbal from 6-6 forward Hollis Thompson in November 2007.

Braswell Returns For Prep Year 5/15/08

As discussed in Barker Davis' article Monday, ESPN.com has confirmed that forward recruit Chris Braswell will not attend Georgetown in 2008-09 and will continue at Hargrave Prep in the fall.

Green Named To NBA All-Rookie Team 5/14/08

Congratulations to former Georgetown forward Jeff Green, named to the NBA All-Rookie Team on Tuesday.

Green started in 51 games for the Sonics in 2007-08, averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. "He may have been the second best rookie on his team [to Kevin Durant], but he certainly had a better season than the vast majority of the rest of the rookie field," wrote NBA.com.

Tom Scates (1957-2008) 5/14/08

Tom Scates (C'79), a four year lettermen on Georgetown teams of the late 1970's, died of a heart attack suffered this past Saturday. The announcement was made Tuesday night at GUHoyas.com.

Despite his imposing 6-11, 255 lb. frame, Scates' scoring and agility were a work in progress throughout his four years at Georgetown. As a freshman, Scates played in just seven games as a backup to Merlin Wilson.

In 1976-77, Scates stepped up his game with action in 27 contests, including a 14 point, 13 rebound effort against Chicago State, and a 12 point, 11 rebound effort against Alabama. As a junior, Scates' scoring average slipped to 1.6 points per game, but his impact on the floor grew as a result of a new defensive weapon: the blocked shot.

"Tommy was very effective in shutting down the opposition's inside game," said head coach John Thompson prior to the 1978-79 season. "He is very intimidating, and few people want to go to the hoop against him."

Scates' senior season saw him start 25 games, with a then-record 62 blocks in 1978-79, breaking his own mark of 54 set the year before. Scates was a defensive presence throughout the season, if not an offensive one--he took only six field goal attempts in his final ten games.

At the end of February, with a 23-4 record, Georgetown saw Scates suffer a season-ending knee injury minutes into the ECAC South playoff game against Old Dominion.

"Without him, we were unable to control Rutgers All-American center James Bailey and we lost in the first round of the NCAA," wrote Chris Sortwell in this link to the Georgetown Basketball History Project. "Had we prevailed, we would have been in a regional final four along with Penn (who we had beaten), St John's (who we had beaten) and Syracuse (who we had beaten.) For a program that had never been to the mountaintop this felt like a massive missed opportunity."

Scates played basketball overseas for three years (1979-82) but his initial post-basketball career often elicited disapproving tones in the media: Tom Scates had become a doorman in the Marriott hotel chain. If some looked down on the job, Scates did not.

"I started doing this because when I came back to DC... I found that I really enjoyed the work," said Scates in an article posted in the 1986-87 Georgetown media guide. "It took me from an introverted and quiet person to a more extroverted outlook because that's what is needed to do my job well. I found that at my size I was going to be remembered and I wanted the impression to be positive. I also found that a job which could mean $200.00 a day was worth keeping.

"As long as I am comfortable with my niche in life what do I care what someone else thinks?" he asked. "I meet new people all of the time, I make good money and I'm free of a lot of the worries that go with judging your worth by the status of your job."

In recent years, Tom Scates worked as a representative for Comcast. A remembrance is posted at the View From The Hilltop blog.

Schedule Update 5/14/08

The Stamford Advocate reports that Connecticut and Providence will be on the Stags' upcoming schedule, but not Georgetown. The two schools completed a three year series in the 2007-08 season.

Thompson Discusses Recent Transfers 5/12/08

With five transfers in the past two seasons, and two in the past two weeks, head coach John Thompson III continues to look ahead.

"Everybody wants to play. Everybody expects to play. In many respects, you want them to have that attitude. But there are only so many minutes available," said Thompson in this link to the Washington Times, his first public comments following the departures of Vernon Macklin on April 28 and Jeremiah Rivers last week.

"I'm not going to make promises about playing time," he noted. "That's a fluid situation for every player on the roster, from seniors who have started before to freshmen who are just walking in the door. Those minutes are earned, not promised."

The Times article also reports that forward Chris Braswell has not qualified for what the newspaper called "ongoing academic issues".

"Down to just nine available scholarship players and only one returning frontcourt player with any experience, the Hoyas aren't likely to earn any three-peat votes in what perhaps will be the deepest conference in America," writes Times reporter Barker Davis.

"Obviously, we will not have the sheer number of bodies up front that we have had the past couple of years. But I have confidence in the people returning and in those arriving," said Thompson. "We'll be OK. We'll figure it out...That's what we do."

Inbound Transfer For 2009-10 5/12/08

The end of the Washington Times article also cites an inbound transfer for the Hoyas, discussed in recruiting circles but not announced by Georgetown to date.

Julian Vaughn, a 6-10 forward from Florida State, announced a transfer from FSU on April 29. Vaughn averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in his freshman season, and pending confirmation from Georgetown, would have three years eligibility beginning in the 2009-10 season.

2008-09 Depth Chart Updated 5/12/08

The absence of Chris Braswell would leave nine players on scholarship for the 2008-09 season. A depth chart on the 2008-09 roster could look like this:

Guards
Chris Wright (Soph, 5.7 ppg) Jessie Sapp (Sr.,11.1 ppg)
Jason Clark (Freshman)
Forwards
Austin Freeman (Soph, 9.1 ppg) Dajuan Summers (Jr., 11.1 ppg)
Nikita Mescheriakov (RS Fr.) Greg Monroe, Freshman
Omar Wattad (Soph, 1.0) Bryon Jansen  (Sr. walk-on, 0.3 ppg)
Centers

Henry Sims, Freshman
 
Rivers To Indiana...Or Not? 5/10/08

Saturday's Washington Times reported that guard Jeremiah Rivers will transfer to Indiana. Later in the day, however, sources told the Bloomington Herald-Times that Rivers has not done so and will be looking at other schools.

Rivers: Fifth Transfer Since 2006 5/8/08

Jeremiah Rivers marks the fifth transfer from Georgetown since October 2006. Five departures over a two year period has happened only twice before in modern Georgetown history:

Seasons Departures Date Transfer To
1989-91 Milton Bell '92 Jan. 1990 Richmond
Michael Tate '93 May 1990 James Madison
David Edwards '93 May 1990 Texas A&M
Antoine Stoudamire '93 Dec. 1990 Oregon
Mike Sabol '93 Jan. 1991 American
1996-98 Jerry Nichols '98 Jun. 1997 Miss. Valley St.
Shamel Jones '00 Jun. 1997 Memphis
Ed Sheffey '00 Jan. 1998 New Mexico St.
Kenny Brunner '01 Feb. 1998 Fresno St.
Shernard Long '01 Jan. 1999 Georgia St.
2006-08 Josh Thornton '09 Oct. 2006 Towson
Marc Egerson '09 Jan. 2007 Delaware
Octavius Spann '09 May 2007 Marshall
Vernon Macklin '10 Apr. 2008 Florida
Jeremiah Rivers '10 May 2008 TBA
 
Rivers To Transfer 5/8/08

For the second time in as many weeks, Georgetown has unexpectedly lost another player, as the University confirmed the transfer of sophomore guard Jeremiah Rivers on Wednesday.

The son of Boston Celtics coach Glenn Rivers, Jeremiah had played two seasons behind Jonathan Wallace (C'08) and had been widely expected to carry the defensive mantle of the team in 2008-09.

"Jeremiah and his family made a decision and determined this was best for him. We appreciate his hard work and wish him best in his future endeavors," said coach John Thompson III in brief remarks posted at GUHoyas.com. An Georgetown spokesman declined comment when contacted by The HOYA following the announcement.

Like Macklin before him, the departure of a sophomore reserve just prior to taking a leadership role on the team remains surprising. The Winter Park, FL guard appeared in 34 games as a freshman, primarily on defense, averaging 1.3 points. As a sophomore, Rivers averaged just 2.5 points, but came up big in a number of late game defensive stands, none more so than his late game defensive stops against Villanova and Marquette in key wins this past season.

The two remaining members of that 2006-07 team, rising senior Jessie Sapp and rising junior DaJuan Summers, are joined by senior walk-on Bryon Jansen to guide the youngest Georgetown team in over 30 years. It is only the second time since 1946 that Georgetown will have as few as three upperclassmen on the roster.

Additional articles follow below.

NCAA Releases APR Figures 5/7/08

The NCAA has released its annual Academic Progress Rate report, the fourth year of a program that aims to hold colleges and universities accountable for graduation rates.

Academic Progress Rate, or APR, is a benchmark of each men's and women's sports team at NCAA member schools over the last three years. A 1,000 score connotes a 100% graduation rate. The rate consists of one point for each eligible student-athlete and one point for each graduated student-athlete.

The Georgetown results are linked here. Nine sports teams scored a perfect 1000 on the rating, including field hockey, men's and women's golf, women's rowing,  women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor track, and women's outdoor track 

2007 2006 2005 07 v 06
Baseball 975 966 955 +9
Basketball (Men's) 945 970 963 -25
Basketball (Women's) 969 970 957 -1
Cross Country (Men's) 994 991 985 +3
Cross Country (Women's) 993 991 987 +2
Field Hockey 1000 1000 1000 --
Football 961 955 971 +6
Golf (Men's) 1000 1000 1000 --
Golf (Women's) 1000 1000 1000 --
Lacrosse (Men's) 985 989 989 -4
Lacrosse (Women's) 989 990 990 -1
Rowing (Men's, not an NCAA sport) * * * --
Rowing (Women's) 1000 1000 1000 --
Sailing (not an NCAA sport) * * * --
Soccer (Men's) 989 1000 988 -11
Soccer (Women's) 994 996 993 -2
Softball (new in 2006) * * * --
Swimming (Men's) 969 958 938 +9
Swimming (Women's) 1000 1000 1000 --
Tennis (Men's) 952 923 NA +29
Tennis (Women's) 1000 1000 1000 --
Track (Men's Indoor) 1000 1000 1000 --
Track (Women's Indoor) 1000 993 989 +7
Track (Men's Outdoor) 994 1000 1000 -6
Track (Women's Outdoor) 1000 992 988 +8
Volleyball 987 991 986 -4
 

The APR for Georgetown men's basketball fell from third to seventh among Big East schools according to the latest data. The table below compares the men's basketball APR's at the 16 conference schools, with five of this year's 16 falling below the NCAA minimum of 925. Seton Hall was docked one scholarship but was the only Big East school cited for scholarship penalties this year.

2007 2006 2005 2004
Villanova 990 993 1000 1000
Notre Dame 971 977 977 957
Syracuse 955 948 967 977
Marquette 954 927 918 920
Rutgers 953 943 933 881
Connecticut 946 934 889 851
Georgetown 945 970 963 975
Louisville 941 920 908 833
Providence 938 938 936 960
Pittsburgh 935 907 905 885
W. Virginia 932 915 899 911
Seton Hall 924 921 930 979
DePaul 918 893 865 808
St. John's 918 909 884 826
S. Florida 904 898 893 1000
Cincinnati 872 838 872 916
 
Macklin Transfers To Florida 5/3/08

The Gainesville (FL) Sun reports Saturday that former Georgetown forward Vernon Macklin will transfer to the University of Florida this fall.

Macklin, whose transfer was announced by Georgetown April 25, will have two years eligibility beginning in the 2009-10 season.

Big East: Better Than Ever? 5/2/08

Entering its 30th season, Big East coaches tell ESPN.com that the league could be its deepest ever.

"We could have easily lost two or three more guys [to the NBA draft]," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. "We're not losing guys. It's going to be a superstrong league again."

"You could have a really good year and still be in the middle of the pack," said coach John Thompson III, whose Hoyas are picked fifth in the league in the early pre-season discussions. "But I do have a feeling that we'll have a number of elite teams in the country next season."

"This past year I thought going in that we had nine or 10 teams that could make it," Boeheim added. "And next year, for sure, we have 10."

 
 

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