Charles Nailen/The Hoya Former Hoya Mike Sweetney, last year’s leading scorer for the men’s basketball team, played in his first professional exhibition game this week for the New York Knicks, scoring 12 points.

Former Hoya Mike Sweetney stepped onto a familiar court in an unfamiliar jersey Tuesday night as he took on the Washington Wizards at MCI Center wearing the blue and orange of the New York Knicks. Sweetney, who left Georgetown in May after three years as a standout on the men’s basketball team, played in his first professional exhibition game earlier this week, finishing third on the team in scoring with 12 points, and shooting 4-of-7 from the floor. He also tallied three rebounds and a steal.

“I’m happy about my game,” Sweetney said on the Knicks’ Web site. “I think I have an opportunity here – but how big an opportunity I don’t know yet. I guess it’s up to me, how well I play,” he said.

During his last year as a Hoya, Sweetney averaged 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The Knicks selected the 6-8, 260-pound forward as the ninth pick of the 2003 NBA draft.

The Knicks took on the Nets last night at the Meadowlands, and Sweetney scored seven points and had six rebounds.

In related news, the Knicks announced yesterday that they had signed Dikembe Mutombo (CAS ’91). The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but early reports said the parties were considering a two-year, $10 million deal.

Mutombo was released Wednesday from the New Jersey Nets. He is the only four-year winner of the NBA’s top defender award and is presently sixth all-time in blocked shots with 2,873.

Scott Layden, Knicks President and General Manager, told ESPN yesterday, “His basketball resume is so impressive that having the chance to add him to our club was something we were not going to pass up. In addition to his superior skills on the court, Dikembe is a role model that all young players will look up to and learn from.”

At Georgetown, Mutombo averaged 9.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and was a third-team All-American in 1991. He was college Defensive Player of the Year while at Georgetown.

Mutombo was listed on the Knicks’ roster for last night’s contest with the Nets, though he did not attend with the team.

Other Former Hoyas

Toronto Raptors small forward Jerome Williams (CAS ’96), who has reportedly added 10 pounds in the preseason, released a rap album last week off his own Dogg Pound record label. The album, entitled Mission Possible, delivers encouraging and inspirational rap songs geared toward young people with themes like staying in school and avoiding drugs. Known by fans as the “Junk Yard Dog,” Williams is known for his raspy and fierce delivery which he describes as “barking.”