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Georgetown Basketball: August 2004 News Archive

Iverson: Standing Tall 8/30/04

There are any numbers of great stories from the Athens Olympics, but few will point to the performance of the U.S. basketball team among the top stories. The U.S. struggled to a bronze medal finish and earned its share of scorn for poor team play and an absence of NBA talent that stayed home rather than compete in Athens.

One NBA All-Star that did make the trip, Allen Iverson (ex '98), has no regrets.

"Any person that's selected to a team like this, it shouldn't be a question in your mind," Iverson said. "You're honored to get a chance to represent your country, and what's better than that?"

"Anybody that grew up in the U.S. and is able to be a basketball player in the NBA, you understand what that country has done for you and your family. It gave you an opportunity to support your family and be recognized as a household name. I mean, it's just an honor to be able to do something like that, and I would advise anybody that's selected to a team like this to take that honor and cherish it."

Links to coverage:

Flournoy Named Women's Coach 8/28/04

Georgetown University has announced the hiring of Terri Flournoy as its new women's basketball head coach.

"Terri has always been an educator of the complete student-athlete," said interim athletic director Adam Brick in this link to GUHoyas.com. "That focus of both working hard in the classroom and on the court is what makes her such a wonderful hire to lead Georgetown Women's Basketball into the future."

Flournoy, a 1991 Penn State graduate, was an assistant at Georgetown from 1992-1996 before stops at Georgia and Southwest Missouri. The position had been vacant since July 24, when Patrick Knapp resigned to become the coach at Penn.

Links to coverage:

HOYA: New Bank In 'Town 8/27/04

The Georgetown athletic department has signed a ten year sponsorship deal with Chevy Chase Bank, which will open a branch in the Leavey Center, reports The HOYA.

"The partnership will expand financial service opportunities for the campus community and at the same time help support our athletic programs,” said university spokeswoman Julie Bataille.

Penn State Game Confirmed 8/26/04

The web site at Penn State has confirmed its return game with the Hoyas--a Dec. 6 game in Washington.

The Hoyas defeated PSU 79-78 on November 23 in State College, one of only three road wins by the Hoyas last season.

Three Teams Not On Schedule 8/26/04

There was some Internet discussions last year that Georgetown had signed deals to play Michigan and San Francisco in 2004-05. Not so--both schools have now released their schedules, and neither are playing the Hoyas this season:

One opponent from 2003-04 not returning next season is Delaware State. The Wilmington News Journal has posted the Hornets' schedule, which does not include Georgetown.

Illinois Added To Schedule 8/25/04

The Peoria Journal-Star and various Illinois papers are reporting that Georgetown will host Illinois at MCI Center on December 9, with a return trip to Champaign in 2005-06. The Fighting Illini (26-7 in 2003-04) finished the regular season with an RPI of 23 and advanced to the NCAA regionals last season.

According to the Springfield Journal-Register, the Hoyas were added after Southern Methodist backed away from a series with the Illini.

The two schools have met only three times, all at neutral sites: twice at in-season tournaments at Madison Square Garden (1965, 1998) and once at Oklahoma City's Myriad Center for the 1994 NCAAs.

Georgetown Bond Rating Downgraded 8/21/04

In other news, Standard and Poor's has reduced Georgetown's credit rating, reports the Washington Post. This comes after analysts determined that "the university does not have an unrestricted cushion of cash large enough to see it through a major emergency," reports the Post.

"The [downgrade] reflects a continuation of the university's negative financial operations, as operating results in fiscal 2003 showed a $20 million deficit, and 2004 results are projected to show an even greater $28 million deficit; the worsening financial condition at the medical center, driving overall operating losses at the university; and a substantial long-term erosion in liquidity, as unrestricted resources of $193 million at fiscal year-end 2003 represent just 29% of operations and 28% of debt," said analyst Joshua Stern in this news release.

Although there is no borrowing pending by Georgetown that would trigger the higher interest rates, analysts continue to raise concerns at the University's operating deficits, which are not scheduled to be in balance until 2007.

Top 25: Georgetown On US News' "Bubble" 8/20/04

Georgetown University dropped two places in the annual US News rankings of colleges and universities, down to 25th in the survey released for Monday's issue.

Georgetown had been ranked as high as #17 in the 1990's but has generally settled between 20-23. While the methodology remains subjective (some would argue how Duke could be ranked higher than Stanford or MIT, for example), the visibility in the educational community is real. If Georgetown were to drop off the top tier, the impact would be felt in every corner of the University, which has been ranked in the top 25 each year since the 1980's.

Georgetown generally scores high in admissions selectivity, but less so in financial resources, faculty resources and a category called "peer assessment", or how other college administrators view the school. This latter category accounts for 25% of the score, according to the US News methodology.

Here's the 2004 top 25. Athletically speaking, nine are Division I-A, nine I-AA (Georgetown is the only I-AA entry outside the Ivy League), with none from Division II and seven from Division III. All 25 play men's basketball, while all 18 Division I schools and five of the seven D-III schools also play football. By Division I conference, eight are from the Ivy League, two Pac-10, two Big 10, two Big East, two ACC, one SEC, and one from the WAC.

Closing in on #25? UCLA, Wake Forest, and North Carolina, among others.

1. Harvard 5. MIT 11. Northwestern 14. Chicago 21. California
2. Princeton 5. Stanford 11. Wash. (MO) 17. Rice 22. Carnegie-Mellon
3. Yale 8. Cal Tech 13. Brown 18. Notre Dame 22. Michigan
4. Penn 9. Columbia 14. Cornell 18. Vanderbilt 22. Virginia
5. Duke 9. Dartmouth 14. Johns Hopkins 20. Emory 25. Georgetown
 
Big East In US News Rankings 8/20/04

Here's how the (soon to be 16) Big East schools performed in US News' rankings:

18. Notre Dame 66. Connecticut
25. Georgetown 66. Pittsburgh
52. Syracuse 92. Marquette
58. Rutgers 120. Seton Hall

Six Big East schools were ranked in alphabetical order as "Tier III" national schools, or those ranked between 125 and 175 (Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, St. John's, South Florida, and West Virginia.) Two schools, Villanova and Providence, finished 1-2 in a list of smaller regional universities.

Schedule Update 8/19/04

Howard University has announced its 2004-05 schedule, which includes a Tuesday, Dec. 28 game with Georgetown, with a start time listed as "TBA". The NHL's Capitals have a scheduled home game at MCI Center that evening, suggesting the mid-week game could start earlier that afternoon.

Howard (6-22 in 2003-04) will impact Georgetown's RPI again this season. The Bison finished 321st out of 326 Division I teams in 2003-04 according to CollegeRPI.com.

In other schedule news, the Atlantic Coast Conference issued its composite schedule Wednesday. Georgetown is not on any of the conference's 11 team schedules, although there is a chance GU could meet Clemson (10-18) in the Rainbow Classic finals.

Mass. Court Rules For BC 8/19/04

A Massachusetts superior court has ruled in favor of Boston College in a dispute over exit fees payable to the Big East conference, reports the Boston Globe.

The conference had increased exit fees from $1 million to $5 million following the departure of Miami and Virginia Tech last summer, but BC's lawyers had argued the increase did not apply to its case. The judge agreed, noting that BC could leave immediately for as little as $2 million.

"Although I have not read the 17-page decision in its entirety, I can say that we are extremely disappointed with the court's decision," said commissioner Michael Tranghese. "I will be discussing our options with the conference's Executive Committee in the next few days to determine the status of our appeal."

Rainbow Classic Pairings Set 8/12/04

Georgetown will meet Oral Roberts (17-11 in 2004) in the first round of the Rainbow Classic on December 20, according to this link from the Hawaii web site.

Oral Roberts is a replacement for LSU, which bowed out of the tournament earlier this summer.

The Hoyas will play either Hawaii or Long Beach State in the second round, while Alabama-Birmingham, Clemson, Southern California, and Indiana State are the possible third round opponents.

Third Assistant Coach Named 8/6/04

Sydney Johnson (Princeton '97) has been named as the third assistant on the Hoyas' staff, per an announcement at GUHoyas.com.

Johnson, the Ivy League Player of the Year in 1997, has played professionally in Europe since college. This is his first coaching assignment.

Sydney understands the nuances of basketball,” said head coach John Thompson. “He is a guy that thoroughly dominated games while only averaging nine points per game. He is the consummate team player whose experience as both a collegian and a professional will be invaluable.”

An earlier interview with Johnson can be found in this link to Princeton Basketball.com.

NBA Hoyas Trading Places 8/6/04

Three Georgetown alumni were part of a six player trade Thursday between the New York Knickerbockers and Chicago Bulls.

Center Dikembe Mutombo and forward Othella Harrington head west to Chicago, while forward Jerome Williams will join Mike Sweetney in the Knicks' frontcourt.

Chicago is Mutombo's sixth team in his 13 year NBA career, while Williams and Harrington will each join their fourth team over their eight year careers.

Here are some local links in Chicago and New York discussing the trade:

Simons Named Associate AD 8/6/04

As reported in Thursday's Washington Post, former Georgetown women's lacrosse coach Kim Simons will return to the University as its associate athletic director for sport administration. The formal announcement was made Thursday, according to a Georgetown news release.

"I’m very excited about this new opportunity and plan to use my nine years of head coaching experience to support the programs I will oversee,” said Simons. “This new position will allow me to balance my family and professional commitments which became increasingly difficult while coaching. I’m glad to be back at Georgetown and look forward to the new challenges.”

Ewing Selected For GU Hall of Fame 8/5/04

Former Georgetown All-American Patrick Ewing (C'85) will be among six alumni honored this fall to join the Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame, according to a release at GUHoyas.com.

Other inductees for 2004 include Steve Iannini (C’85, baseball), Brian McNelis (C’84, track), Justine Metz (B’88, volleyball), Pia Palladino (C’83, track), and Mark Stuart (B’60, golf). Ewing is just the fourth men's basketball alumnus since the class of 1972 so honored, joining Derrick Jackson (B'78), John Duren (C'80) and Eric Floyd (C'82).

The Hall of Fame ceremonies will take place Saturday, October 2 at Georgetown's Leavey Center.

D.C. Armory Upgrade 8/5/04

Thursday's Washington Times reports early efforts are underway for a $25 million upgrade to the D.C. Armory, the 10,000 seat facility adjacent to RFK Stadium.

The Armory hosted Georgetown home games in the late 1940's but events are the facility are increasingly rare, as the building currently lacks basic services such as air conditioning.

2004 Grads On International Trip 8/2/04

Recent graduates Courtland Freeman and Omari Faulkner are in the midst of a six month, 25 nation goodwill tour organized by the U.S. State Department, as per this link from the Associated Press.

The program, part of the department's "Culture Connect" program, will focus on sports clinics and youth programs. "Basketball is a universal language as it is played in so many countries," Faulkner said. "We will show them we are all human beings that could share the good parts of life like basketball."

Brendan Gaughan Interview 8/2/04

NASCAR driver and former Georgetown walk-on Brendan Gaughan is no stranger to interviews--a Google news search on Gaughan collected over 300 articles. The Syracuse Post-Standard takes a different approach with Gaughan, with questions ranging from how he scored his only jump shot in college (versus Colgate) to what the best casino odds are on house games.

Gaughan has struggled in recent races, qualifying at high speeds but being knocked out early. Qualifying in 10th place at this weekend's Pennsylvania 500, Gaughan finished 28th following a crash in lap 76. Gaughan is currently in 29th place on the NASCAR leader board.

 

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