1976–77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 basketball 1976-77 Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Hoyas logo.svg Independent 19–9 John Thompson 5th Bill Stein 5th Larry Long Mike MacDermott McDonough Gymnasium National Invitation Tournament First Round The 1976–77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his fifth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 19–9. Knocked out of the ECAC South Region tournament for the first time in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 1974. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1977 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their first NIT appearance since 1970, and lost in the first round to Virginia Tech. Season recap Junior guard and perennial high scorer Derrick Jackson shot 198-for-404 (49.0%) from the field during the season and scored 400 points, virtually duplicating his performance from the previous season, when he had shot 195-for-399 (48.9%) from the field and scored 406 points. This season, he scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games and finished first in five scoring categories for the team.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_jackson.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 9. Derrick Jackson 2014-02-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20181005053409/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/d_jackson.htm 2018-10-05 dead Promising freshman forward Craig "Big Sky" Shelton missed all but seven games because of a knee injury and would not emerge as one of the teams stars until the following season.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/c_shelton.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 7. Craig Shelton 2014-02-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20120214175742/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/c_shelton.htm 2012-02-14 dead His high school teammate, freshman guard John Duren, however, became a starter by mid-season and showed his talent as a point guard and shooter. His ability to lead the team as point guard and pass the ball contributed to Georgetowns team shooting percentage rising from 46% to 50% during the year. He scored a season-high 19 points against Boston College and averaged 15 points per game after becoming a starter.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/c_shelton.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 6. John Duren 2014-02-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20120214175742/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/c_shelton.htm 2012-02-14 dead With the arrival of Duren, there was little need for sophomore Steve Martin to play as a guard – his position in high school and during his freshman year – so Thompson played him off the bench as a small forward this season. Martin made the most of the transition, scoring 15 against Purdue, 17 against Pennsylvania, and a season-high 20 against Seton Hall. He also came off the bench for an eight-point, six-steal game against Holy Cross.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/s_martin.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 64. Steve Martin 2014-02-07 2013-01-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20130109014006/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/s_martin.htm dead Although retaining its status as an independent, Georgetown was in its third season as a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation that held three regional post-season Division I basketball tournaments in 1977 for independent Eastern colleges and universities similar to the end-of-season conference tournaments held by conventional college basketball conferences, with each tournament winner receiving an at-large bid to the 1977 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Hoyas participated in the ECAC South Region tournament, which they had won in 1975 and 1976, facing Old Dominion in the semifinal. Junior Georgetown center Ed Hopkins, a key defensive presence also making a major offensive contribution by averaging 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and leading the team in shooting percentage from the field at 57%, missed the game because of an ankle injury. The Hoyas struggled without Hopkins and lost to Old Dominion 80–58.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/e_hopkins.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 75. Ed Hopkins 2014-02-07 2015-03-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20150331010431/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/e_hopkins.htm dead They therefore missed an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since the 1973–74 season. Invited to the 1977 National Invitation Tournament instead, the Hoyas faced Virginia Tech in the first round. Sophomore forward Al Dutch, averaging 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the season, had to sit out the game with an ankle injury. Georgetown missed Dutchs scoringhttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_dutch.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 55. Al Dutch 2014-02-07 2015-09-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031440/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/a_dutch.htm dead and lost to the Hokies 83–79 despite Derrick Jacksons 28-point performance, which tied his career-high 28 points scored against Penn State during the 1975–76 season. Senior forward Larry Long, often limited by injuries during his four years with the Hoyas, put in an impressive performance in the last two collegiate games of his career with a combined 28 rebounds in the Old Dominion and Virginia Tech games.http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/l_long.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 97. Larry long 2014-02-26 2015-03-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20150330030043/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/l_long.htm dead Roster Junior guard Craig Esherick would later serve as an assistant coach for the Hoyas from 1982 to 1999 and as head coach from 1999 to 2004. Junior guard Mike Riley would later serve as a Hoya assistant coach from 1982 to 2004. Sourcehttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/roster-70s.htm#1977 The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1970-71 to 1979-1980 2013-12-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20131213081949/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/players/roster-70s.htm#1977 2013-12-13 dead The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers #NameHeightWeight (lbs.)PositionClassHometownPrevious team(s)10Craig Esherick6'3"N/AGJr.Silver Spring, MD, U.S.Springbrook HS12Mike Riley5'8"N/AGJr.Washington, DC, U.S.United States Navy20Steve Martin6'4"175FSo.New Orleans, LA, U.S.St. Augustine HS22Derrick Jackson6'0"180GJr.Wheaton, IL, U.S.Wheaton Central HS24Lonnie Duren6'1"N/AGFr.Washington, DC, U.S.Augusta Military Academy (Fort Defiance, VA)25Al Dutch6'7"190FSo.Washington, DC, U.S.Archbishop Carroll HS32Larry Long6'7"200FSr.Washington, DC, U.S.Mackin HS33Gary Wilson6'7"N/ACSo.Washington, DC, U.S.St. Anthony's HS34Mike MacDermott6'4"N/AGSr.Saratoga Springs, NY, U.S.St. Peter HS42Felix Yeoman6'7"N/AF/CJr.Washington, DC, U.S.St. Anthony's HS44John Duren6'3"150GFr.Washington, DC, U.S.Dunbar HS50Craig "Big Sky" Shelton6'7"210FSo.Washington, DC, U.S.Dunbar HS51Mike Frazier6'7"N/AFFr.Cleveland, OH, U.S.University School52Ed Hopkins6'9"225CJr.Baltimore, MD, U.S.Edmondson-Westside HS55Tom Scates6'11"N/ACSo.Alexandria, VA, U.S.St. Anthony's HS, (Washington, DC) Rankings 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Sourcessports-reference.com 1976-77 Independent Season Summarysports-reference.com 1976-77 Polls The team was not ranked in the Top 20 of the Associated Press Poll at any time, but it was ranked in the Top 20 in the Coaches' Poll during two weeks. This was only the second national ranking in Georgetown men's basketball history, and the first since the 1952-53 team spent a week at No. 20 in the AP Poll in January 1953.sports-reference.com 1952-53 Polls + Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. Poll 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 Final AP Coaches 17 20 1976–77 schedule and results Sourceshttp://www.hoyabasketball.com/records/bb-1970.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1970s Seasons 2013-12-11 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 2013-12-11 2013-11-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20131103211101/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/opponents.htm dead sports-reference.com 1976-77 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 63.http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=1977_ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments jonfmorse.com 1977 ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments 2013-12-11 2013-12-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20131214115648/http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=1977_ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments dead All times are Eastern no yes no no no |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| Regular season Tue., Nov. 30, 1976 no w Upsala McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 66–46 1-0 Sat., Dec. 4, 1976 no w St. Bonaventure McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 76–60 2-0 Tue., Dec. 7, 1976 no w North Carolina Central McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 95–69 3-0 Sat., Dec. 18, 1976 no w Chicago State McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 106–65 4-0 Wed., Dec. 22, 1976 no l yes Alabama 5 Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC Carolina Classic no 64–66 4-1 Thu., Dec. 23, 1976 no w yes Harvard Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC Carolina Classic no 60–40 5-1 Mon., Dec. 27, 1976 no w yes Fairfield Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival no 79–69 6-1 Tue., Dec. 28, 1976 no l yes Purdue Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival no 65–83 6-2 Thu., Dec. 30, 1976 no w yes Pennsylvania Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival no 66–61 7-2 Tue., Jan. 4, 1977 no w Boston University McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 53–49 8-2 Sat., Jan. 8, 1977 no w Stonehill McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 81–57 9-2 Wed., Jan. 12, 1977 no l yes Navy Halsey Field House Annapolis, MD no 55–56 9-3 Sat., Jan. 15, 1977 no w Iona McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 81–67 10-3 Tue., Jan. 18, 1977 no w yes Holy Cross Hart Center Worcester, MA no 69–65 11-3 Sat., Jan. 22, 1977 no l Seton Hall McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 82–94 11-4 Wed., Jan. 26, 1977 no w St. Joseph's McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 76–64 12-4 Sat., Jan. 29, 1977 no w yes American Fort Myer Gymnasium Fort Myer, VA no 78–64 13-4 Wed., Feb. 2, 1977 no l yes St. John's Alumni Hall Queens, NY no 66–82 13-5 Sat., Feb. 5, 1977 no w Loyola (Illinois) McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 80–70 14-5 Thu., Feb. 10, 1977 no w Fordham McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 66–47 15-5 Sat., Feb. 12, 1977 no w Southern Connecticut State McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 95–65 16-5 Tue., Feb. 15, 1977 no w yes St. Peter's Yanitelli Center Jersey City, NJ no 73–71 OT 17-5 Sat., Feb. 19, 1977 no w Boston College McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 87–69 18-5 Wed., Feb. 23, 1977 no l yes George Washington Charles E. Smith Athletic Center Washington, DC no 71–72 18-6 Sat., Feb. 26, 1977 no w Manhattan McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC no 79–71 19-6 Wed., Mar. 2, 1977 no l yes Saint Francis Physical Education Center Loretto, PA no 87–94 19-7 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| ECAC South Region tournament Fri., Mar. 4, 1977 no l Old Dominion McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC Semifinal no 58–80 19-8 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;"| National Invitation tournament Fri., Mar. 11, 1977 no l yes Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA First Round no 79–83 19-9 AP Poll References Category:Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team