It’s Senior Week at Georgetown, and while there won’t be any basketball players living it up at the President’s Picnic, Convocation, or Senior Ball (okay, some of the Hoyas will probably make their way to Union Station on Friday Night), that doesn’t mean that Georgetown Basketball fans should ignore what’s going on at the Hilltop.

• This is a time to reflect on the careers of DaJuan Summers, Jeremiah Rivers, and Vernon Macklin. Though none of them lasted four years, that doesn’t detract from the contributions they provided on the 2006 Big East Regular Season, Big East Tournament, and NCAA East Regional Championship team.
• It’s also a time to look back on the career of Greg Monroe. He’s heading to the NBA next season, and even if he comes back to earn his degree, this is his last week on campus as “normal” undergraduate – though his two years have been anything but ordinary.
• And while looking back on players gone is kind of a sad thing, there’s one big positive to look forward to this upcoming weekend. On Saturday, at the College Commencement, Hoya legend Dikembe Mutombo will be speaking. Besides addressing the 2010 senior class, Dikembe will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University.

[Image via Life.com]

• In their season opener, the Georgetown Hoyas beat Tulane 74-58 in New Orleans. Greg Monroe had a big game in front of a crowd filled with family and friends from his hometown.
• #18 Mississippi State was the first and so far only team in the Top 25 to lose a game this season. The reigning SEC Champions lost their season opener to unranked Rider 88-74 at home.
• After getting his first points in the NBA on Wednesday, DaJuan Summers made a return to his old stomping grounds as the Pistons traveled to Washington to play the Wizards. DaJuan saw 4 minutes of action on his old home court at Verizon Center but didn’t manage to score.

Last week, the NBA season got underway, and here’s how your Hoyas have been faring so far:

• Allen Iverson has yet to play for the Memphis Grizzlies as he injured his hamstring before his new team’s season got started. He did however return to practice this weekend, and he will likely make his Memphis debut tonight.
• Jeff Green has gotten off to a great start with the Thunder as he’s averaging just shy of 20 points in his first three games. Last night, Oklahoma City dropped its first game of the season, but Jeff earned a double-double in the losing effort with 19 and 11.
• Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers are off to an 0-2 start to the 2009-10 season, but the good news is that Roy has been getting some more minutes and he’s been managing his foul trouble situation a bit better than he had in his rookie season. We’ll have to see if he can keep that up, because the more minutes Roy can play, the more of an impact he’ll have. And more good news – the Pacers have picked up the contract option on Roy for the rest of the season.
• DaJuan Summers has yet to see any action with the Pistons so far, as Detroit has gotten off to a 1-2 start. He hasn’t dressed for the first three games, but hopefully his effort in practice will help him break in to the game day roster.

Midnight Madness is tonight, and before college basketball season officially begins, I thought I’d let you in on a couple things relating to tonight’s festivities.

Since there are only a few hours left, I’d better get going.

New Jersey

Besides kicking-off the new season, celebrating last season’s accomplishments, dancing around with celebrities, and introducing the team’s freshmen and half-freshman, Midnight Madness at Georgetown is a time to honor recent Hoyas beginning their careers in the NBA.

This year, that person is DaJuan Summers.

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• DaJuan Summers signed with the Detroit Pistons last Friday. As a second round pick, he did not have a guaranteed contract, but his performance in the summer leagues has earned him a two-year deal worth about $450,000 a year. He will be wearing number #35 for the Pistons.
• The Kenner League playoffs start today. Quarterfinal games are today and tomorrow, the semifinal is Saturday, and the final is being played on Sunday.

2009-10 Schedule News

• Last week, it was finalized that the Hoyas will play in the 2009 Jimmy V Classic. They will be playing Butler at Madison Square Garden on December 8.
• Also, the Big East conference matchups were announced, and Georgetown will be playing Villanova, Syracuse, and Rutgers twice in the upcoming season. Georgetown’s other home games will be against Connecticut, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, and South Florida.
  [Press Release via GUHoyas.com]

NBA Summer League News

• The Orlando Summer League starts tonight, and two Hoyas are set to take part in this week’s games. Roy Hibbert will be teaming up with former Elite Eight opponent Tyler Hansborough for the first time as the Pacers square off against the Philadelphia/New Jersey hybrid team.
• Mike Sweetney is also set to play this week as he has been named to the Boston Celtics Summer League Roster. Big Mike will have a chance to earn his way back in the League starting with his game against Utah tonight. After being drafted #9 in the 2003 NBA Draft, Mike has not been on a team for the past two seasons.
• The Las Vegas Summer League starts up on Friday, and there are two more Hoyas set to take part in those games. DaJuan Summers is on the Pistons’ Summer Roster, and Patrick Ewing, Jr. will be back with the Knicks again trying to make a case for making the final roster after being the last player cut last season.

The 2009 NBA Draft took place last night, and junior DaJuan Summers was picked in the 2nd round by the Detroit Pistons. He was the 35th overall pick after Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin was picked 1st by the L.A. Clippers – as we predicted once they got the top pick – and Big East co-Player of the Year Hasheem Thabeet was picked 2nd by the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to The Baltimore Sun, DaJuan was excited to be picked by Detroit and said, That’s where I wanted to go… I told Joe Dumars I wanted to be a Piston.” The Pistons considered taking DaJuan with their 1st round pick, but opted instead for Gonzaga’s Austin Daye.

After a season with the Pistons, Allen Iverson is now an unrestricted free agent, so it doesn’t look like DaJuan will team up with another Hoya this season.

Georgetown’s official press release on Summers in the draft can be found here: [GUHoyas.com]

A little over a month ago, Tony said that the the game against Louisville was like a win-or-go-home NBA playoff game. When the Hoyas fell in that game, I took the privilege to expand on the analogy by making Georgetown a Gone Fishin’ image ala the TNT crew.

Given recent events, I think the picture is even more appropriate now.

In The Godfather, when Tom Hagan is having dinner with Mr. Woltz, he learns that Don Corleone’s plan to get Johnny Fontaine into the new movie is not going to work. As soon as Tom is sure that he can’t convince Mr. Woltz, he politely gets up from dinner and tells him, “Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.” It’s not because of The Godfather’s advice, but I’ve always felt the same way. That’s why I was disappointed with DaJuan Summers’ decision to end his career as a Hoya. Remember a few weeks ago when he said he would be playing at Georgetown next year? He must’ve known at that time he was lying to people. It would have been nice to know as soon as possible. Other than his misleading the fans, I don’t hold anything against him, and neither should anybody else.
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