#4
Men’s basketball looks to take a step forward in Cooley’s second season
ben jakabcsin
#5
#6
After a historic season, women's basketball sets their sights even higher bradshaw cate
Meet the new players: Men's basketball
anna cordova
#7
Now a junior, Jayden Epps looks to lead both on and off the floor
ben jakabcsin
Meet the new players: Women's basketball
tiara haggins
#13
#8-9 rosters
Victoria Rivera takes pride as Georgetown’s three-point sharpshooter andrew swank
#12
Dikembe Mutombo leaves a legacy of joy at Georgetown
nicholas riccio
#13
Darnell Haney: Head coach, outside dawg, faithful leader
lucie peyrebrune
#14-15
men’s & women’s basketball predictions
henry skarecky and sam lynch
Walk-on Haikus
by bradshaw cate
Michael Van Raaphorst
Michael Van Raaphorst
A good name for a haiku
He’s an art major
Austin Montgomery
Three of three from three
Never missed a single shot
Three years in college
Mason Moses
Running round the ‘Gram
Twenty two is a fresh guard
Ready for action
Hasham Asadallah
Baller from Kuwait
Likes to dunk on his socials
And loves his mama
Welcome to the Basketball issue: our annual tradition of ringing in the basketball season with a series of carefully created previews, predictions, and profiles!
Though there’s a lot to say about the legacy and vast importance of basketball for us Hoyas, I want to address another issue. I won’t mince words here: the results of the presidential election are terrifying. As a Black immigrant, the trajectory of the next four years weigh heavily on my heart and the hearts of Black and brown communities, queer folx, women, immigrants—and people who hope for a future free from white supremacy and U.S. imperialism. I could go on, and on, as for many of us, the looming fear and anxiety is boundless. However, I want to encourage you all to embrace those feelings.
Your grief, your fear, your anger—they are valid. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Feel those feelings, but do not let them discourage you. Now, more than ever, we must find solace and community in one another. Although the path forward looks murky, there is a path forward. In the coming days, weeks, months, and yes, years, we will resist this.
In the meantime, take care of yourself. Take care of one another and your communities.
Editor-in-Chief, Fall 2024
GO ALL THE WAY
BY BEN JAKABCSIN
After a lot of going nowhere fast in year one, Georgetown basketball’s Ed Cooley era may have found some juice going into year two.
On one hand, last season’s 9-23 overall record with two conference wins and a second to last place conference finish certainly wasn’t the debut season that coach Ed Cooley and the Hoya faithful hoped for. Take that with a projected ninth place finish in this year’s preseason BIG EAST coaches’ poll, and it’s reasonable to see why some are worried about the direction of Georgetown basketball.
On the other hand, there are things to like about where this program is headed, both on and off the court. Coach Ed Cooley and staff are now in year two, and the additions to this year’s roster are exciting.
Returning from last year is the Hoyas’ leading scorer, junior guard Jayden Epps, as well as promising sophomore forward Drew Fielder and redshirt freshman forward Drew McKenna. While the returners are small in number, they cannot be
outlets, and others like center Julius Halaifonua, guard Kayvaun Mulready, and forward Caleb Williams were all national-level recruits.
If you’re looking for players who could outperform expectations, though, look no further than the only senior on this roster, guard Micah Peavy. Coming to Georgetown from a 2023–24 tournament team in TCU, Peavy is known primarily for his defensive prowess as well as his connective ability to be a “glue guy” on offense. If the staff, and Peavy himself, are to be believed, it would not be surprising to see Peavy take his game to the next level in his final season at the collegiate level. In addition to his traditional role as a wing stopper, Peavy is expected to see backup minutes at point guard behind sophomore guard Malik Mack. “You’re going to see some things that you haven’t seen on clips,” Peavy said in an interview with the Voice at Georgetown basketball’s media day.
One of the biggest pitfalls of last season’s team was that it did not have enough shot creation besides Epps, allowing defenses to key in on him and force others to try to make plays they couldn’t make. This is where Peavy and Mack, a Harvard transfer, come in. After being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year a season ago, averaging over 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, Mack returns home to the DMV to suit up for the Hoyas. There are high expectations, both internally and nationally, for his performance in his first season playing high-major basketball.
While it is fair to question the value of continuity for a team that struggled as much as Georgetown last year, it is also true that teams as young and inexperienced as this one rarely find major success. This team does not have an all-world prospect like Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, or a projected top-5 NBA draft pick with European professional experience like Illinois guard Kasparas Jakučionis, who can carry the load for other similarly inexperienced teams. As such, it will be an uphill battle for Georgetown to even sniff the NCAA tournament this season. Despite it feeling like the last four or so years have been nothing but “rebuilding years,” this may be yet another.
That being said, who knows? Maybe this year’s team will surprise everyone and make a run. After all, sometimes raw talent and abilities just win out, especially given the Hoyas’ weak non-conference schedule. At the end of the day, every player on this roster is either already considered a very good college basketball player (Peavy, Epps, Mack), has shown flashes of becoming one (Burks, Fielder, sophomore guard Curtis Williams), or comes in with the reputation of someone who could get there sooner (Sorber, Halaifonua, Mulready) or later (Caleb Williams, freshman forward Seal Diouf, freshman forward Jayden Fort).
“Now our feet are firmly on the ground,”
Mack’s ability to control the offense should be a major boost for this year’s roster, as it should allow Epps to play his more natural role of a scoring guard and create more scoring opportunities for off-ball scorers like Fielder, Sorber, and sophomore forward Jordan Burks. Overall, offense, particularly individual scoring acumen, will be one of the strengths of this season’s team; even so, Cooley wants players to embrace the idea of contributing beyond the scoring column, asking, “What can they do to impact winning without scoring?”
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Gone from last year’s team are double-figure scorers Dontrez Styles (transferred to NC State) and Supreme Cook (transferred to Oregon). In a landscape where continuity comes at a premium, Georgetown has next to none.
BY BRADSHAW CATE
Georgetown women’s basketball looks to alley-oop off its impressive performance last season. Not only did the Hoyas improve from 14-17 to 19-10 (9-9 in the BIG EAST), but their season culminated with the program’s first appearance in the BIG EAST championship final and a second round appearance in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
After the tragic death of coach Tasha Butts, Darnell Haney took over as interim coach for the 2023 campaign. Adopting the motto of “Tasha Tough,” Haney and the team took on a strong defensive identity. By the end of the season, Georgetown ranked ninth nationally for opposing points per game (PPG), holding teams to just 55.1 on average.
Graduate guard Kelsey Ransom plans to continue that defensive intensity into this season.
“As an individual, I know I have the ability to bring energy, make another team’s point guard take six more seconds off the clock so that the rest of my team doesn’t have to play defense for the entire 30,” Ransom said. “As a team, buying into that, we’re going to defend, we’re going to be there for each other. We can’t be afraid to get beat because we need someone on the help side.”
Ransom led the team in both steals and total turnovers last year, and should be a cornerstone of the Hoyas’ defense this season. However, Georgetown has lost other key players. Graceann Bennett, who led the team in total rebounds, graduated and took her talents to Esperides WBC in Greece. Star senior forward Brianna Scott, who
graduate forward Chetanna Nweke, who came to Georgetown from Princeton, should help fill the hole left by Bennett.
“Coming in this year, [Haney] told me that I need to be averaging a double[-double], so I need to focus on rebounding and scoring in the post,” Nweke said. “I’ve been taking a lot of pride on that, and I know that’s definitely a big expectation. Just having a good presence—like a good rebounding presence. But in terms of the team expectation, that also goes into the taking pride on defense thing.”
Another potential starter is true freshman forward Alexia Araujo-Dagba. She provides some much needed height to the team at 6-foot-1, and had an impressive run with the Brazilian U18 national team, averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Defense wins championships. But offense gets you there, and Georgetown needs to score more if it wants to make a run in the NCAA tournament. Last season, the Hoya offense ranked 302nd nationally with just 57.9 PPG. That was second-worst in the BIG EAST, ahead of Xavier. What’s worse, Bennett and Scott were the second and third leading scores on the team respectively. If Georgetown is going to improve on offense, the team is going to need players to step up and assist Ransom—something new teammates can do.
“We need to get people that can make shots. But if you come here, you have to play Georgetown defense. It’s who you are, it’s who we are,” Haney said. “A lot of those shots that we missed last year, we’re gonna make this year because we have people that can put the ball in the basket, so I’m
The team now has high expectations to prove that last season was not a fluke, something Haney recognizes.
“When we go to BIG EAST expectations, and season expectations, we want to make sure that we are a contender and that we have an opportunity to earn the right to play in the NCAA tournament, earn the right to play in the BIG EAST championship game, so the expectations are that we come in everyday and we earn the right to do everything we have to do to be successful,” Haney told the Voice.
Georgetown has not been to the NCAA women’s tournament since the 2011–12 season and has not been the regular season champion of the BIG EAST since the 1996-97 season. The Hoyas still need to go through the buzzsaw that is Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies, but this team has a chance to build on the foundation of the Tasha Tough campaign.
“I think definitely there might be a little bit of a target on our backs because everybody knows that what they did last year was historic and incredible, but I don’t think we’re really necessarily looking into that too much and we’re still going to be the hunters,” Nweke said at BIG EAST Media Day. “We’re going into every game playing like it is the championship game because we know our goals.”
In addition to Nweke, graduate guard Siobhan Ryan, who joins the Hoyas from Richmond, should provide a needed boost to Georgetown’s offense. For the Spiders, Ryan shot 47% from three on 115 attempts. Last season, the Hoya’s best 3-point shooter with a similar volume, nowgraduated Alex Cowan, shot 32.8%. If Ryan can continue her production, combined with Nweke’s presence around the rim, Georgetown should be able to make more noise within
The Hoyas were a wild card last season. Now that teams know more about Haney’s coaching style and how Georgetown plays under him, it will only be harder to capitalize on the momentum from last season. But there’s a new energy to this Georgetown team, energy that is exuded by our star player.
“Once everyone buys into [their roles] and does what they’re supposed to do to the best of their ability, we’ll be successful,” Ransom said.
Georgetown has a lot to prove this season.
But fans know they are Tasha Tough already, and will be able to rise to the challenge. G
BY ANNA CORDOVA
2024 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and D.C. native Malik Mack returns to the DMV after a standout freshman year at Harvard, where he started in 24 games, averaging 33.2 minutes, 4.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 lefty guard has a deep range from behind the arc and a demonstrated knack for scoring. Mack averaged 17.2 points per game (PPG) at Harvard with a 34.1% 3-point shooting percentage. “I’m a dynamic guard; I shoot the ball, facilitate, and finish around the basket,” he told the Voice at BIG EAST Media Day. On the defensive end, Mack’s size poses some limitations. “The biggest transition is just the physicality,” Mack said. “In the Ivy League, there aren’t too many 7-foot guys.” Still, Mack is a player to look out for this season and is expected to play a significant role. “I play with a lot of pride,” he said. “So I plan on bringing that dog energy.”
Micah Peavy joins Georgetown after starting his college career at Texas Tech and spending the last three seasons at TCU. Last year, Peavy started all 34 games for the Horned Frogs, averaging 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. With high versatility and relentless energy, he excels in on-ball defense and can switch effectively to guard multiple positions. Offensively, his scoring in the paint and off the dribble is solid, but his outside shot still needs improvement after shooting 31% from three last season. Hoya fans may remember Peavy’s time at TCU for his role in the Horned Frogs’ infamous victory over Georgetown, when he threw a nearly full-court pass to Emanuel Miller before Miller made a game-winning buzzer-beater despite stepping out of bounds. “They stepped out for sure,” Peavy said, jokingly. “It’s a tough shot, you know, and that was a great pass too. That passer, whoever it was, great pass.”
Four-star recruit Kayvaun Mulready joins the Hoyas from Worcester Academy in central Massachusetts, where he was ranked the No. 67 prospect in the Class of 2024. Known for his defensive skills and gritty play style, Mulready brings toughness and instincts both on and off the ball. He is expected to make an early impact off the bench. While his shooting skill remains uncertain, improvement in that area could earn him a starting spot at Georgetown.
Curtis Williams Jr. | Sophomore - G
Transferring from Louisville, Curtis Williams Jr. appeared in all 32 games as a freshman. Williams is expected to serve as a 3-and-D guard, shooting from the perimeter—twothirds of his shot attempts last season came from behind the arc—and helping to space the floor for players like Epps and Mack while providing solid defense.
Drew McKenna, another DMV native, joined the Hoyas last semester after reclassifying to the Class of 2023. He is known for his shooting ability on the wing and his impressive size and length. McKenna redshirted last season, but expectations for him are high this year.
Four-star Thomas Sorber comes to Georgetown from Archbishop Ryan High School. In his senior year, he averaged a double-double as he tallied 18.9 points and grabbed 11.2 rebounds. At 6-foot-10, Sorber is a big man with impressive footwork, enabling him to find space and perform well on the glass. “I’m a rebounding type of guy, someone who can get offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, loose balls.” Sorber said. “A guy who can play defense as well, who can sit on the best player […] and who can hit an open shot when the team needs me to.”
Jordan Burks | Sophomore - F
Jordan Burks joins Georgetown from Kentucky, where he averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 20 games as a freshman. At 6-foot-9, Burks has long arms, broad shoulders, and a smooth jump shot. He made a name for himself with his defensive prowess at Kentucky, and he has the potential to become an exciting player for the Hoyas this year.
Julius Halaifonua | Freshman
New Zealand big man Julius Halaifonua joins the Hoyas from the NBA Global Academy in Australia, where in 2024 he averaged 12.8 PPG, shooting 57% from the floor across 16 games. Halaifonua’s fluidity at his size, combined with exceptional IQ and a strong shooting touch, could make him a crucial asset for the Hoyas. “I felt like I could come in from day one and contribute to [Cooley’s] plan,” Halaifolua said. “That was a big reason why I came to Georgetown.”
Top D.C. recruit Caleb Williams averaged 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals in his senior season at Sidwell Friends. A versatile winner who played positions from center to point guard, Williams is expected to develop into a strong contributor for the Hoyas under the guidance of experienced teammates and Cooley’s coaching.
Originally from the Netherlands, Seal Diouf joins Georgetown from Dunn School in California after reclassifying to the Class of 2024. Diouf brings skillful touch around the rim and solid footwork, despite being an undersized big. Defensively, he’s reliable in the right spots, but as a reclassified player, his impact this season is uncertain—he may need further conditioning to handle the physicality of the BIG EAST.
Our final D.C. recruit, Jayden Fort, joins the Hoyas after averaging 11.6 points per game in his final high school season. While Fort boasts incredible athleticism, his technical skills aren’t at the level of BIG EAST play, so he will redshirt this season to focus on refining his abilities. But in time, he’s expected to become a standout defender with a strong offensive presence at the rim for the Hoyas. G
BY BEN JAKABCSIN
It’s safe to say that nobody in the Georgetown men’s basketball program was happy with how last season went. After finishing the 2023–24 season second to last in the BIG EAST, with losses to Holy Cross and Rutgers, and a KenPom finish of 192nd nationally—the second worst in the Hoyas’ history, narrowly beating out the 2022–23 team—the Hoyas performance on the court was disappointing from start to finish.
And, at the center of it all, trying to make lemonade out of dirt, was none other than nowjunior-then-sophomore guard Jayden Epps.
“It hurts losing that many games. It’s probably my first time ever [while] playing basketball,” Epps said at Georgetown basketball’s media day.
Unsurprisingly, this season is about one thing for Epps: winning more games. Achieving that, however, is easier said than done. To that end, Epps named two primary areas for growth: “my percentages and my leadership.”
Leadership takes many forms, but for Epps, it boils down to being the guy who sets the tone on and off the court. According to coaching staff, Epps has been coming into his own in both aspects. At Georgetown media day, coach Ed Cooley pointed to Epps as one of the players leading with “their voices and with their actions.”
Following the departure of all but three scholarship players, this offseason has been one of major adjustments for everyone, Epps included. As the second most experienced player on the roster, it is paramount that Epps plays an important role in bringing the team together. The early returns, though, have been promising. “It’s definitely a lot of new faces, but we all get along well. After practice, we go get food together, we go watch movies together, we do a lot of stuff together,” Epps said.
While Epps has stood out as a vocal leader lately, it hasn’t always come naturally to him. “I’ve always been told that I’m naturally not that type of person, that vocal, loud person. But I’ve always been told if I want to have an
opportunity to keep playing basketball at the next level I’m going to have to grow into that and be a leader and talk and lead my team vocally, as well as by example,” he said. “It’s just something I’ve been growing into and working on every day.”
While leading off the court may be something Epps has to grow into, leading on the court has always been in his wheelhouse. After all, who can forget his back-to-back 30-point outings last November against American and Jackson State, and again in February against St. John’s and DePaul?
A major challenge for Epps this year will be efficiency. Despite averaging 18.5 points per game last season, Epps’s shooting splits were nothing special, as he hit only 39% of his field goal attempts, 31% from three, and 76% from the charity stripe. While those numbers were on a very high shooting volume, partly out of play style and partly out of necessity, and were similar to his splits as a freshman at Illinois, there is still a lot of room for Epps to improve in this department. While his flurries against American, Jackson State, and DePaul were fun, they were also just that: flurries against American, Jackson State, and DePaul.
If Georgetown is going to exceed expectations this season and compete, or at least belong , on the floor with the likes of UConn, Creighton, and Marquette, Epps will need to be more consistent on a night-to-night basis and play more efficiently at all levels. That begins with better shot selection on his part, which will hopefully be aided by better offensive teamwork.
A common criticism of Epps’s game has been that, despite being a very talented scorer, his scoring has not always correlated with winning. While it is true that Epps is not the best defender or rebounder, his impact has always gone beyond his point tally. Last year, he recorded 28.6% of the team’s assists while he was on the floor, a higher share than all but four other players in the conference. Moreover, his turnover percentage of 15.7% was lower than some stars like former Seton Hall guard Khadary Richmond and former Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek. At the end of the day, nobody in the BIG EAST bore a heavier burden to carry their team to victory than Epps a year ago.
However, it is still fair to point to the other parts of Epps's game as places for improvement, especially given that his role this year will look a lot different from a season ago. Last season he had to carry much of the scoring and creation burden that others could not, as evidenced by his conferenceleading usage rate of 31.2%. On a team with as much individual scoring talent as this season’s, Epps needs to find ways to make an impact outside of just scoring. There will be moments where every player may have to take a backseat in the shot attempts column, Epps included.
“There’s going to be games where one of us might get 30, another one might get 30 the next game. One of us might get 20,” Epps said. “I feel like everybody is willing to do whatever it takes to win. So if somebody got to get 10 rebounds, somebody got to get 12 assists, then that’s what they’re going to do.”
At the end of the day, it all comes back to one thing: winning.
“I just want to win. And that’s something that I want to help lead the team to do that,” Epps said. “That’s what I want to do. I want
BY TIARA HAGGINS
Jaeda Wilson | Freshman - G
Jaeda Wilson is a spirited local guard from Potomac, Maryland who brings a whole lot of 3-pointers and rebounds to the Hoyas. This 5-foot-8 freshman scored over 1,000 points as a point guard in her time at Connelly School of the Holy Child, tallying over 124 3-pointers and nearly 300 rebounds. She follows her cousin, Eric Smith, as a Hoya basketball player—Smith played from 1979 –82 under head coach John Thompson Jr. Wilson comes to Georgetown after formerly committing to Marquette in April of 2023. After Marquette’s former head coach left to coach Virginia Tech, Wilson rescinded her commitment on April 7, 2024 and, just five days later, committed to Georgetown. On her decision to rescind her commitment, she tweeted, “Due to the recent coaching change at Marquette University, I have decided to reopen my recruitment.” Wilson is likely to see occasional game play this season but will undoubtedly become a vital contributor in a few years under the guidance of coach Haney.
Jayden McBride | Freshman - G
Jayden McBride is a 5-foot-10 freshman guard hailing from Erie, Pennsylvania. She was the first member of the Class of ’24 to sign to the Hoyas. According to the Dan Olson Scouting Report, she ranked No. 59 in the country at the time of signing. During her high school career, she received first and second team all-state recognition. In an interview with GoErie, McBride said, “[Georgetown’s] whole thing is about family so that really hit something with me because I’m very close with my family.” McBride follows her two sisters into collegiate basketball—her eldest sister, Kayla McBride, played for Notre Dame and now plays professionally for the Minnesota Lynx, and her sister Karlee McBride played for Indiana.
One of two graduate transfers, Chetanna Nweke’s experience and time on the court will be put to the test as this 6-foot Princeton graduate joins a young roster. Having graduated high school just 30 minutes away from the Hilltop, she returns to the D.C. area after graduating cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology. The Maryland guard appeared in 88 games
transition for me. I’m from Maryland, so it’s been nice to be kind of close to home,” Nweke said at BIG EAST Media Day.
Before Princeton, Nweke scored over 1,500 points during her time at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland, all the while earning many honors, including All-League Montgomery County Player of the Year, First Team All-DMV Girls NBC Sports, Washington Post Player of the Week twice, and leading her team to the Washington Post’s national top 10 rankings. Her experience on and off the court will lead the Hoyas to an incredible season, with game time seeming inevitable for the dominant rebounder.
Alexia Araujo-Dagba | Freshman - F
Alexia Araujo-Dagba is the only international addition to the Hoyas this year, hailing from Recife, Brazil. The 6-foot1 freshman forward participated in the Americup U18 for the second time this year, a competition with teams from over 19 countries in the Americas. During the tournament, Araujo-Dagba averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds for Brazil.
With little information known about Araujo-Dagba, I’m excited to see what she’ll bring to the Hoya team this winter.
Khadee Hession is insane on the court. This 5-foot-9 freshman guard hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and she brings a mean game to the Hoya roster. Hession was named the 2024 Broward Player of the Year by the Sentinel and brings a history of leadership with her to the Hilltop. “Whatever the team needed I was willing to do,” Miami Herald, in an interview with the following the 2024 Ms. Broward honor.
As the second graduate transfer to join the Hoyas this fall, Ryan comes to D.C. after playing all four seasons at the University of Richmond. She scored a total of 289 points
I expect Hession will see a lot of game play, with her high school average points per game being an impressive 18.6. Just this spring, she scored a season high 35 points in one game. She also accomplished three triple-doubles her senior year—a skill that will serve her well as she transitions to collegiate ball.
takes
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BY ANDREW SWANK
Roles are crucial for Georgetown women’s basketball. Everybody in the program has one, and they all know what responsibilities accompany their role. Junior guard Victoria Rivera, one of the key returners from last year’s historically successful team, has a pretty simple role on offense.
“My role is to be a shooter, a knockdown shooter,” Rivera said at BIG EAST Media Day. “I just go out there, shoot, run my lanes, get shots up.”
Making shots is easier said than done, but it’s a job that Rivera excels at. She led the team with 48 3-pointers last year, by far the most of any player returning for the 2024–25 season. Her role as a shooting threat is crucial, but coach Darnell Haney expects the same excellence off the court, especially in rallying her teammates.
“Victoria Rivera is our sniper; her job is to make shots. She has to make shots from all over the floor,” Haney said at BIG EAST Media Day. “Her role has been expanded from just being the catch-and-shoot shooter to being more of a leader, more of a voice, and being more of a lead dog when it comes to being an outside dawg.”
In her third year, Rivera will be a key leader on a team with seven new players. Integrating the newcomers is no easy task, but Rivera has always gone above and beyond. As graduate guard Kelsey Ransom attested, Rivera has put in the work to develop herself over the past three years, beyond just improving her shooting.
“Victoria has grown as not only a player but as a teammate and as a leader on this team,” Ransom said at BIG EAST Media Day. “But she has done a phenomenal job of embracing what it takes to win, to be a better teammate and leader for everyone else. She still has a lot of growing to do, but she is a sponge and she is one of the hardest workers I know. And I think once she buys into that as her character trait she can be one of the best Georgetown’s ever seen.”
Rivera’s persistence and growth are paying off for a Georgetown team looking to build momentum off a historic postseason. Her hard work stood out not just to her teammates, but also to Haney, who dubbed her the most improved player of the offseason.
“I think she’s come a long way as far as leadership is concerned. She had a couple of good games last year, but we want to make sure that she’s consistent. And she’s worked on that consistency, and she’s been so much more consistent this year than she was last year, and I’m proud of her for that,” Haney said, emphasizing her tenacity.
This year’s team needs to focus on consistency as they look to build on last year’s unprecedented postseason run. In the 2024 BIG EAST tournament, the Hoyas reached the championship game, losing to a strong UConn team. Still, it was the first time reached the BIG EAST championship game, which helped them earn a bid to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). This impressive tournament run was one reason that Haney, who had been the team’s interim head coach after the tragic passing of former head coach Tasha Butts, became the permanent head coach.
Last year’s team achieved great things, and this year, the squad wants to build on their achievements with a single goal: reaching the NCAA tournament. Even though there might be higher expectations after last year’s historic performance, Rivera and the team are unfazed.
“I think our goal has always been to make it to the NCAA tournament,” Rivera said. “We don’t care about any outside noise. We’re gonna do whatever it takes to get there. Whoever we have to go through, whoever’s in the way, we’re gonna do that. And we don’t care about any pressure. There’s no pressure.”
The team’s search for an elusive spot in the NCAA tournament will be difficult—the last time Georgetown made the cut was in 2012. Still, Rivera and the Hoyas are confident because they’ve been working hard in the offseason to become a tournament-caliber team. Rivera highlighted some of the aspects of her game that she has been working to improve:
“Driving, pulling a one-dribble pull up, catch and shoot. Just being a threat all around the perimeter,” Rivera said. “Being a threelevel scorer, rebounding more, and playing better defense. Our identity is a defensive team, so each and every one of us getting better on our defense is just gonna help us win more. And as a scorer, just being more efficient, that’s a cherry on top.”
overcomplicate her job. Her role is to make shots and prevent the other team’s best shooter from making them. She’s embraced that role wholeheartedly and has grown into a stronger leadership presence on the team. As Haney explained, Rivera knows what she has to do to contribute to a successful season.
“She just has to continue to own our principles and do things the right way. She’s been doing that all summer and all preseason, so I’m excited about her and her growth in doing that.” G
BY NICHOLAS RICCIO
History will remember Dikembe Mutombo, from his shot-blocking capabilities to his iconic finger wag to his role as one of the NBA’s greatest ambassadors and humanitarian figures. These stories have been told, but his time spent on the Hilltop was an equally salient piece of the former center’s legacy. Dikembe Mutombo’s journey at Georgetown University was more than just a chapter in his life; it was the crucible that forged his identity. He was already a worldly individual, having arrived on campus from Kinshasa fluent in nine languages—although he spoke virtually no English. Spending his freshman year acclimating to the language and the university, Mutombo made his presence known in intramural basketball, joining 6-foot-7 John Turner to create the most formidable frontcourt that Yates Field House ever saw.
of Village A would come alive with Mutombo’s echoing greetings, his voice carrying all the way to O’Donovan Hall as he shouted to friends, each with a unique crass nickname. It was crude and loud, but it was undeniably Mutombo—a force of nature that brought smiles to the faces of everyone he encountered.
Once Mutombo hit the court for the real team in his sophomore year, his presence was unprecedented. His shot-blocking ability became legendary, with a memorable 12 blocks against St. John’s that left opponents in awe. Former guard Lamont Morgan, Mutombo’s teammate and roommate on the road, recalls how Mutombo would chastise his teammates for fouling opponents on drives to the basket. “Let him go,” Mutombo would insist, “that’s my block.” His deep, thunderous voice carried across the court, a constant presence during games and practices alike.
But it wasn’t just his defensive prowess that made Mutombo stand out. His teammates remember a player who grew from averaging four points and three rebounds a game to a double-double machine that played with infectious enthusiasm.
Former shooting guard Robert Churchwell, another teammate of Mutombo’s from those early days, recalls Mutombo’s joy on the fast break, his voice echoing across the court: “Lamont to Charlie and Charlie to me!” It was more than just a call for the ball; it was a declaration of joy that would define Mutombo’s time on campus.
Former forward Mike Sabol, another teammate of Mutombo’s at Georgetown, paints a vivid picture of a man whose presence was just as impossible to ignore off the court. The walkways
What makes these memories all the more poignant is the knowledge of what Mutombo had left behind. He arrived at Georgetown with almost nothing to his name, yet he was, as Sabol describes, “the happiest person in D.C.” Whether strolling across campus, dancing in clubs, or comically attempting to eat crab legs for the first time—gnawing on the shells in his inexperience—Mutombo’s joy was a constant, unwavering presence.
As Mutombo’s skills on the court developed astonishingly, so did his leadership qualities. Churchwell remembers a teammate who led by example and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. Mutombo’s critiques could be hard to hear, but they were always truthful and on point. It was this combination of skill, charisma, and honesty that would later make him not just an NBA star, but a global ambassador for the sport.
A recipient of a USAID scholarship to attend Georgetown, Mutombo quickly began to sow the seeds of his future humanitarian work. Morgan recalls a young man already plugged into the real world in a way that set him apart from his peers. While other college students were glued to MTV and
SportsCenter, Mutombo was engrossed in CNN and C-SPAN, keenly aware of global politics and world news. “Lamont,” he would say, “you gotta know what’s going on in the world before you know what’s going on with you.” He spoke often of his home and family still in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), his words carrying the weight of responsibility and dreams yet unfulfilled. This early interest in world affairs foreshadowed the humanitarian work that would later define his legacy. And, when his brother Tshitenge visited Georgetown, Mutombo immediately rallied his friends, scrounging up extra clothes and necessities. This simple act of brotherly love was a precursor to the man who would later build hospitals and change countless lives in his homeland.
The story of Mutombo’s time at Georgetown is one of transformation—of a young man discovering his true potential and purpose. It’s a story that makes his recent passing all the more heartbreaking. The world lost not just a basketball legend, but a beacon of joy and a force for good.
History—and Georgetown—will remember a man like Mutombo. On the court, his legacy was destruction. The finger wag that became his trademark in the NBA, a playful admonishment to those who dared challenge him, carried a simple message that also applied to his playing career at Georgetown: not in my house. His sense of charity was reserved for off the court, where his legacy was creation, building foundations and hospitals. With Mutombo’s passing, we’ve lost a basketball titan who could fill up the paint with his sheer size and impacted the game in ways that went beyond the box score. In that same vein, we lost a man whose laughter and generosity could fill a room—whose impact on the world was immeasurable.
As Georgetown remembers Dikembe Mutombo, it is not just about mourning his passing but also celebrating the joy he brought to the world. It’s about honoring his memory by remembering the qualities he exemplified: generosity, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. In doing so, we ensure that, though Mutombo may be gone, his spirit—that infectious, larger-than-life spirit that blossomed on the Hilltop—will live on forever. G
arnell Haney, head coach of Georgetown women’s basketball, is about putting in the work, even when no one is watching. Haney spent five years as an assistant coach at Jacksonville and five years as their head coach before getting the call from Tasha Butts to join her staff at Georgetown in the spring of 2023. Their similar philosophies and values appealed to Haney, but little did he know, he would soon have to take on a much larger role within the program.
Georgetown Athletics announced on Sept. 21, 2023 that Butts would be taking time away from the team to focus on her health due to an advanced-stage breast cancer diagnosis. She died on Oct. 23. Darnell Haney was named interim head coach. The next day, the Hoyas were picked to finish tenth out of eleven teams in the BIG EAST.
It would have been easy, and even understandable, for Haney to dub the season a rebuilding year and do the bare minimum while focusing on his own future—but that’s not his way. “I ain’t know if I was gonna have a job, right? But I just was in the moment,” Haney said at Georgetown basketball's media day. “I was just thinking about being in that moment at that time, and making sure that we made this program the best program we can make it be.”
His work paid off. Despite a rocky start, the Hoyas finished out the regular season sixth in the BIG EAST. Three players were recognized with postseason awards: Kelsey Ransom was named coDefensive Player of the Year and First Team All-BIG EAST, Graceann Bennett was given the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, and Brianna Scott won the BIG EAST Sixth Woman Award.
“An outside dawg is more than what people think it is,” he told the Voice at BIG EAST Media Day. “You have to be on top of things in all aspects. Classroom, on the floor, you communicate at a high level, you’re about the right things, you come into every single day knowing that you are of royalty and you are part of a royal family that’s going to go out there and compete every single night.”
Haney also credits much of his success to his faith. “I’ve been blessed with being a kind of a problem solver,” he said, “I got to figure out how to get these young women to play at the highest level they can. And I think, you know, with God’s help, I’m able to do it.”
Beyond his faith, he emphasized his intentional focus on his coaching duties even before Georgetown asked him to become the official head coach. “I tell our young women, we have to be there before we get there,” he said.
The Hoyas went on to upset St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST tournament. On Butts’s birthday, they upset thenranked Creighton in the semifinals (their first program win over a ranked team since 2016) to advance to the first BIG EAST championship in team history. This earned them an invite to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, where they made it to the second round. They finished the season with their most wins since the 2010–11 campaign. It was the stuff of fairytales, and the higher-ups at Georgetown knew it. In the postgame presser after the UConn loss, a teary Bennett announced that Haney was in talks with Georgetown Athletics to become the head coach.
BY LUCIE PEYREBRUNE
Over the span of just a few months, Haney had gone from unexpectedly stepping up in a time of grief and uncertainty over his future to achieving unprecedented program success.
How did he do it? By building a program rooted in an “outside dawg” mentality.
He infuses this mentality of preparation, well-roundedness, and integrity into the program and looks for it in his players, too. “When I’m recruiting, if you have a game tomorrow, I may not be going to the game. I’m gonna go to the practice before the game, right? So I’m gonna see who they are when the lights ain’t around,” he said.
This attention shows in the way that Haney speaks about his players. He talks about their leadership capabilities and personal development almost as much as their basketball skills. When asked if he wanted Ransom to step up as a leader after Bennett’s departure, he said that she was already a leader, just in a different way. “I want Kelsey Ransom to continue to be Kelsey Ransom,” he said. “She’s a doer, so she inspires, and I’m excited about her and her growth as a player and her growth as a leader.”
Similarly, he was enthusiastic about the fact that Scott attended a women’s leadership conference and was in good spirits despite her injuries. “We’re making sure that she’s getting both aspects of being a student athlete to help us in our program, and help her as she progresses in her life.”
More telling, perhaps, is the way his players speak about him.
“There’s much more to come for Georgetown women’s basketball with coach Haney as head coach,” Bennett said after the UConn loss.
“He brings honesty. He brings energy. He brings a level of faith and gratitude that I don’t know a lot of people in life have,” Ransom told the Voice at BIG EAST Media Day. “He has a joy for living that is admirable, and he inspires me.”
Georgetown is sure to face more tough situations as a program in the coming years. Already this season, Scott is injured indefinitely and an assistant coach will be taking maternity leave after her wife gives birth. But with Haney at the helm, the Hoyas can certainly handle whatever happens next.
“I’m a Miami outside dawg, man. That’s what it always is, always been.” G
BY HENRY SKARECKY
1:
It’s no secret that after declining a lucrative offer to lead the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason, UConn coach Dan Hurley is hungry for a third consecutive national championship. But the Huskies have been rocked by roster turnover. They sent four of last year’s starting five to the
a high-major worthy transfer class that will give coach Greg McDermott a shot at bringing Creighton to their first Final Four.
3: Marquette lost two impact players, Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, to the NBA this offseason, leaving Kam Jones, the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer last year, and double-figure scorer David Joplin as the only clear impact players going into this season, which could cause trouble for the Golden Eagles. That being said, zero players transferred into or out of Marquette this offseason, so coach Shaka Smart should be able to make up for the team’s relative talent by capitalizing on existing team chemistry that should enough to propel the Golden Eagles toward the top of the BIG EAST standings.
a late-game collapse against Seton Hall, the Red Storm is now littered with fresh faces in an effort to give the team its first NCAA tournament bid since 2019. are the “slow laterally,” per Pitino, Joel Soriano and Chris Ledlum. The Red Storm’s new star players come in the form of Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Deivon Smith, a pair of guards who should have the lateral quickness to satisfy Pitino and put the Johnnies into the top four of the league.
5: Xavier has a chance to be pretty good this year. Even though the Musketeers lost many players to the transfer portal this offseason, Xavier returns Dayvion McKnight and adds guard Ryan Conwell from Indiana State, who are Preseason Second and Third Team All-BIG EAST, respectively. Additionally, the Musketeers will bring back Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter, both of whom were high-impact players for Xavier but missed last season with injuries. Despite the roster turnover, trust is high for coach Sean Miller to put together a winning squad that can at least be among the middle, if not top, tier of teams in the league.
4: After wrapping up a season described by St. John’ coach Rick Pitino as “the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime” in a tirade after
6: After star guard Bryce Hopkins tore his ACL halfway through the season last Providence relied heavily on BIG EAST Player of the Year Devin Carter to salvage a derailing season. Now Carter’s in the NBA and Hopkins won’t be back in time for opening day, so second-year coach Kim English needs to prove that he can build a successful team without players originally recruited under nowGeorgetown coach Ed Cooley. It will be a challenge, but a transfer class featuring forward Jabri Abdur-Rahim from Georgia and center Christ Essandoko from St. Joseph’s should be enough to keep the Friars in the middle of the conference.
Georgetown is a team with lots of talent. The Hoyas return Jayden Epps, the BIG EAST’s top returning scorer, and also added Harvard standout Malik Mack and
TCU transfer Micah Peavy in the offseason to create a roster worthy of being competitive in the high-majors. While the raw talent is there, the team is young, with Thomas Sorber, a true freshman, starting at center, and two sophomores—Mack and Kentucky transfer Jordan Burks—rounding out the starting five.
That being said, this Georgetown team will not be like the Hoyas of years past, and the team will finally be capable of picking up some victories in the BIG EAST.
8: Villanova
the offseason with the exception of Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST forward Eric Dixon, who will be the centerpiece of the team once more. Given the Wildcats played inconsistently last year with a stronger roster, it’s hard to see how coach Kyle Neptune will be able to right the ship in his third year at Villanova.
9: Butler coach Thad Matta has yet to put together a successful team in his first two seasons in Indianapolis, and this year doesn’t seem to be any different. The Bulldogs return their top two leading scorers from last year, Pierre Brooks II and Jahmyl Telfort, but lost three other starters. Ultimately, there isn’t enough talent here for Butler to be successful in the BIG EAST.
10: Everyone on this year’s DePaul team is brand new, including coach Chris Holtmann, who made the NCAA tournament four times in seven seasons at Ohio State. Tasked with bringing the Blue Demons back from the depths of BIG EAST irrelevance, Holtmann filled DePaul’s roster with a squad that has minimal experience in the high-majors. Still, expect DePaul to win a handful of conference games this year and to look like a team that’s in the process of building something new.
11: After a successful season last year which saw Seton Hall snubbed from the NCAA tournament en route to an NIT championship, the Pirates lost 11 players, leaving guard Dylan Addae-Wusu as the only returning starter on a team which will struggle to have the chemistry and talent to be competitive in the BIG EAST. G
1:The UConn dynasty continues as usual. Geno Auriemma’s Huskies, ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason top 25, reached the Final Four last season despite injuries to key players. They also went undefeated in the BIG EAST (18-0) and 33-6 overall. This season, Paige Bueckers will be hellbent on winning March Madness in her final year of eligibility. The No. 1 (F Sarah Strong), No. 7 (G Morgan Cheli), and No. 11 (G Allie Ziebell) freshman recruits in the country will also be debuting in Storrs this season, and anything less than another Final Four appearance will be seen as a failure. Auriemma is just four wins shy of surpassing retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer’s record (1,216) to become the all-time winningest coach in women’s college basketball history—a milestone he’s set to achieve alongside a likely BIG EAST title this season.
2: Creighton made their third straight NCAA tournament berth last season and is ranked No. 21 heading into this season. The sharpshooting Blue Jays went 26-6 overall (15-3 BIG EAST) last season, falling to Georgetown in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals and UCLA in the NCAA round of 32. All-BIG EAST honoree guard Lauren Jensen (17.4 points per game (PPG)) spearheads a convoy of seven returning players looking to operate another unorthodox offense under Jim Flanery, filled with 3-pointers and backdoor cuts. It’s tough to see any of the teams below them matching up with Creighton’s talent and experience.
3: Someone has to step up behind the big two this year, so why not dream? Our very own Georgetown Hoyas were the BIG EAST’s overachieving surprise last season, catching fire late to reach the conference championship for the first time in program history.
In a season marked by the passing of coach Tasha Butts last October, her then-assistant coach, Darnell Haney, and his experienced squad embodied the #TashaTough mentality— advancing to the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) with a 23-12 record (9-9 BIG EAST) after being ranked 10th in last season’s preseason coaches’ poll. Now officially promoted to head coach, Haney will look to keep it rolling with an intriguing mix of freshmen and graduate transfers. Georgetown lost three starters and several bench contributors to graduation, but the last hurrah of graduate guard Kelsey Ransom keeps this team in contention. The First-Team All-BIG EAST guard and co-defensive player of the year led the Hoyas in almost every statistical category last season, including 14.1 PPG. Her tireless, infectious leadership will help the newcomers settle in just fine and have fun doing it.
4: Villanova (22-13, 11-7 EAST) reached the WBIT finals last year, but lost last season’s top contributors, including powerhouse guard Lucy Olsen (23.3 PPG), who transferred to Iowa to replace Caitlin Clark. Maddie Webber and Maddie Burke are the only returning players to have started over 10 games. Therefore, Villanova’s output will likely dip this season, but the team’s coach Denise Dillon is in her fifth year and has a track record of success. Holy Cross transfer and two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Bronagh Power-Cassidy (G, 16.8 PPG) will help fill the scoring void.
Villanova, is suffering from roster turnover. They lost their two top scorers, Unique Drake and Jillian Archer, but are bringing in four transfers to fill the void. Experienced coach Joe Tartamella and double-digit scoring guard Ber’Nyah Mayo (10.9 PPG) will lessen the blow, but it’s tough to predict anything other than an upand-down season.
the NCAA tournament for the third time in the past four years in 2023–24. So why are they ranked so low? More roster turnover. Coach Megan Duffy left for Virginia Tech, sparking a mass exodus
5: Third-year coach Austin Parkinson is Butler team, and it’s tough not to buy in. The Bulldogs went 1-27 the season before he took over and have been improving steadily since, going from 11-19 to 15-17 (612 BIG EAST) last season. They return eight players, including rising star guard Caroline Strande (15.1 PPG).
“I think we’ve got several players who are going to make a pretty big impact that maybe people are overlooking,” Parkinson said at BIG EAST Media Day, suggesting that some of Strande’s supporting cast will also make a leap.
While successful last season, St. John’s (18-15, 11-7 BIG EAST), like
Marquette contend near the middle of the BIG EAST pack.
8: The Friars over at Providence are ranked No. 3 in the BIG EAST preseason coaches’ poll, but that is a gross overestimation of their potential. Second-year coach Erin Batth does return six upperclassmen, but their record (13-21, 6-12 BIG EAST) did not increase much from the season before Batth arrived. This team will improve marginally from last season, but might not crack .500.
9: Seton Hall (17-15, 8-10 BIG EAST), has nowhere to go but down, with both of their leading scorers departing. Returning leaders Savannah Catalon and Amari Wright are hoping to steady the pirate ship and integrate numerous transfers into the crew, but in 2024–25, X marks the spot for ninth position, not the spoils of postseason contention.
for Xavier. Don’t bet on it. G
