Men’s Basketball

Athletic Director Bernard Muir sent a letter to all season ticket-holders Friday apologizing for the inclusion of a homophobic sign on the cover of the 2006-07 men’s basketball season ticket package.

Taken during last January’s Duke game, the photograph showed in the background a sign that called then-senior guard J.J. Redick “Gay.” According to Muir’s letter, athletic department officials noticed the sign during the game and spoke with its owner.

“Its owner told us that the message was not intended to be offensive or derogatory,” Muir explained in the letter. “Even so, appearances can have unintended implications and we should have selected a different image for use on the cover of our season ticket package. We will certainly be more vigilant in the future.”

Muir added that the Athletic Department “takes very seriously our commitment to diversity and to building a respectful, inclusive community. We hold the very highest expectations for all of our staff, coaches and student athletes.. Please know that in the future we will take great care in furthering these important goals.”

Men’s Lacrosse

The preseason accolades are starting to pour in for the Hoyas. A month after being tabbed as the favorite to win the ECAC and the nation’s fifth-ranked team, Georgetown garnered all three preseason individual awards. Junior attacker and 2006 leading scorer Brendan Cannon was named the preseason offensive player of the year, senior defenseman Jerry Lambe as preseason defensive player of the year and freshman defenseman Chris Nixon as preseason rookie of the year.

Cannon accumulated 46 points last year, as well a nation’s-best 32 assists. He notched multi-point games 13 times and finished with the second-best assist total in Georgetown history. Cannon has already scored 29 goals and dished out 40 assists in his first two years on the Hilltop.

Entering last season, Lambe was overshadowed by seniors Reyn Garnett, Rob Smith and John Trapp, each of whom was expected to be among the league’s best defensemen. Garnett lived up to the hype, finishing the season as a second-team all-American, but Smith and Garnett started just a single game each. In their place, Lambe rose to the challenge, scooping up 25 ground balls and earning a spot as an all-American honorable mention. Now, instead of flying below the radar, Lambe will be expected to anchor the Georgetown defense.

Both Cannon and Lambe were also named to the preseason all-league squad.

Forget about the rest of the league: Considering that the Hoyas boast the nation’s best crop of freshmen, competition for ECAC rookie of the year is going to be particularly fierce in the Georgetown locker room alone. For now, the unanimous choice among league coaches is Hoya defenseman Chris Nixon.

Hailing from Duxbury, Mass., Nixon was a two-time all-American and three-time state champion before heading to D.C. Nixon beat out the top two midfield recruits in the class of 2010, Andrew Brancaccio (now an attacker) and Scott Kocis, both of whom suit up for Georgetown.

Men’s Basketball

Freshman forward DaJuan Summers, on the strength of two 17-point showings, was named to the Big East Honor Roll on Monday. Summers also averaged six rebounds and shot 68.8 for the week.

Last Wednesday in a 68-54 win at Rutgers, Summers scored 17 on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed a pair of rebounds. Friday at Seton Hall, the Baltimore native recorded his first career double-double, tallying 17 points (6-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three) and snatching 10 boards.

Summers ranks fifth on the team with 8.4 points per game. He is shooting 49 percent from the field, 34 percent from beyond the arc and 78 percent from the line.

– Bailey Heaps