Oct. 24, 2007
New York, N.Y. - The Georgetown University men's basketball team received eight first place votes and was selected as the co-favorites, along with Louisville, to win the BIG EAST Conference title in a vote of the league's 16 coaches, it was announced at the annual Media Day at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Georgetown and Louisville each received eight first place votes apiece and 217 votes overall to tie for first in the 16-team league. Marquette was selected third with 191 points, followed by Pittsburgh (170), Syracuse (153), Connecticut (149), Villanova (143), Providence (141), Notre Dame (122), West Virginia (112), DePaul (79), Cincinnati (62), Seton Hall (56), St. John's (52), Rutgers (32) and South Florida (23). Hoya senior center Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year. He is the first Georgetown player to be accorded BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year recognition since Alonzo Mourning shared the honor with Malik Sealy of St. John's in 1991-92. Hibbert averaged 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds last year and was a unanimous All-BIG EAST first team selection. He shot 67.1 percent from the field overall and set a BIG EAST record by hitting at a 71.2 percent clip in conference games. Hibbert, who blocked a team-high 90 shots last season, ranks sixth all-time in that category at Georgetown with 184 rejections. Senior teammate Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) was tabbed as one of 10 members of the 2007-08 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Other players selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team include: Connecticut forward Jeff Adrien, Louisville center David Padgett and forward Terrence Williams, Marquette guards Dominic James and Jerel McNeal, Providence forward Geoff McDermott, South Florida center Kentrell Gransberry, Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf and Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds, one of two unanimous all-league honorees along with Hibbert.
Wallace, who has started all 102 games during his career, finished third on the team in scoring last season with 11.4 points per game, was third in assists (3.05 per game) and fifth on the team in rebounds (2.7 per game). The senior connected on a team-high 73 three-pointers, shot 49.0 percent from outside the arc (73-of-149) and hit 50.7 percent of his field goals overall. More than 250 media members packed the Theatre at Madison Square Garden for the chance to interview the league's head coaches and top student-athletes. After an address from BIG EAST Commissioner Mike Tranghese at 10 a.m., the teams split into two groups, with one group of eight teams meeting with the print and radio representatives, and the second group of eight teams visiting with television outlets. Georgetown, along with Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence and St. John's met with the print media and visiting radio outlets from 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Newspapers attending the session included the Washington Post, Washington Times and The Hoya, as well as more than 70 other representatives. From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., that group visited with television stations. The Hoya contingent of Head Coach John Thompson III and senior captains Tyler Crawford (Stuarts Draft, Va./Robert E. Lee), Patrick Ewing, Jr. (Marietta, Ga./National Christian Academy), Hibbert and Wallace sat down with representatives from ESPN, CSTV, Inside the BIG EAST, MSG Network, SportsNet New York as well as outlets from Syracuse, Kentucky, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Georgetown finished the 2006-07 season with a 30-7 overall record, advanced to the Final Four and won both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament championship titles. 2007-08 Preseason Player of the Year Roy Hibbert, Georgetown 2007-08 Preseason Co-Rookies of the Year Donte' Greene, Syracuse 2007-08 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team *Roy Hibbert, Georgetown (Player of the Year), C, Sr., 7-2, 278, Adelphi, Md. 2007-08 Preseason Coaches' Poll 1. Georgetown (8) 217 First-place votes in parentheses |
 
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