The 2017–18 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by first-year head coach Patrick Ewing, played their home games at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 15–15, 5–13 in Big East play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to St. John's.
Previous season The Hoyas finished the 2016–17 season at 14–18, 5–13 in Big East play, to finish in ninth place in the conference. As the No. 9 seed in the Big East tournament, they lost in the first round to St. John's. Georgetown finished the season with a losing record for the second straight year, the first time that had happened since the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, and without an invitation to a postseason tournament in consecutive years for the first time since 1973 and 1974.
On March 23, 2017, Georgetown officials announced that head coach John Thompson III had been fired.Santamaria, Paolo B., and Sean Hoffman, "John Thompson III Fired After 2 Consecutive Losing Seasons," thehoya.com, March 23, 2017.Anonymous, "Georgetown fires head coach John Thompson III after 13 years," si.com, March 23, 2017. On April 2, it was reported that Basketball Hall of Famer and Georgetown alumnus Patrick Ewing would replace Thompson as head coach.
Offseason Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason L. J. Peak 0 G/F 6'5" 215 Junior Gaffney, SC Declared for 2017 NBA draft Tre Campbell 1 G 6'2" 170 Junior Washington, D.C. Left the team for personal reasons Reggie Cameron II 5 F 6'7" 225 Senior Hackensack, NJ Graduated Isaac Copeland 11 F 6'9" 220 Junior Raleigh, NC Transferred (mid-season) to Nebraska Akoy Agau 22 F 6'8" 235 RS Junior Omaha, NE Graduate transfer to SMU Rodney Pryor 23 G 6'5" 205 RS Senior Evanston, IL Graduated Bradley Hayes 42 C 7'0" 275 RS Senior Jacksonville, FL Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Greg Malinowski 11 G/F 6'6" 210 Senior Chantilly, VA Transferred from William & Mary. Under NCAA transfer rules, Malinowski had to sit out the 2017–18 season. Trey Dickerson 13 G 6'1" 160 RS Senior Queens, NY Transferred from South Dakota. Eligible to play immediately because he graduated from South Dakota.
2017 recruiting class
Arrival of Patrick Ewing On April 3, 2017, Georgetown hired Patrick Ewing to replace the fired John Thompson III as head coach. Generally considered the greatest player in Georgetown men's basketball history, Ewing had led the Georgetown teams of 1981 through 1985, which had reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament′s championship game three times and won one national championship, in 1984. He then went on to a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 17-season playing career in the National Basketball Association, playing for the New York Knicks from 1985 to 2000, the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2001, and the Orlando Magic from 2001 to 2002. After that, he spent 15 years as an NBA assistant coach, with the Washington Wizards from 2002 to 2003, the Houston Rockets from 2003 to 2006, the Orlando Magic from 2007 to 2012, and the Charlotte Bobcats/Charlotte Hornets from 2012 to 2017. Although he had made it clear that he desired a head coaching job in the NBA and had interviewed for head coaching positions, he had never been a head coach at any level before taking the job at Georgetown. After taking over at Georgetown, he told the press that he never would have considered taking a college coaching job anywhere except at Georgetown where, he said, "I was able to...spend four of the best years of my life."Wallace, Ava, "As Georgetown basketball coach, Patrick Ewing has been forced into a higher tempo," washingtonpost.com, November 8, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2018
After graduating from Georgetown in 1985, Ewing had left the world of college basketball behind completely during his 32 years of playing and coaching in the NBA. The role of a college coach differed significantly from that of an NBA coach: Player acquisition was very different, requiring compliance with a myriad of National Collegiate Athletic Association recruiting and eligibility rules and a nearly constant recruiting effort. Since his college days, much had changed in college basketball, including the rise of the influence of the Amateur Athletic Union and the orientation of recruiting and coaching toward developing players for NBA careers, as well as the impatience of many college players, who tended to view their college careers as a necessary step on their way to an NBA career but no longer viewed college as a four-year – or even any more than a one-year – commitment. College coaching also required a significant amount of off-court player management, such as ensuring players went to class and met Georgetown's academic eligibility requirements. Critics of Georgetown's decision to hire Ewing argued that his lack of experience in these matters would undermine his ability to lead the Georgetown program. Ewing countered that he had a great deal of experience with young NBA players who had foregone some or all of their college eligibility to play in the NBA and that he had hired a staff including assistant coaches Louis Orr and Robert Kirby – that could provide him with well-informed advice and guide him through the modern world of college basketball. However, his arrival required the departure of his son, Patrick Ewing Jr., a former Georgetown player who had served under John Thompson III as an assistant coach since August 2015; under Georgetown University's nepotism policies, the younger Ewing was not allowed to serve in a position in which he reported directly to his father.Kaduk, Kevin, "Patrick Ewing's son won't be on Georgetown staff because of 'nepotism clause," yahoo.com, April 5, 2017, 12:04 p.m. Retrieved July 29, 2018 Many commentators mocked the idea of a nepotism clause at Georgetown given John Thompson III's 13-year tenure as head coach while his father, former Georgetown head coach John Thompson Jr., remained a major figure in the men's basketball program, but the clause did not apply in that case because the younger Thompson was not on his father's staff, reporting to athletic director Lee Reed and not to his father.
Ewing said he would abandon John Thompson III's deliberate "Princeton offense" and move Georgetown's game toward an uptempo, NBA-style offense favored by NBA scouts and more suitable to the playing style of contemporary players. He also promised a more physical defense of the type that both Georgetown and the original Big East Conference had been known for in their 1980s heyday. He also told reporters that he thought he could improve Georgetown's recruiting efforts by offering players an easier path to the NBA, which he believed he understood better than most college coaches.
Season recap
Georgetown had lost seven players – including its five top scorers – since the conclusion of the previous season. Among those departing were the team's two top scorers of 2016–2017, senior guard Rodney Pryor and junior forward L. J. Peak; Pryor graduated in 2017 after a single season with the Hoyas, and Peak declared for the 2017 NBA draft, foregoing his senior year of college. Starting center Bradley Hayes and power forward Reggie Cameron II graduated in 2017. Junior forward Isaac Copeland had transferred to Nebraska in mid-season, and redshirt junior forward Akoy Agau, after a single season of action with the Hoyas and with two seasons of college eligibility remaining, transferred to SMU during the offseason. Junior guard Tre Campbell left the team after 2016–2017 for personal reasons and, although he remained on scholarship and enrolled at Georgetown for his senior year, he was not on Georgetown's roster and sat out the 2017–2018 basketball season.Anonymous, "Tre Campbell Released from Basketball Team," casualhoya.com, August 9, 2017, 3:43 p.m. EDT. Retrieved August 12, 2018 Another loss was Tremont Waters. Georgetown had lacked a true point guard since the graduation of Markel Starks in 2014, and John Thompson III had attempted to address that by recruiting Waters in the fall of 2016, but Waters had withdrawn his commitment to Georgetown in March 2017 amid the turmoil that surrounded the Georgetown men's basketball program in the aftermath of the 2016–2017 team's losing season. Ewing attempted to re-recruit Waters, but ultimately failed when Waters committed to LSU in early June 2017.
Senior Jonathan Mulmore and sophomore Jagan Moseley at guard, junior guard/forward Kaleb Johnson, junior forward Marcus Derrickson, and junior center Jesse Govan all returned for another year. Senior forward Trey Mourning, the son of Georgetown great Alonzo Mourning, rumored to be considering a transfer at the end of the previous season,Anonymous, "Report: Trey Mourning to Transfer from Georgetown," casualhoya.com, March 13, 2017, 12:56 p.m. EDT. Retrieved July 24, 2018 also decided to return for 2017–2018,Anonymous, "Source: Trey Mourning Will Be Back," casualhoya.com, June 20, 2017, 9:51 a.m. EDT. Retrieved July 24, 2018 although he suffered a knee injury that forced him to sit out the entire season. The team's former student manager, senior guard Ra'Mond Hines, made the team as a walk-on for the third straight year,Boyd, Alex, "Walk This Way: Ra’Mond Hines’ Two-Week Journey From Georgetown Manager To The Floor Of MSG," georgetownvoice.com, March 10, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2018guhoyas.com 2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster: Ra'Mond Hines Retrieved August 4, 2018 while sophomore forward George Muresan, the son of former NBA player Gheorghe Muresan, made the team as a walk-on for a second straight year.
Four freshmen – guard Jahvon Blair, forwards Jamorko Pickett and Antwan Walker, and 7-foot-3 (221-cm) center Chris Sodom – joined the team. Two upperclassmen also arrived: Redshirt senior guard Trey Dickerson came to Georgetown from South Dakota as a graduate transfer, eligible to play immediately,Anonymous, "Trey Dickerson Commits to Georgetown," casualhoya.com, May 7, 2017, 2:44 p.m EDT Retrieved August 13, 2018 while senior guard Greg Malinowski transferred to Georgetown from William and Mary; Malinowski had to sit out the 2017–2018 season in accordance with NCAA rules for transferring players, but planned to play for Georgetown as a redshirt senior in 2018-2019.
The 2017-2018 squad faced a rebuilding year in which it had arguably the lowest expectations of any Big East Conference team.Miller, Kerry, "Cupcake Connoisseurs: CBB Teams with Absurdly Easy Nonconference Schedules," bleacherreport.com, September 28, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018 A preseason poll of Big East coaches picked the Hoyas to finish ninth in the 10-team conference, while pundits raised the prospect of the Hoyas doing little better than winning a game or two against St. John's or DePaul and perhaps going winless in their 18 conference games. The most optimistic projections had Georgetown finishing at 5–13 in the Big East.
Nonconference schedule