June 24, 2010
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University sophomore men's basketball player Greg Monroe (New Orleans, La./Helen Cox) will begin his professional career tonight, when he is expected to be among the first 10 players selected in the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Draft. The draft will air on ESPN Thursday night, beginning with pre-draft coverage at 7 p.m., and the event itself starting at 7:30 p.m.
Here are some pre-draft notes as we get ready for the evening:
* Greg Monroe is among 15 prospects to receive Green Room invitations for the 2010 NBA Draft in The Theatre at Madison Square Garden * Monroe would be the third first round selection from Georgetown in the last four years, joining Jeff Green (2007) and Roy Hibbert (2008) * Should he be selected in the first round, Monroe would be the 12th first round pick from Georgetown * Monroe would be the fifth player selected in the NBA Draft in the last four years under Head Coach John Thompson III (Green, 2007, Hibbert, 2008, Patrick Ewing, Jr., 2008, DaJuan Summers, 2009) * Georgetown has had more players selected in the NBA Draft (4) in the last three years than any other team in the BIG EAST Conference. * In 2001, there were 11 Hoyas playing in the NBA and over the history of the program, a total of 56 Georgetown basketball alumni have either been drafted by NBA teams and/or have had playing experience in the league.
About Greg Monroe
* Monroe earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors this year and was selected as a Third Team Associated Press All-American.
* He averaged 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game this season, while connecting on 52.5 percent of his field goals.
* He was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team after leading the Hoyas to the championship game against West Virginia, a 2010 Final Four participant.
* During the BIG EAST Tournament, he averaged 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor.
* Monroe was also selected as the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and earned Third Team All-America honors from that organization.
* Monroe had 14 double-doubles during the season, including a 12-point, 12-assist effort at Providence this year.
* He reached double figures in scoring 30 times and had 15 games with at least 10 rebounds. In addition, the 6-11 center led the team in scoring 13 times, in rebounding 30 times and in assists 15 times.
* Monroe scored a career-high 29 points and tied a career-best with 16 rebounds against Villanova. He had previously set his career-high in rebounds with 16 against Harvard. In a win at Providence in February, Monroe scored 12 points and handed out a career-best 12 assists. The 12 assists were the most by a center in BIG EAST Conference history and tied for the 10th-best single game performance in school history.
* In two years at Georgetown, Monroe scored 942 points in 65 games for a 14.5 per game average. He averaged 8.2 rebounds per game, which ranks 15th all-time. His 54.3 percent field goal percentage ranks 14th all-time and he is tied for 48th all-time in scoring on the Hilltop with Jim Supple (1966-69).
Georgetown finished the 2009-10 season with a 23-11 overall record, advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship game for the third time in six seasons under Head Coach John Thompson III, was selected for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years and was the only school in the country to post wins over the teams that played for this year's national championship (Duke and Butler).
