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Georgetown Basketball: June 2001 News Archive

NBA Draft: RBB Drafted, Scruggs Not 6/27/01

Congratulations to 2001 graduate Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, selected as the 2nd round selection of the Portland Trail Blazers in Wednesday's NBA Draft.

"I don't worry about [how high I'm picked]," Boumtje Boumtje said in this link to the Washington Post. prior to the draft. "I would just feel blessed to be in the league. I just want to be in a situation where I can grow up, learn more basketball and be in a good situation."

Additional coverage can be found at NBA.com and the Portland Oregonian.

Lee Scruggs was not as fortunate, failing to be drafted.

"It’s kind of nerve-wracking," said Scruggs to Wednesday's Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times. "You try not to think about it, but it’s hard not to because this is your whole life."

Big East Crossover Games Announced 6/26/01

A day after the Connecticut athletics web site announced a game at Georgetown, the complete Big East crossover opponents have been announced.

Because of the number of teams in the Big East, each team plays a home and home schedule within its seven team division and rotates games between teams in the other division. Georgetown's 2001-02 opponents are set as follows:

Home Games Away Games
Notre Dame Notre Dame
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh
Rutgers Rutgers
Seton Hall Seton Hall
Syracuse Syracuse
West Virginia West Virginia
Connecticut* Boston College*
Miami* Villanova*
* Crossover opponent from East division

Dates and times will not be finalized until August.

Because of the schedule rotation, this season will mark the first time in 36 years that Georgetown and St. John's have not met in the regular season; a similar streak of 41 consecutive years of games between Georgetown and Boston College was broken in 2000-01. Other Big East schools rotated off the 2001-02 schedule will be Providence and Virginia Tech.

ESPN: Hoyas To Play Georgia Nov. 19 6/25/01

An ESPN report has added some new names to the Hoyas' 2001-02 non-conference schedule.

Andy Katz of ESPN.com reported Friday that Georgetown will meet Georgia in the 2001 Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts on November 19. Georgetown's last meeting in the Tip-Off Classic was a 56-54 loss to Wake Forest in December 1997.

The Hoyas have not met the Bulldogs since the 1977 Hoya Invitational at McDonough Gym, one of only two in-season tournaments ever held on campus.

Katz also reported that the Dec. 20 game versus Virginia would be a part of a two-game exempted tournament to benefit the John Thompson Foundation. A November date to be announced will see Georgetown host Towson, with the second game of the tournament a month later with Virginia. (An "exempted" tournament means that only one game of the two counts against the 27 game scheduling limit.)

Meanwhile, the Columbia (S.C.) State reports that Georgetown's series with South Carolina, previously reported to play in Washington this season, appears to be a road game. "USC will play host to [Georgetown] in 2001-02 and will play at...Georgetown in 2002-03," writes reporter Nat Newell.

Virginia Gets $20M Arena Gift 6/18/01

Although it's not Georgetown-related, the announcement of a major donor for Virginia athletics is notable.

An anonymous donor has made a $20 million gift to help construct a new arena at the University of Virginia, according to this link to TheSabre.com. Although the gift is only roughly one-sixth of the cost for a proposed $125 million price tag (for a college arena, no less), it will be enough to get design plans in place for the new facility.

By comparison, a $20 million gift to Georgetown would fund the entire estimated cost to renovate McDonough Gymnasium and bring most games back to campus.

Mutombo Appears On CBS' Late Show 6/18/01

For those who didn't stay up late Monday, Dikembe Mutombo (SLL '91) made an appearance on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. A recap follows in this link to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Monday Philadelphia Daily News had a reminder for 76ers fans to help support Mutombo and his efforts to build a hospital for the people of the Congo. "If you enjoyed the Sixers' ride as much as you appeared to enjoy it, why not send Mutombo something to carry along to the groundbreaking? Why not help him build the first public hospital in that region in almost 40 years?", asks the paper. For more information, check the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation web site at http://www.dmf.org.

However, while in New York, Mutombo had his car stolen back in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Of particular concern to Mutombo was his J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship trophy awarded from the NBA, which was left in the car. On Saturday, the Daily News reported the trophy had been recovered.

Italo Ablondi Dies; Played For Hoyas From 1947-1950 6/17/01

Monday's Washington Post notes the passing of Washington lawyer Italo Ablondi (SFS '50), a three year basketball letterman at Georgetown.

Ablondi, a 6-0 guard, played three years at Georgetown and three more years in the American Basketball League. Following basketball, Ablondi earned a law degree from St. John's, served in private practice, lectured on U.S. trade policy and and served six years on the United States International Trade Commission.

Harvey Thomas Featured In Memphis All-Star Game 6/17/01

Incoming freshman Harvey Thomas heads to Washington this week, but before leaving Memphis he scored 20 points and added 15 rebounds in a city all-star game, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. This was the first and only time the crowd would see Thomas at this high school level, given that Thomas did not play basketball his senior year after transferring to Memphis' Hamilton HS.

Thomas is looking forward to patrolling the middle. "I love to let people know that nothing's going to be easy with 'Big Harv' down there," he said. (Thanks to "Pitbulls" from the Hoyatalk board for the link.)

Esherick Discusses NBA Draft 6/16/01

For the next week, much of the basketball talk in Washington will be of the professional variety; that is, who will the Washington Wizards take as the #1 pick. The Washington Post posed the question to a number of people, including coach Craig Esherick.

"Five years from now, someone is going to say, 'I can't believe [the Wizards] didn't pick this kid,'" said Esherick, discussing the migration of high schoolers to the draft. "It's going to be one of the high school kids probably, but it's going to take you five years to find out" if it's the right pick.

Georgetown Finishes 41st In Sears Cup Standings 6/15/01

Georgetown University finished 41st among 318 Division I schools in the totals for the Sears Directors' Cup, an award presented to the university with the highest finishes across all recognized NCAA sports. For the seventh straight year, Stanford was awarded the trophy for Division I schools.

Georgetown's finish was notable on many levels--it was 8th among all Division I private institutions, second among all Big East schools, and second among all athletic programs below the Division I-A level, trailing only Princeton.

The ranking could have been even higher, except that one of Georgetown's most successful sports this season--sailing--is not an NCAA sport and its national championship is not reflected in the totals. Overall, in the midst of tighter budgets and a campus under major construction, the accomplishments by Georgetown's student-athletes in 2000-01 are certainly impressive.

Among Big East schools, the order of finish included Notre Dame (10), Georgetown (41), Connecticut (49), Boston College (50), Miami (54), Virginia Tech (63), West Virginia (69), Villanova (71), Providence (74), Syracuse (91), Rutgers (94), Seton Hall (103), St. John's (115), and Pittsburgh (153).

Among local schools, Maryland finished just ahead of GU at 40, followed by George Mason (106), George Washington (149) and Howard (237). American did not point in any NCAA post-season events and therefore was not included in the final totals.

CBS Sportsline Discusses Esherick 6/11/01

Head coach Craig Esherick is featured in a Dan Wetzel column at CBS Sportsline (down the page). Asked if he enjoyed the school's Sweet 16 run, Esherick was direct: "I certainly feel a great sense of pride in how the season happened. But I'm also greedy enough to want to have another. And another. And another."

The writer notes that sophomore Courtland Freeman "sat out most of last year as a redshirt". However, there has been no official word on whether Freeman has been granted an additional year of eligibility.

Wetzel added this note: "Esherick has done the near impossible. He succeeded a legend and in three short years and established that this program is his program. He did it first in his mind. Then proved it in everyone else's."

NBA Draft Profiles 6/11/01

In the midst of the NBA conference finals, the prospect lists for the NBA draft are already forming. Here are ESPN capsule reviews of Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje and Lee Scruggs. The two Hoyas are also featured in this link to CBS Sportsline.

Boumtje-Boumtje had a good day in pre-draft camp action, according to this article from CBS Sportsline.

Sweetney Named Finalist For USA Under 22 Team 6/11/01

Rising sophomore Mike Sweetney was named as one of 16 finalists for the under-22 USA team for the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men Tournament. Here's the release from USABasketball.com.

"It feels real good to be honored and to be able to play for the USA," said Sweetney in a press release quote, "and over these six weeks I'm just going to work real hard."

 

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