1949–50 Georgetown Hoyas Men's Basketball Team
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The 1949–50 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
during the 1949–50 NCAA
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
season. Francis "Buddy" O'Grady coached it in his first of three seasons as head coach. The team was an independent and played its home games at the
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in
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It finished with a record of 12-12 and had no post-season play.


Season recap

New head coach O'Grady had been a three-year standout
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
on the Hoya teams of
1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...
-
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
. After military service in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he had played professional basketball for three seasons with the
Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach ...
and the
Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
before retiring to coach at Georgetown. Although coaches of the freshman team had assisted the varsity teams head coach from time to time, Georgetown had never had a formal assistant coach on the varsity team until this season, when former Georgetown player Jim "Miggs" Reilly became the Hoyas first formal assistant coach. The season saw the beginning of annual meetings between rivals Fordham and Georgetown, which would continue through
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
.
Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
Tommy O'Keefe Thomas Vincent O'Keefe (June 3, 1928 – October 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player.National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) rules at the time, but this had been lifted for four seasons during and just after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The NCAA restored freshman ineligibility in 1947, but when the Georgetown athletic department petitioned the NCAA to recognize O'Keefes 1946-47 sophomore season at Georgetown as the equivalent of a freshman season prior to the NCAA restoration of freshman ineligibility, the NCAA agreed, allowing O'Keefe to play for Georgetown for a fourth season in 1949-50. He led the 1949-50 team, scoring in double figures in 21 of its 24 games. Early in the year, he shot 10-for-15 from the field in Georgetowns upset of
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
, and he had a career-high 23 points in an upset of
Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
. He finished as the teams leading scorer for the third straight year – the first Georgetown player to lead for three straight seasons in 15 years – and was selected to play on the East team alongside Holy Cross standout
Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...
in the East-West All-Star Game. Georgetown's January 14, 1950, game against Holy Cross at
Worcester Memorial Auditorium Worcester Memorial Auditorium (also known simply as "the Aud") is a multi-purpose arena located at Lincoln Square in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts. It was built in 1933 to honor the sacrifices of Worcester citizens during times ...
in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, was the Hoyas' first against a team ranked No. 1 in the
Associated Press Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
.Reagan, John, "Forgotten Rivals," The Georgetown Basketball History Project, June 4, 2018 Accessed 26 June 2021
/ref> Cousey led the Crusaders to a 77–51 victory over Georgetown. The young, undersized 1949-50 team started with a 10-5 record in its first 15 games, but then struggled, losing seven of its last nine games to finish the year at 12-12. It had no postseason play and was not ranked in the Top 20 in the
Associated Press Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
at any time. O'Keefe ended his Georgetown career with 1,018 points, the first Georgetown player in history to score more than 1,000 points. He would go on to play professional basketball for one season with the
Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach ...
and Baltimore Bullets in 1950-51 and to serve as Georgetowns assistant coach for four seasons from
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
to
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
and as head coach for six seasons from
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
to
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
.


Roster

Sources


1949–50 schedule and results

Sources It was common practice at this time for colleges and universities to include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules, with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season, and the December 9, 1949, game against the
New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...
therefore counted as part of Georgetowns won-loss record for 1949-50. It was not until 1952 after the completion of the 1951-52 season that the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records. , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Regular Season


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1949-50 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...