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Various news items posted during September 2018.

 

Big East Schedule Announced

9/14/18

The 2018-19 schedule is now complete, with the announcement of the Big East schedule.

All 18 Big East games will be available on television. Nine games are set for Fox Sports 1, four on the CBS Sports Network, two on Fox Sports regional networks, two on Fox broadcast, and the season finale versus Marquette to be decided between Fox broadcast and FS1 depending on national interest.

Marquette was the early winner as far as weekend games go, with six of its nine home games scheduled for Saturdays at the new Fiserv Forum. By contrast, Georgetown got only four, with just two Saturday games at Capital One Arena after January 12, a concern for ticket sales since Saturday games generally draw better. As a result, most of its major home games will be midweek, such as Jan. 15 vs. Marquette and February 20 vs. Villanova.

Two major road games will be at off-campus sites. As it has been the case since 1982, Georgetown will meet St. John's at Madison Square garden, this year on Sunday, Jan. 27. A week later, the Hoyas will play at Wells Fargo Center versus Villanova.

Also announced: Big East Media Day, scheduled for Oct. 25 at Madison Square Garden.

 

Your 2018-2019 Georgetown Hoyas

9/12/18
 
 

One Day Away

9/11/18

On September 16, 2001, we reported on three college basketball coaches whose lives nearly intersected with the attacks of 9/11/2001, and two involved Georgetown. Now, in 2018, The Athletic tells the first hand accounts of Ed Cooley, John Thompson, and Brandon Bowman in the days before 9/11.

Cooley, then an assistant at Boston College, was recruiting Brandon Bowman from Westchester HS in Los Angeles.Cooley arranged a visit to meet Bowman and his family.

"The plan was set. Cooley bought a ticket on the same early flight out of Logan Airport he had taken countless times: American Airlines, Flight 11. The departure date was September 11, 2001," wrote Seth Davis.

A few days before the flight, Bowman took a visit to Washington, met former coach John Thompson, and made his decision. "He definitely put his influence on me in a positive way," Bowman said. "When I left there, it was a wrap for everyone. I knew where I wanted to go." As such, Cooley canceled his seat on Flight 11.

"I've thought about, could I have done something if I was on the plane? Would I have been intimidated?" he said.

Thompson, as many Hoya fans know, also had a what-if moment on September 11. Thompson was booked on American Airlines Flight 77 to Los Angeles but an interview on the Jim Rome Show was moved back a day. The plane crashed at the Pentagon, less than five miles from his apartment.

In the article, Thompson said he had never heard of the Cooley story when it was first printed in 2001.

"It's got to be an act of God because Cooley is one of my favorites in coaching," Thompson said. "All that connecting makes me feel even better because I like him."

"I'm the luckiest man in the world. I really am," Cooley said. "That's why I always try to stay jovial. Whenever people ask me how I'm doing, my answer is always, 'I'm still here, bro. I guess God don't want me yet.'".

Recommended reading.

 

Non-Conference Schedule Finalized

9/11/18

With four additions, the 2018-19 non-conference schedule is now complete.

Two opponents are part of the scheduling for the Jamaica Classic. Though georgetown will not play Central Connecticut State (14-18 in 2017-18) and Campbell (15-16) in the tournament, they are guaranteed two home games on Nov. 10 and Nov. 24, one week prior and one following the tournament. It's the first meeting between georgetown and both schools, who play in the Northeast and Big South conference, respectively.

A pair of more familiar opponents round out the schedule. The Hoyas open the season with Maryland-Eastern Shore (5-25 in 2017-18), whom GU defeated 83-57 in the 2017-18 season and has defeated them in all eight prior meetings. Georgetown ends the non-conference schedule versus Howard (8-23), whom GU defeated 81-67 last season and has defeated them in all nine of its prior meetings. Georgetown has won 96 consecutive games against historically black colleges and universities and appears ready to add two more to this list.

Dates and times for all games, including the Big East portion of the schedule, follows next week.

So how does the schedule match up against last season's list, which ranked last in the nation in strength of schedule?

The Hoyas traded five in the bottom 50 of the RPI for three, which is still three too many. The average RPI of opponents improved from 260.5 to 224.5, but only two opponents are in the Top 100 and none are playing at Capital One Arena this year. The combined 2017-18 record of Georgetown's home game opponents this season is 109-175 (.383), with just two teams (SMU, 17-16; Richmond, 12-20) finishing in the RPI top 200 last season.

SMU is the only home opponent to have qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, while Syracuse (21-12) is the only road opponent to have done so. And if Georgetown wants to return to the NCAA for the first time in four years, it needs a lot more than this non-conference slate to do it.

 

US News: #22

9/10/18

Announced Monday: a #22 ranking for Georgetown University in the annual US News guide to the top colleges nationwide, down from #20 in 2017.

Here are the 2018 rankings.

1. Princeton 8. Pennsylvania 16. Rice
2. Harvard 10. Johns Hopkins 18. Notre Dame
3. Columbia 10. Northwestern 19. UCLA
3. MIT 12. Cal Tech 20. Washington (MO)
3. Chicago 12. Dartmouth 21. Emory
3. Yale 14. Brown 22. Georgetown
7. Stanford 14. Vanderbilt 22. USC
8. Duke 16. Cornell 25. Carnegie Mellon

Also included at #25: Virginia.

Among Big East schools, Villanova has moved into the Top 50 at #49, with Marquette (#89) as the only other Big East universities ranked nationally in the top 100. Other nationally classified schools include DePaul (#119), Seton Hall (#119), and St. John's (#152). Providence, Creighton, Xavier, and Butler are all ranked in regional categories.

 

More Schedule Updates

Updated 9/6/18

Some more updates to the non-conference opponent list, as Georgetown is now the only Big East school which has not released its non-conference schedule.

 

Walk-On Added For 2018-19

9/4/18

News from the basketball office confirms that freshman Jaden Robinson will join the 2018-19 roster as a recruited walk-on.

Robinson played at Mt. St. Joseph's in Baltimore in 2017 but was not recruited, leading him to a fifth year at Suffield (CT) Academy. "Jaden Robinson '18 (unsigned) is leading our team in PTS, FT, & OREB," wrote a Twitter message from the school last season. "He is playing well, scoring from all levels, and accepting critique. 4.2 GPA & 1300 SAT."

Robinson joins junior walk-on George Muresan as non-scholarship players for 2018-19.

 
 

Walking On...And Upward

9/5/18

Georgetown's walk-ons may not all have enjoyed much time in game situations, but the experience has led them towards some interesting careers beyond the sport. Here's a look at Georgetown walk-ons over the past 20 years.

 

Yurtseven's Move To Georgetown

9/4/18

It's been a topic in ACC basketball circles for nearly six months: why did center Omer Yurtseven leave NC State for Georgetown? An article in the Georgetown Voice appears to cite a reason, and it's not about basketball.

"Yurtseven's decision to relocate to Washington comes during a nationwide rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crimes," said the Voice. "According to Yurtseven, there were 'a few events' that caused him to feel uncomfortable in Raleigh. He declined to elaborate with more specific details, but the Raleigh area has recently seen several high-profile acts of Islamophobia, some violent."

At Georgetown, "I was able to tell Omer first hand about the diversity of Georgetown and D.C. in general," said Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing in an email to the Voice. "The university has many resources available to all ethnicities and religions to make students feel at home. I want all my players to feel comfortable and be happy on campus. I am very pleased that Omer is adjusting so well."

"Knowing that a place respects my religion is definitely important," said Yurtseven.

The Voice article was cited Monday at Pack Insider, which wrote "If you were following during [March], then you know we were a bit confused. Sources were telling us that Yurtseven had no beef with the NC State staff, so to us it seemed as if he may have seen the writing on the wall. [Head coach Kevin] Keatts wanted to implement his style of ball 100% this season and that style doesn't really compliment a slower, more methodical type post-player like Yurtseven."

"The takeaway here is that maybe we didn't get the full story the first time around. Maybe it isn't all about the NC State basketball program. Maybe it was a culmination of things that led Yurtseven to decide a change of scenery would feel more comfortable to him, part of which was likely playing for Ewing," they said.

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