1970–71 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 basketball 1970-71 Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Hoyas logo.svg Independent 12–14 John Magee 5th Ed Hockenbury 1st Bob Hannan Don Weber McDonough Gymnasium The 1970–71 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1970–71 NCAA University Division college basketball season. John Magee coached them in his fifth season as head coach. The team was an independent and played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C. The team finished the season with a record of 12–14 and had no post-season play. Season recap In recent seasons, Georgetown had established a pattern of strong starts followed by late-season collapses that sank hopes for a berth in a post-season tournament, losing seven of its final 10 games in the 1964–65 season, eight of its final 11 games in 1966–67, and seven of its last nine games in 1968–69. In 1969–70, however, it had played well enough for a bid in the 1970 National Invitation Tournament and had come close to defeating Pete Maravich and his Louisiana State teammates in the first round. With junior forward Art White – generally viewed at the time as the greatest player in Georgetown basketball history – as well as senior guard Don Weber and junior forward Mike Laughna returning, Magee had high hopes that a new era of success had dawned in Georgetown men's basketball. Laughna had a strong season, shooting 48.2% from the field. Over the course of three consecutive games in February 1971 against American, Loyola, and New York University (NYU), he scored 76 points and pulled down 50 rebounds, and in the NYU game alone he grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 35 points, the only 30-plus-point scoring performance in a single game by a Georgetown player during the 1970s. During the season, he led the team in scoring in 14 games, including 10 of the last 11.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/m_laughna.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 15. Mike Laughna 2014-02-12 2015-03-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20150330030053/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/m_laughna.htm dead White, meanwhile, scored in double figures in 21 of the seasons 26 games and averaged 14.2 points per game,http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_white.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 33. Art White 2014-02-12 2013-03-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20130326234352/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_white.htm dead and Weber closed out his collegiate career by scoring in double figures 13 times, shooting 44% from the field, and leading the team in assists for the second straight year with 100.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_weber.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 89. Don Weber 2014-02-12 2015-03-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20150329170842/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_weber.htm dead Magees hope that the 1970–71 team would build on the success of the previous year went unfulfilled: The team played very poorly on defense and, after opening 3–5 and then winning six of its next eight to improve to 9–7, it returned to the pattern of the teams of the latter half of the 1960s, losing seven of its last 10 games. The season culminated in a meeting with longtime rival Fordham, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press Poll, before a sellout crowd at McDonough Gymnasium on March 4, 1971.Reagan, John, "Forgotten Rivals," The Georgetown Basketball History Project, June 4, 2018 Accessed 26 June 2021 Rams guard/forward Charlie Yelverton scored 38 points to lead Fordham to an 81–68 victory that gave the Rams a 22–2 record, and the win clinched Fordham's first bid to the NCAA tournament since 1954. Georgetown finished the season with a record of 12–14 and had no post-season play. Magees relationship with the team deteriorated as the season wore on. Praising only Laughna — when asked what lineup he would use for the team the following season, he said, "Laughna and four others" — Magee otherwise openly blamed the years results on the performance of his players, specifically calling White "a disappointment" in an interview with the campus newspaper The Hoya. White did not return to the team for the following season because of academic issues, presaging a dismal Hoya performance in 1971–72.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/history/hist14.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: A Glimpse Into the Future 2013-12-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20131217035644/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/history/hist14.htm 2013-12-17 dead The 1970–71 team was not ranked in the Top 20 in the Associated Press Poll or Coaches' Poll at any time.sports-reference.com 1970-71 Independent Season Summarysports-reference.com 1970-71 Polls Roster Sourcehttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/roster-70s.htm#1971 The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1970-71 to 1979-1980 2013-12-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20131213081949/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/roster-70s.htm#1971 2013-12-13 dead The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers #NameHeightWeight (lbs.)PositionClassHometownPrevious Team(s)10John Connors6'7"N/AG/CSo.New York, NY, U.S.Cardinal Spellman HS12Don Weber5'8"160GSr.Ridgewood, NJ, U.S.Don Bosco Preparatory HS14Dick Zeitler5'11"N/AGSr.Seaford, NY, U.S.Archbishop Molloy HS22Tim Mercier5'10"N/AGSr.Jersey City, NJ, U.S.St. Peter's Preparatory School30Mike Geoghegan6'4"N/AFSo.Cincinnati, OH, U.S.St. Xavier HS32Bob Hannan6'3"N/AFSr.Paterson, NJ, U.S.St. Mary HS34Tom McBride5'10"N/AGSo.South Lake, NJ, U.S.Staunton Military Academy (Staunton, VA)40Ed MacNamaraN/AN/AFSr.Dumont, NJ, U.S.Bergen Catholic HS42Mike Laughna6'7"210FJr.North Caldwell, NJ, U.S.Saint Benedict's Preparatory School44Art White6'7"190FJr.White Plains, NY, U.S.Archbishop Stepinac HS52Mark Mitchell6'8"N/AC/FJr.Chicago, IL, U.S.Loyola Academy54Mark Edwards6'5"N/AFSo.Hyattsville, MD, U.S.DeMatha Catholic HS 1970–71 schedule and results Sourceshttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/bb-1970.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1970s Seasons 2013-12-14 2020-07-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20200704090730/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/bb-1970.htm dead http://www.hoyabasketball.com/opponents.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents 2013-12-14 2013-11-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20131103211101/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/opponents.htm dead sports-reference.com 1970-71 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 62. no yes no no no |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| Regular Season Tue., Dec. 1, 1970 no w Rensselaer McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 62–52 1-0 Sat., Dec. 5, 1970 no l yes St. Joseph's Palestra Philadelphia, PA no 60–72 1-1 Mon., Dec. 7, 1970 no w yes William & Mary George Preston Blow Gymnasium Williamsburg, VA no 88–71 2-1 Sat., Dec. 12, 1970 no l yes St. John's Alumni Hall Queens, NY no 74–81 2-2 Wed., Dec. 16, 1970 no l yes Navy Halsey Field House Annapolis, MD no 69–76 2OT 2-3 Sat., Dec. 19, 1970 no w Maryland McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 96–79 3-3 Tue., Dec. 29, 1970 no l yes Wake Forest West Palm Beach Auditorium West Palm Beach, FL Gold Coast Classic no 88–90 3-4 Wed., Dec. 30, 1970 no l yes Creighton West Palm Beach Auditorium West Palm Beach, FL Gold Coast Classic no 79–80 3-5 Sun., Jan. 3, 1971 no w Brown McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 80–76 4-5 Thu., Jan. 7, 1971 no w Randolph–Macon McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 71–54 5-5 Sat., Jan. 9, 1971 no w Boston University McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 95–78 6-5 Wed., Jan. 13, 1971 no l yes Columbia University Gymnasium New York, NY no 68–80 6-6 Sat., Jan. 16, 1971 no l yes Seton Hall Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, NJ no 69–74 6-7 Sat., Jan. 30, 1971 no w yes Fairleigh Dickinson Campus Gymnasium Rutherford, NJ no 71–59 7-7 Mon., Feb. 1, 1971 no w yes Fairfield New Haven Arena New Haven, CT no 78–65 8-7 Thu., Feb. 4, 1971 no w Connecticut McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC Rivalry no 98–75 9-7 Sat., Feb. 6, 1971 no l yes American Fort Myer Gymnasium Fort Myer, VA no 57–60 9-8 Tue., Feb. 9, 1971 no l yes Loyola Maryland Alumni Gymnasium Baltimore, MD no 69–75 9-9 Thu., Feb. 11, 1971 no w yes New York University Madison Square Garden New York, NY no 91–80 10-9 Sat., Feb. 13, 1971 no l yes Rutgers College Avenue Gymnasium New Brunswick, NJ no 53–58 10-10 Tue., Feb. 16, 1971 no w Boston College McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 67–66 11-10 Sat., Feb. 20, 1971 no l yes Penn State Recreation Hall State College, PA no 75–84 11-11 Mon., Feb. 22, 1971 no w yes George Washington Fort Myer Gymnasium Fort Myer, VA no 84–76 12-11 Wed., Feb. 24, 1971 no l yes Holy Cross Worcester Memorial Auditorium Worcester, MA no 72–109 12-12 Sat., Feb. 27, 1971 no l Manhattan McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 78–86 12-13 Thu., Mar. 4, 1971 no l Fordham 13 McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 68–81 12-14 AP Poll References Category:Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team