Georgetown Basketball

Georgetown's holiday gift tour continued Tuesday with a 76-55 walkover of Maine before a season-low crowd at Capital One Arena Tuesday.

As has been the case in home games this season, Georgetown got up early and never looked back. The Hoyas opened the game on a 11-2 run, went up 14 midway through the half and kept the lead consistent throughout substitutions and defensive adjustments. Despite shooting 1 for 6 from three point range, Georgetown shot 50 percent en route to a 40-24 lead at the half, as four starters--Kaleb Johnson, Marcus Derrickson, Jessie Govan, and Jonathan Mulmore--accounted for 34 of the team's 40 points. In its first-ever meeting with Georgetown, Maine limped to the locker room having shot 32 percent and missing all 10 three point attempts taken.

The Black Bears (1-5) were 8-65 in games over the last five seasons trailing at the half and did not challenge that statistic in this one. The Hoyas' lead never sank below 12 points, and a pair of Jahvon Blair three point baskets keyed a 9-0 Georgetown run midway in the second half that put the game well out of reach. The Black Bears gave up 10 second half turnovers and 18 in total, accounting for 23 Georgetown points.

Five Georgetown players were in double figures, with Jahvon Blair joining the four mentioned above. By contrast, the remainder of the team shot just a combined 3 for 16, so there is some work ahead in practice before Georgetown returns to action Sunday night against a similarly overmatched opponent in Coppin State, winless in six games this season and having not defeated a single Division I team out of conference in 62 games dating to Dec. 11, 2013.

The Georgetown half of the box score:

            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:
Mulmore      22   3-4   0-0   4-4   2   5  2   10
Johnson      34   4-7   1-3   7-8   4   1  0   18
Pickett      22   0-1   0-4   1-2   4   3  0    1
Derrickson   31   3-3   0-1   6-6   4   1  2   12
Govan        27   6-10  1-2   1-2   8   1  3   16
Reserves:
Blair        22   2-3   2-5   1-2   3   1  3   11
Mosely       20   0-3   0-1   1-2   1   1  2    1
Hines         2   0-0   0-1   0-0   0   0  0    0
Sodom         2   0-1   0-0   0-0   2   0  0    0
Dickerson    16   3-4   0-1   1-3   2   0  3    7
Muresan       2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Team Rebounds                       6
DNP: Walker, Mourning
TOTALS      200  21-36  4-18 22-29 36  13 15   76

Last season, a campaign to drive attendance at midweek game with a free ticket to anyone who would post a message to social media drew 3,996 to the former Verizon Center. The promotion for Tuesday's game produced similar results.

Georgetown's win over Maine drew 4,029, the second smallest regular season crowd ever to see a Georgetown game at the downtown arena. The 10 smallest off-campus home crowds since 1981:

The Hoyas' game with Maine will mark a three game stretch where the opponents are a combined 1-18 (.052) through the first two weeks of the college basketball season.

Twenty years since his days playing basketball at Georgetown, Cheikh Dia (C'97) is preparing for a return to his native Senegal, per a feature article in the Regis University alumni magazine.

Following a overseas pro career, Dia relocated to Denver, where he has enrolled at Regis for a master's degree in non-profit management.

"I saw myself and still see myself in Jesuit teaching," said Dia. "We believe in many of the same things and serve the same God."

Dia played four years for the Hoyas from 1993-1997, averaging 3.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 107 games, starting 30 games his senior season and averaging 8.1 points that year. He was named the team's MVP in 1997 and won the Big East Scholar-Athlete Award for men's basketball, the only Georgetown player to have received the award over the 38 year history of the conference.

According to the article, Dia plans to move his family to western Senegal to run for mayor of Sicap-Liberte, an municipality of approximately 47,000 residents, and hopefully pursue higher office in his home country. 

"I may not get to [change] the whole world, but I will change Senegal."

The Georgetown Hoyas survived a tough Richmond squad in its only road trip of the Hoyas' comfortable 11 game non-conference slate, prevailing in an 82-76 win at Robins Center Saturday night.

Richmond is off to its worst start since the 1977-78 season but played with intensity throughout the game. The Princeton offense learned by Chris Mooney as a player and coach was in evidence through much of the first half, as numerous back door plays stung the Hoyas early and led the Spiders to a lead it enjoyed through much of the first half. Richmond led by six entering the final 2:19 of the half but the Hoyas outscored the Spiders 10-3 to earn a 40-39 lead at the break, shooting 52 percent from the field.

Georgetown took full advantage of free throws to stay close. Although the Spiders committed only seven fouls by halftime, the Hoyas were able to get to the free throw line 12 times in the first half, connecting on nine.

The second half stayed within one possession for most of the first seven minutes of action. A three point play by Marcus derrickson brought the Hoyas lead back to four, 54-50, with 12:22 to play but it was immediately answered by a Buckingham three, 54-53. Six straight points by Govan extended the lead to 57-52, but a 7-0 run gave the Spiders its only lead of the second half, 59-57. Derrickson answered with seven straight to put the Hoyas back up five, 67-59, but the Spiders weren't going away.

The Hoyas led by as many as seven entering the final four minutes of play, but a Golden three and a pair of baskets by Khwan Fore brought the Spiders to within two 7674, with 1:57 to play. Georgetown got a late three from freshman Jamarko Pickett with 1:27 remaining allowed GU to pull away for good, outscoring UR 6-2 to end the game as the Spiders missed three straight three point attempts and six of its final seven shot attempts overall.

Georgetown got double figures from each of its five starters, with Jonathan Mulmore leading all GU scorers with 15. The Hoyas added ten threes in 18 attempts and outrebounded the Spiders 35-27, yet got all they could handle from Grant Golden, Khwan Fore, and De'Monte Buckingham, combining for 64 of the Spiders' 76 points. The Spiders shot just 25 percent from three point range and missed its last three when any of the shots could have turned the tide.

The Hoyas continue to grow and mature as the season is progressing, but the caliber of competition remains much less than what it will face in January and beyond. Next up: a 1-5 Maine team that ranks near the bottom of Division I in scoring, averaging just 61 points a game on 36 percent shooting.

            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:
Mulmore      34   3-5   2-2   3-4   2   8  1   15
Johnson      35   2-2   2-2   1-2   3   0  2   11
Pickett      30   2-4   1-4   5-5   7   3  2   12
Derrickson   31   3-7   1-3   7-7   9   1  1   16
Govan        34   5-8   1-2   1-1   6   2  3   14
Reserves:

Blair        14   0-2   2-4   1-2   1   0  1    7
Mosely       16   0-1   1-1   4-5   6   1  4    7
Walker        5   0-0   0-0   0-0   1   0  1    0
Dickerson     1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Team Rebounds                       0
DNP: Hines, Sodom, Muresan, Mourning
TOTALS      200  15-29 10-18 22-26 35  15 15   82

Junior forward Kaleb Johnson scored a career high 24 points, 19 in the first half, as Georgetown easily overwhelmed Maryland-Eastern Shore, 83-57, before a matinee crowd of 6,381 at Capital One Arena Saturday.

The Hawks, whose only win this season was against a Division III team, fell behind 10-0 and 22-2, and never challenged. Johnson scored 19 of the Hoyas' first 38 points. Over and above Johnson's superlative play, the Hoyas also got strong efforts from Jessie Govan (nine points, 10 first half rebounds), Jonathan Mulmore (seven points) and Marcus Derrickson (five points, four rebounds) in GU's 40-19 lead at the break.

The lead was stable throughout the second half of a game already decided. The Hawks closed to 17 midway in the half until the Hoyas answered with a 12-2 run to extend the lead to 27 entering the final four minutes. A lineup of Johnson, Govan, Derrickson, Jahvon Blair, Jagan Mosely saw the majority of time in the second half, taking all but two of the team's shots after the break and accounting for 40 of the Hoyas' 43 points after halftime.

Georgetown shot 51 percent for the game to 36 percent for UMES. Five Hoyas were in double figures, with Jessie Govan, Marcus Derrickson, Jahvon Blair, and Jonathan Mulmore joining Johnson for the afternoon.

The Hoyas get Thanksgiving week off and return to action Saturday at Richmond, its only road game prior to Big East action. The Georgetown half of the box score:

            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:
Mulmore      24   1-2   2-2   2-2   4   5  0   10
Johnson      34   5-8   4-5   2-2   6   4  2   24
Pickett      16   0-3   0-2   0-0   2   2  0    0
Derrickson   31   4-7   1-3   3-3  10   1  3   14
Govan        33  10-14  0-1   3-7  14   2  2   23
Reserves:
Blair        24   1-4   2-6   4-4   4   4  2   12
Mosely       21   0-0   0-0   0-0   1   4  2    0
Walker       12   0-1   0-0   0-0   5   2  4    0
Hines         1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Sodom         3   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  2    0
Muresan       1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Team Rebounds                       2
DNP: Dickerson, Mourning
TOTALS      200  21-39  9-19 14-18 48  24 17   83

The back of the warmups on the Mount St. Mary's players reads "Mayhem", its version of the "Havoc" defense which coach Jamion Christian learned while coaching at Virginia Commonwealth. Such disruption was nowhere to be seen Wednesday, as the Georgetown Hoyas filled its stat sheet with ease, 102-68, the second of a month long run of overmatched opponents and quick wins scheduled for Capital One Arena.

This one was all but over by the first media time-out. The Hoyas opened hitting six of its first seven shots as the Mount had no defensive presence in this game and fell behind 15-8. Poor shooting by the Mountaineers led to numerous breakouts by the Hoyas, picking up 17 fast break points to just two for MSM.

Some early foul trouble to guard Jonathan Mulmore and forward Marcus Derrickson opened the bench for extended runs by freshman jamarko Pickett and sophomore Jagan Mosely, who joined three starters in double figures. Georgetown led by as many as 22 in the first half and carried a 54-36 lead into the intermission, shooting 63 percent from the field, where the Mountaineers, who rely on the outside shot, hit just 28 percent from outside.

Mount St. Mary's showed even less entering the second half, leaving the small crowd of 5,064 to watch a mid-November Kenner League game. Georgetown opened with 10 of the first 12 points of the second half, where Jessie Govan and Jahvon Blair pushed the lead to 26, 68-52, at the 12:33 mark. The Mount put up one VCU-styled press in the second half, resulting in a Georgetown turnover, but made no other efforts to tighten the defense. Instead, a free wheeling second half ensued, where Chris Sodom's first collegiate points extended the lead to 30, 93-63, with 5:11 to play.

MSM guard Junior Robinson was the star of the show, scoring 26 points, but the Mountaineers shot just 24 percent after halftime, finishing just 8 of 33 from three point range. Georgetown was 11 of 22 (50% from three) and owned a 51-23 advantage on rebounds. Five Hoyas posted double figures, the most since the 2016-17 opener versus USC-Upstate.

The Mountaineers were not added to the schedule by accident--over the past three seasons, they are a combined 4-23 (.173) in non-conference games and have dropped 14 of its last 15. Another suspect opponent follows Saturday in Maryland-Eastern Shore, which is 3-27 (.100) versus Division I non-conference opponents since 2015-16. The Hawks enter the game 1-1, with a win over Division III University of Valley Forge (which curiously lists the game as only an exhibition on its schedule) and a 53 point loss to Maryland where the Hawks shot 8 percent from three point range in the second half of a 96-43 loss.

The Georgetown half of the box score:

            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:
Blair        27   6-10  2-5   1-1   3   5  0   19
Mulmore      12   1-1   1-1   0-0   0   2  3    5
Johnson      28   4-6   1-3   3-4   7   4  2   14
Derrickson   16   2-3   1-3   2-2   5   3  2    9
Govan        28   4-6   3-3   3-3  14   4  2   20
Reserves:
Pickett      31   3-11  2-5   2-2   7   2  2   14
Mosely       28   5-6   1-1   2-3   5   5  1   15
Walker       14   1-3   0-1   0-0   5   0  0    2
Hines         3   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Sodom        12   2-3   0-0   0-0   5   0  5    4
Muresan       2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Team Rebounds                       0
DNP: Dickerson, Mourning
TOTALS      200  28-46 11-22 13-15 51  25 17  102

Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson combined for 40 points in Georgetown's 73-57 win over Jacksonville Sunday, the coaching debut of Patrick Ewing held before an appreciative crowd of 9,212 at the renamed Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

The Dolphins, with three key players already lost to season ending injuries, struggled to stay in this game. The Hoyas took a double digit lead halfway through the first period, at a point where the Dolphins were 2 for 17 from the field. Govan and Derrickson were largely unopposed inside as GU built up leads as large as 16 in the first half, while the Dolphins combined for seven field goals and 12 turnovers at the break, trailing 36-20.

Jacksonville never closed within 14 after halftime. Govan or Derrickson scored 18 of the Hoyas' first 22 points of the second half, where GU built a 22 point lead, 58-36. The Dolphins lacked any inside scoring options and its 22 turnovers were simply not enough to contend.

Georgetown had its own problems with turnovers, with 18 in its debut.

"Starting off a game with 18 turnovers...we got a lot of work to do in practice next week," said junior Marcus Derrickson.

The Hoyas shot 45 percent from the field with 10 threes, three after halftime. Nine of the ten Hoyas which saw action scored in the game, with freshman Chris Sodom seeing less than a minute of action late.

The Georgetown half of the box score:

            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:
Mulmore      25   1-3   0-1   3-4   3   7  3    5
Johnson      11   1-1   0-1   0-0   1   1  5    2
Pickett      25   0-1   2-6   0-0   2   2  1    6
Derrickson   30   3-5   4-7   2-2   8   1  2   20
Govan        34   7-12  1-2   3-4  15   0  3   20
Reserves:
Blair        18   0-4   2-4   0-0   3   1  1    6
Mosely       28   2-2   1-2   2-4   1   3  4    9
Walker       13   1-1   0-1   0-0   1   1  0    2
Sodom         1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    0
Dickerson    15   1-2   0-2   1-2   2   2  0    3
Team Rebounds                       1
DNP: Hines, Muresan, Mourning
TOTALS      200  16-31 10-26 11-16 37  18 20   73

The NCAA has released its annual review of graduation rates across sports, with Georgetown University achieving an accumulated graduation rate of 97% of student-athletes that receive athletic aid against 94% of students overall in its latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) calculations.

"As colleges and universities, we have a responsibility to prepare our students to excel both on and off the field of play," said Georgetown president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95). "This year's Graduation Success Rate is exceptional--the highest in history. Tracking this rate each year is critically important, helping us to measure our effectiveness in this responsibility and determine the most appropriate policies to ensure that all of our students have the support they need to be able to graduate."

Men's basketball scored a GSR rate of 67% for the incoming classes from 2007 to 2010, or the graduating classes of 2012 through 2015. According to the GUHoyas.com news release, "The GSR is based on student-athletes who entered college as freshmen between 2007-10 and allows for the removal of those individuals from who left Georgetown in good academic standing." A second metric, the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR), does not remove transfers from the calculation and are generally lower as a result. Men's basketball scored a 71% four year rate on the FGR and a 0% rate for the incoming class of 2009-10, where two players transferred in good standing (Jerrelle Benimon, Vee Sanford) and one left early for the NBA (Hollis Thompson).

Here are the ongoing men's basketball ratings among Big East schools.

The first of Georgetown's verbal commits has signed a national latter of intent, with guard Mac McClung's ceremony drawing a story from the Bristol (VA) Herald Courier. "Playing for Coach Ewing is a great opportunity," McClung said. "He's not going to lie to you to make you feel better. He knows what you need to do and I have a lot of trust in him. On the court, he's a really transparent guy and off the court he's a good dude...Coach Ewing showed me his plan for me as an individual and for the team as well and that drew me towards him."

McClung averaged 29 points and 5.5 assists per game as a junior at Gate City HS.

The Jacksonville Dolphins get a head start on Sunday's game at Capital One Arena, traveling to Birmingham Friday for a game with UAB before visiting Washington on Sunday. The Jacksonville web site has some notes for the games.

The Dolphins return two starters from last season's 17-16 team which finished sixth in the eight team Atlantic Sun Conference.

As of Friday morning, Georgetown has not posted its media notes for the game. The position of sports information director remains open on its online staff directory following Mex Carey's departure earlier this year to become the SID at Michigan State.

Unlike most games this season, Sunday's game will not be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, but along various regional cable providers. From the HoyaTalk board, here is a recent list of regional networks planning to air the broadcast:

AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Fox Sports Arizona
Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Florida
Fox Sports Midwest
Fox Sports North
Fox Sports Ohio
Fox Sports San Diego
Fox Sports Southeast
Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas, Houston)
Fox Sports Wisconsin
MASN2 (Washington DC area)
Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
Root Sports Northwest
WCIU-DT2 (Chicago)
YES (New York area)
YurView (New England)

The NCAA has released its annual review of graduation rates across sports, with Georgetown University achieving an accumulated graduation rate of 97% of student-athletes that receive athletic aid against 94% of students overall in its latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) calculations.

"As colleges and universities, we have a responsibility to prepare our students to excel both on and off the field of play," said Georgetown president Jack DeGioia (C'79, G'95). "This year's Graduation Success Rate is exceptional--the highest in history. Tracking this rate each year is critically important, helping us to measure our effectiveness in this responsibility and determine the most appropriate policies to ensure that all of our students have the support they need to be able to graduate."

Men's basketball scored a GSR rate of 67% for the incoming classes from 2007 to 2010, or the graduating classes of 2012 through 2015. According to the GUHoyas.com news release, "The GSR is based on student-athletes who entered college as freshmen between 2007-10 and allows for the removal of those individuals from who left Georgetown in good academic standing." A second metric, the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR), does not remove transfers from the calculation and are generally lower as a result. Men's basketball scored a 71% four year rate on the FGR and a 0% rate for the incoming class of 2009-10, where two players transferred in good standing (Jerrelle Benimon, Vee Sanford) and one left early for the NBA (Hollis Thompson).

Here are the ongoing men's basketball ratings among Big East schools.

The first of Georgetown's verbal commits has signed a national latter of intent, with guard Mac McClung's ceremony drawing a story from the Bristol (VA) Herald Courier. "Playing for Coach Ewing is a great opportunity," McClung said. "He's not going to lie to you to make you feel better. He knows what you need to do and I have a lot of trust in him. On the court, he's a really transparent guy and off the court he's a good dude...Coach Ewing showed me his plan for me as an individual and for the team as well and that drew me towards him."

McClung averaged 29 points and 5.5 assists per game as a junior at Gate City HS.

The dawn of the Patrick Ewing Era arrives this weekend, and if some still have questions about Ewing's adjustment, he does not, according to this preview article from the Washington Post.

"I just think it's a completely different world [for Ewing]," said one coach to the Post, who asked to remain anonymous. "That doesn't mean he can't handle it. But bigger than all the rules, I think the thing that would be shocking to me if I had never been in the industry is just the pace of it all and the intensity that comes from the pace."

"There's a lot to learn, particularly in recruiting," said Big east commissioner Val Ackerman. "The player acquisition is different than it is in the NBA. He's going to be best friends with his compliance person. He's going to need people on his staff that understand how all that works. So it's the recruiting, but it's also the understanding that [the players] are not full-time employees. They've got to go to class. There are eligibility requirements in terms of their academic course work, especially at a school like Georgetown." Ewing remains resolute in his abilities.

"When I first got the job all people talked about was the recruiting, recruiting, recruiting is going to be the hardest thing. Recruiting is recruiting, and it's been fine. Dealing with people is dealing with people. It's coaching," he said.

The Associated Press Top 10 from March 5, 2013 was not only a snapshot of its time, but a harbinger for the years to come in college basketball. Six of the ten are ranked in this season's poll. Five of the ten would play in a Final Four over the next four seasons, two to a regional final, another two to the round of 16.

The names from that 2013 poll remain at the top of their game: Duke, Gonzaga, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Kansas, Michigan State, Miami, Ohio State. Of these ten, one is nowhere to be found. That team is Georgetown.

Once was the Big East standard-bearer, the Hoyas open its season Sunday as a distant entrant in a conference which has thrived in spite of its shortcomings. How did this happen?

Here's a commentary on the road taken, and the road ahead.

Veteran sports anchor Dave Preston offers a preview of the 2017-18 season at this link to WTOP.com.

"Thirty-two years after last wearing the signature gray T-shirt underneath his jersey, Ewing tries to bring his school back from what has been a rough couple of years," said Preston. "Consecutive 18-loss campaigns. Early exits at the Big East Tournament. Defeats to lowly DePaul. Roughly 5,000 fans on hand at Verizon Center for the St. John's game. There's work to be done."

"The hires of Craig Esherick and John Thompson III each saw early success before eventually meeting failure. For those who grew up on Hoya Paranoia in the 1980s, #33 offers one final attempt to return to the program's "Camelot."

Sunday's opener with Jacksonville is welcomed by the annual HOYA Basketball Preview issue, which has been published annually by the paper since the 1958-59 season.

Features on coach Patrick Ewing, center jessie Govan, and the women's basketball team are covered in the online version.

From Monday's New York Post, some additional quotes from Patrick Ewing in anticipation of his debut Sunday versus Jacksonville.

"I do reflect, once upon a time, that was me on the other side of the table," Ewing said. "I do try and reflect, and when I do talk to them, I try to sell to them the fact that once I was in your shoes, and look where I am today. So everything that you're going through, I've gone through."

The Post preview picked Georgetown last in the conference, noting that "It could take several years for the Hoyas to get back into Big East contention."