Tomorrow at commencement, Georgetown will say goodbye to four members of its basketball team. In the past month, however, the Hoyas bid farewell to two other members of the team – sophomores Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers.
In a brief press release on April 24, the athletic department announced the transfer of Macklin, a backup center. Just two weeks later, THE HOYA learned that Rivers, a guard, planned to transfer as well. Macklin later revealed his plans to enroll at Florida, while Rivers has yet to announce where he will play his final two seasons.
Though Macklin occasionally seemed out of place in the methodical Princeton offense Georgetown runs, Rivers seemed to fit in nicely with Thompson’s system. Rivers was a defensive specialist and had improved his shot in the summer between his freshman and sophomore years. His father Doc Rivers, the head coach of the Boston Celtics, felt he was in a good situation at Georgetown.
“I loved where he was at. He wants to be happy in a different system. He loved Coach Thompson. I love Coach Thompson. It was a tough one,” Doc Rivers told the Boston Globe. “He was playing a lot and had a great chance to start the following year.”
The transfers, in addition to the graduation of the well-decorated Class of 2008, leave the 2008-2009 Hoyas with just four players who played significant minutes last season. However, Head Coach John Thompson III does not seem concerned.
“Obviously, we will not have the sheer number of bodies up front that we have had the past couple of years, but I have confidence in the people returning and in those arriving,” Thompson told The Washington Times. “We’ll be OK. We’ll figure it out. … That’s what we do.”
acklin (3.4 points in 12.8 minutes last season) and Rivers (2.5 points in 18.6 minutes) are the fourth and fifth transfers over the past two years. Josh Thornton, Marc Egerson and Tay Spann all transferred as sophomores over the course of the 2006-2007 season.
“Transfers are just part of the equation at this level. I’m not going to say they’re an unfortunate reality because look at Patrick [Ewing Jr.]’s situation and how well that worked out. The bottom line is that Georgetown isn’t for everybody. We expect a lot on and off the floor,” Thompson told The Washington Times.
Georgetown is on the receiving end of another transfer – 6-foot-10 Julian Vaughn from Florida State. Vaughn, however, will have to sit out next season per NCAA rules.
In addition to role players Macklin and Rivers, the Hoyas will lose starters Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert, key reserve Ewing, and team co-captain Tyler Crawford.
Replenishing the program will be up to three highly-touted incoming freshmen. Greg Monroe, a 6-foot-10 forward who is rated in the top 10 of his class, will join 6-foot-10 center Henry Sims and guard Jason Clark. Chris Braswell, a forward from Hargrave Military Academy, will not be with the Hoyas next season because of academic issues, according to The Washington Times.
onroe and Sims will play alongside rising junior DaJuan Summers, who averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds as the starting power forward last year, in the barren frontcourt. The Hoyas also return Nikita Mescheriakov, who did not see any action in his freshman season, and Bryon Jansen, who played limited minutes as a walk-on.
Clark, a shooting guard, will join rising senior Jessie Sapp (9.7 points per game last season) and rising sophomores Austin Freeman (9.1 points) and Chris Wright (5.7 points) in the backcourt.
Omar Wattad, a 6-foot-5 rising sophomore who played in 11 games last season, may contribute as either a guard or forward next season.
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