Oct. 22, 2008
New York, N.Y. - The Georgetown University men's basketball team has been selected to finish seventh in the BIG EAST Conference according to a poll of the league's coaches announced at the annual media day at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City. The coaches did not place their own teams on their respective ballots.
Hoya junior forward DaJuan Summers (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) was one of 10 players selected to the 2008-09 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, while freshman forward Greg Monroe (Gretna, La./Helen Cox) was tabbed as the league's Co-Rookie of the Year, along with Louisville forward Samardo Samuels.
The Hoyas, the two-time defending regular season champions, were picked seventh in the 16-team league, with 141 points. Georgetown finished last season with a 28-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in the BIG EAST to win the regular season crown for the second-straight season, the first time it had been accomplished since 2004 and the first time a Hoya team had ever done so.
Connecticut was selected as the preseason favorite to win the league, earning nine first place votes and 214 points total. Four teams received first-place votes. Those four squads - UConn, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame - were bunched at the top of the poll. Louisville and Pitt, which had three first-place votes apiece, finished with 205 and 200 points, respectively. Notre Dame received one first-place vote and was fourth with 195 points.
The next four teams in the poll - fifth place through eighth place - also were bunched closely together. Villanova was fifth with 153 points, followed by Marquette (146), the Hoyas (141) and Syracuse (139).
West Virginia was picked ninth with 121 points, followed by Providence (99 points) in 10th and Cincinnati (91 points) in 11th place.
Rutgers was tabbed 12th, followed by St. John's, DePaul and South Florida.
Notre Dame senior Luke Harangody, the 2007-08 BIG EAST Player of the Year, was selected as the preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Summers has been a starter at Georgetown since early in his freshman season. Last year, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds and helped guide the Hoyas to their second-straight BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. As a freshman, Summers averaged 9.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and was selected to the All-BIG EAST Rookie Team. Georgetown won both the BIG EAST Regular Season title and the Tournament Championship in 2006-07 and Summers was named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 12.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The Hoyas are under the direction of fifth-year Head Coach John Thompson III, who has guided the Blue and Gray to a 100-36 overall record and a 46-20 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. The Hoyas reached the 2007 NCAA Final Four, have been selected to the last three NCAA Tournaments and have won three BIG EAST Championships (two regular season, one tournament) during that span.
Georgetown opens the 2008-09 season on Monday, Nov. 17 hosting Jacksonville University at Verizon Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
