2014–15 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 11th year head coach John Thompson III, were members of the Big East Conference, and played their home games at the Verizon Center. They finished the season 22–11, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament where they lost to Xavier. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Eastern Washington in the second round before losing in the third round to Utah.

Previous season The Hoyas finished the previous season 18–15, 8–10 in Big East play, to finish in seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to DePaul. They were invited to the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, in which they lost in the second round to Florida State.

Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Markel Starks 5 G 6'2" 175 Senior Accokeek, MD Graduated John Caprio 25 G 6'6" 220 Senior North Caldwell, NJ Graduated Moses Ayegba 32 C 6'9" 247 Senior Kano, Nigeria Transferred to Nebraska Nate Lubick 34 F 6'8" 219 Senior Southborough, MA Graduated

Recruiting

Season recap

Since the conclusion of the previous season, Georgetown had lost four players to graduation: Most notably, point guard Markel Starks, who had finished the 2013–2014 season as the team's second-leading scorer, had graduated, as had forward Nate Lubick and reserve guard John Caprio. The fourth graduate was Moses Ayegba who, after three years as a reserve center at Georgetown, had opted to transfer to Nebraska to play out his final year of collegiate eligibility.Anonymous, "Nebraska signs Georgetown's Moses Abraham Ayegba," Associated Press, April 24, 2014, 4:08 p.m. EDT. Retrieved July 1, 2018

Returning for 2014–2015 were the team's leading scorer from 2013–2014, junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera – a shooting guard while Starks was on the team but taking on point guard duties this season – as well as junior guard Jabril Trawick, senior forward Mikael Hopkins, sophomore power forward Reggie Cameron, and junior reserve center Bradley Hayes. Reserve forward Aaron Bowen, a redshirt senior the previous season, had a year of collegiate eligibility remaining due to a freshman season cut short by surgery, and, although he had the option of transferring elsewhere to play out his eligibility without sitting out a season, he opted to play at Georgetown in 2014–2015 as a fifth-year senior.Anonymous, "Georgetown Hoyas Player Profiles: Aaron Bowen," casualhoya.com, November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018 Two junior guards made the team as walk-ons, David Allen for the third straight season and Riyan Williams, the son of former Georgetown great Reggie Williams, who had walked on the previous season and had made the roster in January 2014. Senior center Tyler Adams, sidelined early in his freshman season by heart arrhythmia, spent the season on a medical hardship waiver that allowed him to continue at Georgetown on a scholarship without counting against the team's scholarship total. Relegated to the bench for another year, he made the most of the situation, acting as a de facto assistant coach, although he made a brief appearance on the court in Georgetown's final home game of the season.Kilgore, Adam, "Georgetown’s Tyler Adams, his career cut short by heart ailment, gets one last start," washingtonpost.com, March 6, 2015.

Most notably, senior center Joshua Smith returned. Criticism that he lacked maturity and a commitment to physical fitness and to playing winning basketball had dogged Smith earlier in his collegiate career when he spent parts of three seasons at UCLA,Conway, Tyler, "Transfer Josh Smith Cleared to Play for Georgetown Hoyas," bleacherreport.com, October 23, 2013Bolch, Ben, "Ben Howland says Joshua Smith needs to grow up," latimes.com, January 11, 2011.Clarke, Liz, "Georgetown basketball preview: Josh Smith is a reclamation project with sizable upside," washingtonpost.com, November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013=8. and John Thompson III had suspended him the previous season for academic reasons after only 13 games with the Hoyas; that suspension had become an outright dismissal from the team shortly afterward when he continued to struggle in his classes, although the dismissal came with the understanding that he could return for the 2014–2015 season if his grades improved enough.Wang, Gene, "Joshua Smith is Georgetown’s big man (back) in the middle," washingtonpost.com, November 10, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018 By the fall 2014 semester, he had resolved his academic problems, and Georgetown allowed him to rejoin the team for the 2014–2015 season. When suspended, he had been the 2013–2014 team's third-leading scorer and was a key part of Georgetown's offense, and his departure that season had led to a steep drop in the 2013–2014's team's fortunes. Although Smith's performance had declined noticeably during the last few games before his suspension, he and Smith-Rivera were the only returning Georgetown players who had averaged in double figures for the 2013–2014 season. Arriving in the fall of 2014 30 pounds (13.6 kg) lighter than the year before and having undergone an offseason fitness regimen, Smith again was expected to serve as the centerpiece of Georgetown's offense.

Five freshmen – guard Tre Campbell, small forward L. J. Peak, and forwards Isaac Copeland, Paul White, and Trey Mourning – joined the team. Mourning was the son of former Georgetown and National Basketball Association great Alonzo Mourning, and his arrival marked the fourth time in Georgetown basketball history that the son of a former player had joined the team.

Nonconference schedule

Georgetown began its season with three wins at the Verizon Center, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, and Robert Morris. Facing St. Francis Brooklyn in his first game as a Hoya, L. J. Peak went 9-for-9 from the field, including a three-pointer, and 4-for-8 from the free-throw line to finish with 23 points, while Jabril Trawick added 11 points, Joshua Smith – returning to action for the first time since January 4, 2014 – scored 10, and Mikael Hopkins grabbed 10 rebounds.Anonymous, "Peak lifts Georgetown past St. Francis 83-62," Associated Press, November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018 Against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi four days later, Smith had the first double-double of his Georgetown career, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, and Aaron Bowen came off the bench for 13 points and five steals, while Hopkins scored 12 points and Peak 10.Anonymous, "Georgetown breaks away from Texas A&M-CC 78-62," Associated Press, November 18, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018Texas A&M–CC vs. Georgetown – Box Score – November 18, 2014 – ESPN Smith had another double-double in the Robert Morris game, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against the Colonials, and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera had his first double-figure outing of the season as he and Peak scored 12 points each, while Hopkins pulled down 10 rebounds and scored six points.Anonymous, "Smith leads Georgetown past Robert Morris 80-66," Associated Press, November 22, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018Robert Morris vs. Georgetown – Box Score – November 22, 2014 – ESPN Robert Morris junior guard Rodney Pryor, who two years later would play for Georgetown during the 2016–2017 season, came off the bench for a team-high 16 points for the Colonials.

Next, the Hoyas left the United States to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis, an annual tournament held at Atlantis Paradise Island on Paradise Island in Nassau in the Bahamas. In the tournament's opening quarterfinal round, they faced their first ranked opponent of the season, No. 18 Florida. It was the first time the teams had met since November 2012, when their game was canceled after the first half due to condensation on the court and never completed, and it was the first game they completed against one another since Florida's 2006 national championship team knocked the Hoyas out of the 2006 NCAA tournament.Anonymous, "Georgetown edges No. 18 Florida in OT of Battle 4 Atlantis quarters," Associated Press, November 27, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018 The game was a wild one that saw 21 lead changes. The Hoyas held the Gators to 36 percent shooting from the field, and although no Hoya scored more than six points in the first half, Georgetown went into the locker room at halftime with a 31–27 lead. Joshua Smith was called for two flagrant fouls during the game, one of which allowed Florida senior forward Jacob Kurtz to sink one of two free throws and give Florida a 44–42 lead with 7:07 left in regulation. Jabril Trawick fouled out with 34.1 seconds left in regulation, but shortly afterward the Hoya defense collapsed on Florida redshirt junior guard Eli Carter to prevent him from scoring, and the second half ended with the teams tied 53–53. In overtime, Gator sophomore guard Kasey Hill completed a three-point play with 11.5 seconds remaining to put Florida ahead 65–64, but D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored on a jumper with 3.4 seconds left to give Georgetown a 66–65 upset win. The game continued a streak that made 2014–2015 the first season since 1949-1950 that Florida had not scored at least 70 points in any of its first four games. Smith-Rivera had a game-high 17 points, while Paul White had his first double-digit game as a Hoya with 10 points and Jabril Trawick also scored 10 before fouling out.

Georgetown advanced to the semifinals to meet an even more challenging opponent, No. 2 Wisconsin, which had defeated UAB easily in the first round. The game was the first meeting between Wisconsin and Georgetown since December 28, 1982.Anonymous, "No. 2 Badgers edge Georgetown in Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals," Associated Press, November 27, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2018 The Hoyas made their first six shots and by halfway through the first half were shooting 61 percent from the field and leading 19–16;Georgetown vs. Wisconsin – Play-by-Play – November 27, 2014 – ESPN Georgetown led for all but 56 seconds of the first half, but Wisconsin led 35–34 at halftime. Wisconsin fell behind in the second half, the first time all season the Badgers had trailed in the second half of a game, and Georgetown built a lead of nine points, 53–44, with 11:36 left to play. But Georgetown missed eight of its last 10 shots while the Badgers went on a decisive 22–6 run – during which Badger redshirt senior forward Duje Dukan scored all eight of his points in the game over a stretch of 80 seconds – to pull ahead 62–59 with 4:27 left to play and 66–59 with 1:53 remaining. D'Vauntes Smith Rivera, who had made all five of his previous three-point attempts, missed his last one, a potential game-tying shot which rimmed out as time expired, and, although Georgetown held the lead for all but 9 minutes 20 seconds of the game, Wisconsin came away with a 68–65 win and advanced to play Oklahoma in the tournament's championship game. The game saw 29 turnovers, 15 of them Georgetown's, and Wisconsin took decisive advantage of free-throw opportunities, going 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) from the line to Georgetown's 1-for-2. Smith-Rivera had a game-high 29 points, and Joshua Smith was the only other Hoya to score in double digits with 10 points.Georgetown vs. Wisconsin – Box Score – November 27, 2014 – ESPN