2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Hoyas logo.svg Big East West Division Big East 19–15 6–10 Craig Esherick 5th Mike Riley 21st Ronny Thompson 5th Chip Simms 4th Courtland Freeman Victor Samnick Michael Sweetney MCI Center National Invitation Tournament Runner-Up The 2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2002–03 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. The Hoyas were members of the West Division of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 6–10 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2003 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Syracuse. After declining to participate in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) the previous season, they accepted an invitation to play in the 2003 NIT after failing to receive an NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament bid. Making Georgetown's fourth NIT appearance in six years, they became the second Georgetown mens basketball team in history to reach the NIT final and the first to do since the 1992–93 season, losing it to Big East rival St. John's. Season recap With forward Harvey Thomas having transferred to Daytona Beach Community College over the offseason after his freshman year, the Hoyas began the season with only senior center Wesley Wilson and junior power forward Mike Sweetney returning from the previous season's frontcourt. Wilson opted to leave the team at midseason – although he remained in school and graduated on time in May 2003 – and as a result Sweetney, a team co-captain, carried the scoring load for the team during the year, responsible for a third of its offense. Starting all 34 games, he scored in double figures in all of them and had double-figure rebound performances 16 times, and he led the team in scoring 25 times and in rebounding in 29 games. His best performances were 38 points and 15 rebounds against Notre Dame, 32 points and 13 rebounds at Syracuse, 28 points and eight rebounds against Pittsburgh, and 31 points and 19 rebounds in a game at the MCI Center against Syracuse. He led the team in scoring in 13 of its final 15 games and in every one of its last seven games. For the season, he shot 54.7 percent from the field and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line. His average of 25.1 points per game was the second-highest in school history, behind only Allen Iverson, and his 776 points were the third highest in a single season in Georgetown history.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/m_sweetney.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 10. Mike Sweetney 2014-04-15 2015-03-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150323005714/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/m_sweetney.htm dead Junior forward Gerald Riley started all 34 games, as he would all 125 games of his collegiate career. Opposing defenses focused on stopping Sweetney, giving Riley more scoring opportunities than he had had during his first two seasons. He took advantage of those opportunities, scoring in double figures 26 times, shooting 42.2 percent overall from the field, 42.7 percent in two-pointers, and 41.5 percent from three-point range. In free throws, he shot 84.3 percent, including a perfect 43-for-43 from the line in 14 games combined, and he missed only a combined seven free throws in 16 Big East games.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/g_riley.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 39. Gerald Riley 2014-04-15 2015-09-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031516/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/g_riley.htm dead Freshman forward Brandon Bowman joined the team this season and started all 34 games, averaging 24 minutes, 7.6 points, and 4.5 rebounds per game. He shot 95-for-248 (38.3%) from the field, but only 10-for-55 (18.2%) from three-point range and only 3-for-19 (15.8%) in three-pointers during Big East games. His scoring improved as the season wore on, however, and he finished fourth in scoring on the team.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/b_bowman.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 27. Brandon Bowman 2014-04-15 2012-11-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20121130143247/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/b_bowman.htm dead Freshman guard Ashanti Cook, a high-school teammate of Bowmans, was another newcomer to the team. He was averaging 8.2 points per game and showing great promise when he suffered an ankle injury in the game against top-ranked Duke on January 8, 2003. The injury cost him a month of play, and when he returned to action it hobbled him for another month, and he scored a total of only 20 points over the final nine weeks of the regular season.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_cook.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 51. Ashanti Cook 2014-04-15 2015-09-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031439/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_cook.htm dead Also debuting with the varsity team was sophomore forward Darrel Owens, who had sat out his freshman year in 2001–02. He saw limited time during the season, although he played in 32 of the 34 games and started one of them. His 11-point, four-rebound game at Duke was his best effort.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_owens.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 71. Darrel Owens 2014-04-15 2014-11-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20141123202719/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_owens.htm dead The team opened the season 7–0, but went 7–13 the rest of the way to finish the regular season with a 14–13 overall record, 6–10 in the Big East, and a fifth-place finish in the conferences West Division. In the 2003 Big East tournament, the Hoyas defeated Villanova in the first round. In the quarterfinals, they lost to Syracuse despite an 18-point game by Bowman. The teams Big East tournament result left it with a 15–14 overall record, and it missed the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six years. Instead, it received an invitation to the 2003 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), its fifth NIT invitation and fourth NIT appearance in the previous six years.Georgetown declined its invitation to the 2002 National Invitation Tournament, choosing to forgo postseason play and keep its players in class after the 2001-02 season. Cook finally began to return to form, scoring a season-high 16 points at Tennessee in the first round of the NIT, and Bowman shot 10-for-18 (55.6%) from the field in two NIT games. The Hoyas defeated Tennessee, then won at Providence and at North Carolina to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, their deepest run in a postseason tournament since they advanced to the East Region final in the 1996 NCAA tournament. In the semifinals they defeated Minnesota – the team that had beaten them in the final game of the 1993 NIT – and advanced to the second NIT final in school history and first since 1993. As in 1993, they lost the final, succumbing to Big East rival St. John's, although the NCAA later vacated the 2003 NIT title when it was discovered that St. John's had used an ineligible player. At the end of the season, Georgetown extended head coach Craig Esherick′s contract through 2009.Esherick Is Out at Georgetown https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-mar-17-sp-bkcrep17-story.html Los Angeles Times 17 March 2004 However, he was destined to last only one more season with the team. In June 2003, Mike Sweetney opted to forgo his senior year of college eligibility and enter the NBA draft, the third player – after Allen Iverson in 1996 and Victor Page in 1997 – to break with the John Thompson, Jr.-Craig Esherick era's tradition of basketball players staying a full four years and graduating. This was the last of three seasons in which Georgetown played as a member of the Big Easts West Division. For the following season, the Big East scrapped its divisions and returned to a unified structure. Roster Sourcesports-reference.com 2002-03 Georgetown Hoyas Roster and Statshttp://hoyasaxanation.com/georgetown-basketball/roster/2002-2003 hoyasaxanation.com 2002-2003 Georgetown Basketball Roster 2013-11-18 https://archive.today/20131118024000/http://hoyasaxanation.com/georgetown-basketball/roster/2002-2003 2013-11-18 dead The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey NumbersThe Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Hhttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/alltime-s.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: S 2013-11-18 2014-04-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20140407081717/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/alltime-s.htm dead http://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/alltime-w.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: W 2013-11-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105057/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/alltime-w.htm 2013-12-24 dead #NameHeightWeight (lbs.)PositionClassHometownPrevious Team(s)1Brandon Bowman6'9"223FFr.Santa Monica, CA, U.S.Westchester HS2Courtland Freeman6'9"228F/CSr.Myrtle Beach, SC, U.S.Socastee HS3Omari Faulkner6'6"205FJr.Memphis, TN, U.S.Hamilton HS5Drew Hall6'2"185GSo.Silver Spring, MD, U.S.Montrose Christian School10RaMell Ross6'6"205G/FJr.Fairfax, VA, U.S.Lake Braddock Secondary11Trenton Hillier5'9"165GSr.Chagrin Falls, OH, U.S.Kenston HS13Victor Samnick6'8"208FSr.Douala, CameroonNewport Prep (Md)20Darrell Owens6'7"215F/GSo.Napoleonville, LA, U.S.Assumption HS21Ashanti Cook6'2"185GFr.Inglewood, CA, U.S.Westchester HS22Tony Bethel6'1"185GSo.Fort Washington, MD, U.S.Montrose Christian School25Ryan Beal6'5"210GFr.Coral Gables, FL, U.S.Ransom Everglades School32Gerald Riley6'6"217GJr.Milledgeville, GA, U.S.Baldwin HS34Mike Sweetney6'8"260F/CJr.Oxon Hill, MD, U.S.Oxon Hill HS50Wesley Wilson6'11"235CSr.Vallejo, CA, U.S.Maine Central Institute Rankings 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings The team was not ranked in the Top 25 in either the AP Poll or the Coaches' Poll at any time, but was among other teams receiving votes in both polls during some weeks.2002-03 Big East Conference Season Summary2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - USA Today Coaches Poll espn.go.com 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings + Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 WK 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Final AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV no poll Coaches RV N/A RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 2002–03 Schedule and results SourceGU Athletics Calendar http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/bb-2000s.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Projects: 2000s Schedules 2013-11-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20131112045914/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/bb-2000s.htm 2013-11-12 dead 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 66.http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091002aaa.html guhoyas.com "Men's Basketball Announces 2002-2003 Schedule" 2014-03-28 2014-03-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20140328052925/http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091002aaa.html dead http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112302aaa.html guhoyas.com "Hoyas, Princeton Happy to Help Each Other Out," November 11, 2002. March 28, 2014 March 28, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140328043116/http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112302aaa.html dead All times are Eastern yes |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| Preseason Fri., Nov. 1, 2002 7:30 p.m. Latvia Select McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC none 132–58http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110102aaa.html guhoyas.com "Hoyas Rout Latvia Select Team in Exhibition," November 1, 2002 March 28, 2014 March 28, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140328050438/http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110102aaa.html dead exhibition N/A Sun., Nov. 10, 2002 N/A yes Princeton Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ none c scrimmageBeginning in 2000, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began to permit member colleges and universities to hold scrimmages with one another in lieu of scheduling exhibition games against non-collegiate opponents. A scrimmage included referees and a clock, but NCAA rules prohibited the keeping of a score. The NCAA also prohibited advertising scrimmages or selling tickets to them. See guhoyas.com "Hoyas, Princeton Happy to Help Each Other Out," November 11, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20140328043116/http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112302aaa.html March 28, 2014 scrimmage N/A |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| Regular season Fri., Nov. 22, 2002 7:30 p.m. yes Grambling State MCI Center Washington, DC 99–46 1–0 8,204 Mon., Nov. 25, 2002 7:30pm yes James Madison MCI Center Washington, DC 80–60 2–0 7,180 Sat., Nov. 30, 2002 1:00pm yes Towson MCI Center Washington, DC 81–52 3–0 6,107 Mon., Dec. 2, 2002 7:30pm yes Coastal Carolina MCI Center Washington, DC 87–60 4–0 4,366 Thu., Dec. 5, 2002 7:30pm yes South Carolina MCI Center Washington, DC 67–59 5–0 5,469 Mon., Dec. 16, 2002 7:30pm yes Norfolk State MCI Center Washington, DC 84–48 6–0 5,447 Fri., Dec. 20, 2002 7:30pm yes Howard MCI Center Washington, DC 91–66 7–0 7,102http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-h.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. Opponents — H: Howard 2013-11-18 2012-12-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20121225043347/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-h.htm dead Sat., Dec. 28, 2002 2:00pm yes yes Virginia University Hall Charlottesville, VA CBS 75–79 7–1 8,251 Tue., Dec. 31, 2002 1:00pm yes VMI MCI Center Washington, DC 85–48 8–1 6,631 Wed., Jan. 8, 2003 7:00pm yes yes Duke 1 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN 86–93 8–2 9,314 Sun., Jan. 12, 2003 2:00pm West Virginia MCI Center Washington, DC 84–82 OT 9–2 (1–0) 8,945 Mon., Jan. 14, 2003 7:30pm yes Seton Hall Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ 54–68 9–3 (1–1) 7,114 Sat., Jan. 18, 2003 12:00 noon St. John's MCI Center Washington, DC 72–77 9–4 (1–2) 11,777 Mon., Jan. 20, 2003 8:00pm Rutgers MCI Center Washington, DC 76–66 10–4 (2–2) 7,644 Sat., Jan. 25, 2003 12:00 noon yes Pittsburgh 2 Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh, PA 64–65 10–5 (2–3) 12,508 Wed., Jan. 29, 2003 7:30pm Seton Hall MCI Center Washington, DC 82–93 OT 10–6 (2–4) 7,242 Sat., Feb. 1, 2003 12:00 noon yes Notre Dame 11 Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 92–93 2OT 10–7 (2–5) 11,418 Mon., Feb. 3, 2003 7:00pm yes Syracuse 24 Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Rivalry ESPN 80–88 10–8 (2–6) 20,702 Sat., Feb. 8, 2003 1:00pm yes UCLA MCI Center Washington, DC CBS 70–71 10–9 14,227 Tue., Feb. 11, 2003 7:00pm yes Rutgers Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ 59–66 10–10 (2–7) 6,831 Sat., Feb. 15, 2003 4:00pm yes Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA 85–73 11–10 (3–7) 4,857 Tue., Feb. 18, 2003 7:00pm Pittsburgh 9 MCI Center Washington, DC ESPN 67–82 11–11 (3–8) 7,242 Sat., Feb. 22, 2003 12:00 noon yes Miami Convocation Center Coral Gables, FL ESPN 74–72 12–11 (4–8) 3,314 Tue., Feb. 25, 2003 7:30pm Providence MCI Center Washington, DC 71–56 13–11 (5–8) 6,716 Sat., Mar. 1, 2003 1:00pm Syracuse 15 MCI Center Washington, DC Rivalry ABC 84–93 13–12 (5–9) 17,352 Mon., Mar. 3, 2003 7:00pm yes West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV 69–67 14–12 (6–9) 7,568 Sat., Mar. 9, 2003 7:00pm Notre Dame 16 MCI Center Washington, DC CBS 80–86 14–13 (6–10) 17,875 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| Big East tournament Wed., Mar. 12, 2003 7:00pm yes Villanova Madison Square Garden New York, NY First Round ESPN/ESPN2 46–41 15–13 19,528 Wed., Mar. 13, 2003 7:00pm yes Syracuse 11 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Quarterfinal/Rivalry ESPN/ESPN2 57–68 15–14 19,173 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| National Invitation Tournament Tue., Mar. 18, 2003 7:00pm yes Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, TN First Round 70–60 16–14 3,011 Mon., Mar. 24, 2003 7:30pm yes Providence Dunkin Donuts Center Providence, RI Second round 67–58 17–14 7,340 Wed., Mar. 26, 2003 7:00pm yes North Carolina Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Quarterfinal 79–74 18–14 15,043 Tue., Apr. 1, 2003 7:00pm yes Minnesota Madison Square Garden New York, NY Semifinal 88–74 19–14 10,880http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-m.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. Opponents — M: Minnesota 2013-11-18 2014-12-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20141209205846/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/opponents-m.htm dead Thu., Apr. 3, 2003 8:00pm yes St. John's Madison Square Garden New York, NY Final 67–70 19–15 12,406 Notes note References Category:Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team