Georgetown’s Men’s Basketball Team head out tomorrow for a two week trip to China filled with basketball and community service.

GUHoyas.com has done a great job building up anticipation around the trip, and here’s a roundup of all of the China news to get you ready for tomorrow:
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Former assistant coach Kevin Broadus has returned to the Georgetown basketball program. Due to NCAA regulations, the Hoyas can only have four coaches, so Broadus will be serving as special assistant to Coach John Thompson III and will not be allowed to recruit players.

Broadus was on the Georgetown coaching staff from 2004 to 2007, and after Georgetown’s Final Four run, he was hired as head coach of Binghamton University. He coached the Bearcats to their first ever NCAA tournament berth, but resigned in 2010 after a one-year leave caused by possible NCAA infractions, although after an investigation no major violations were found.

[Via GUHoyas.com]

• It’s only May, but we already have the first bit of news regarding the 2011-12 season. The Hoyas will be traveling to play Alabama on December 1st as a part of the Big East/SEC Challenge. The last time the two teams met was in 2007 when Georgetown won 70-60 in that year’s interconference challenge.
• Recent transfer Vee Sanford has announced where he will be playing basketball next season, as he’s committed to the University of Dayton.

  We at Hoya Hoops wish Vee the best as a Flyer, but we are a little upset with his decision, as it messes up our limerick.

  There once was a Hoya Vee Sanford
  But after two seasons he transferred.
  Had a great hi-top fade,
  In games, seldom played.
  And next year, he’s playing at Stanford Dayton.

• Tomorrow is Commencement Day for the class of 2011, so we wanted to congratulate seniors Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Julian Vaughn, and Ryan Dougherty as well as managers C.J. Ciarrocchi and Ray Moss. Have fun at Senior Ball tonight guys!

  [Update: GUHoyas.com has just posted an article with quotes from the seniors – Six Members of Men’s Basketball Program to Earn Degrees on Saturday

• And today is the birthday of two Hoyas who have gone on to have careers in the NBA – Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje and Patrick Ewing, Jr. While Pat’s Hornets have been knocked out of the NBA Playoffs, Ruben is in the semi-finals of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany, and his Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck trail the series 0-1 to Brose Baskets Bamberg.

The Georgetown University Athletic Department has just announced that Othella Harrington is joining John Thompson III’s coaching staff.

“Othella is a Hoya coming home to help teach the newest generation of Hoyas.” Thompson said.”He brings a wealth of experience accumulated on and off the court over his career. His dozen years in the NBA in addition to his four years as a starter here at Georgetown will be a major asset. I’m excited to welcome him back to Georgetown.”

We’d like to be the first to welcome the Big Fella back to the Hilltop.

[Via GUHoyas.com]

According to Washington Post beat writer Tarik El-Bashir, Hollis Thompson will be returning to play for the Hoyas next season, meaning he’s withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft before tonight’s deadline.

Tarik’s tweet:

#Hoyas G/F Hollis Thompson is returning to Georgetown, according to sources.

Whew.

Just weeks after fellow sophomore Vee Sanford announced that he would be transferring, leaving Georgetown, we receive another press release stating that Jerrelle Benimon would be leaving the hilltop.

“Jerrelle is transferring and although he has not announced where he will go, wherever it is, we wish him all of the best.” Coach Thompson said.

If Hollis Thompson does not withdraw his name from the NBA Draft this week, the entire class of 2013 will be gone.

It’s been three years in the making, but Patrick Ewing Jr. finally made his first appearance in a regular season NBA game yesterday.

After being called up from the D-League Saturday on a 10-day contract, Pat got to see his first minutes as a New Orleans Hornet last night in the 95-91 victory over the Trailblazers.

He only played 1 minute and 37 seconds near the end of the first half, and had 0 stats other than minutes, but he has now officially joined the ranks of his father, three of his Georgetown teammates, and 37 other Hoyas as an NBA player.

After being entered into the Georgetown Athletics Hall of Fame, Hoya great Alonzo Mourning can now be named Miami Crossing Guard Hall of Fame.

Listen to this amazing story about #33 on Route 1 in Miami:

Mourning’s vehicle had been sitting in traffic on the right lane, when he spotted a disabled person sitting in a motorized wheelchair along the curb. Mourning jumped out of his SUV, stood in the road and stopped traffic by raising his long arms, while the wheelchair-bound pedestrian made it to the median. Then, the seven-time NBA All-Star immediately went to the southbound lanes and raised his arms to command stunned drivers to stop. All traffic movement instantly stopped, and the wheelchair safely made it to the other side.

After making sure the citizen was safe on the other side of the road, Mourning lowered his arms and headed to his SUV to the sound of cheering fans, who recognized the 6-foot-10 temporary crossing guard.

It’s not news for Hoya fans, but Alonzo Mourning is an incredible human being.

[Image edited from a keithallison photo.]

Patrick Ewing Jr. has been signed to a 10-day contract by the New Orleans Hornets to fill the gap left by injured David West.

Who knows how much playing time Pat will see in the next ten days, but hopefully his performance with the Hornets in the upcoming weeks will earn him the shot he deserves.

• While the 2010-11 Men’s Basketball season is over, the Lady Hoyas are still dancing. After beating Princeton in the opening round, Georgetown had to face Maryland on their home campus in College Park. Sugar Rodgers had a career-high 34 points as the 5th-seeded Hoyas crushed the 4th-seeded Terps 79-57 at the Comcast Center. The Lady Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 where they will play #1-seed and #1 ranked UCONN on Sunday at noon in Philadelphia.
• The Hoya Hoop Club’s annual Men Basketball Banquet will take place at the Leavey Center on Tuesday, April 12. Tickets are available now for $70/person and $50/young alum. You can register online at alumni.georgetown.edu or print the registration form here [PDF].
• On Wednesday night, former Georgetown Coach John Thompson Jr. was in D.C. giving out important lessons to high school basketball stars as a part of the POWERADE game science clinic. He talked about everything from the importance of training and hydration (it was a POWERADE event) to Big John staples such as work ethic, education and character.

  
  He also had a few words to say about Georgetown’s performance in the NCAA Tournament this year:

  People must realize that those teams earned the opportunity to play in this championship tournament that many other teams wished they could have participated in. Only one team has a dream ending to their season but so many other teams should look back and see their seasons as a success.