The 1970–71 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented

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during the 1970–71

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season. John Magee coached them in his fifth season as head coach. The team was an independent and played its home games at

McDonough Gymnasium McDonough Gymnasium, sometimes referred to as McDonough Arena when hosting a sports or entertainment event, is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Officially known as McDonough Memorial Gymnasium, it op ...

on the Georgetown campus in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It finished the season with a record of 12-14 and had no post-season play.

Season recap

In recent seasons, Georgetown had established a pattern of strong starts followed by late-season collapses that sank hopes for a berth in a post-season tournament, losing seven of its final 10 games in the 1964-65 season, eight of its final 11 games in 1966-67, and seven of its last nine games in 1968-69. In 1969-70, however, it had played well enough for a bid in the

1970 National Invitation Tournament The 1970 National Invitation Tournament was the 1971 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. It was unique in that coach Al McGuire of Marquette University, unhappy with his team's placement, turned down a bid to the NCAA tournam ...

and had come close to defeating

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...

and his

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teammates in the first round. With junior

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Art White – generally viewed at the time as the greatest player in Georgetown basketball history – as well as senior

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 ...

Don Weber and junior forward Mike Laughna returning, Magee had high hopes that a new era of success had dawned in Georgetown men's basketball. Laughna had a strong season, shooting 48.2% from the field. Over the course of three consecutive games in February 1971 against

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, Loyola, and

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(NYU), he scored 76 points and pulled down 50 rebounds, and in the NYU game alone he grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 35 points, the only 30-plus-point scoring performance in a single game by a Georgetown player during the 1970s. During the season, he led the team in scoring in 14 games, including 10 of the last 11. White, meanwhile, scored in double figures in 21 of the seasons 26 games and averaged 14.2 points per game, and Weber closed out his collegiate career by scoring in double figures 13 times, shooting 44% from the field, and leading the team in assists for the second straight year with 100. Magees hope that the 1970-71 team would build on the success of the previous year went unfulfilled: The team played very poorly on defense and, after opening 3-5 and then winning six of its next eight to improve to 9-7, it returned to the pattern of the teams of the latter half of the 1960s, losing seven of its last 10 games. The season culminated in a meeting with longtime rival Fordham, ranked No. 13 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 ...

, before a sellout crowd at McDonough Gymnasium on March 4, 1971.Reagan, John, "Forgotten Rivals," The Georgetown Basketball History Project, June 4, 2018 Accessed 26 June 2021
/ref> Rams guard/forward

Charlie Yelverton Charlie Yelverton (born December 5, 1948) is a retired American professional basketball player. At a height of 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) tall, he played as shooting guard-small forward. He is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame. ...

scored 38 points to lead Fordham to an 81–68 victory that gave the Rams a 22–2 record, and the win clinched Fordham's first bid to the NCAA tournament since

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. Georgetown finished the season with a record of 12-14 and had no post-season play. Magees relationship with the team deteriorated as the season wore on. Praising only Laughna — when asked what lineup he would use for the team the following season, he said, "Laughna and four others" — Magee otherwise openly blamed the years results on the performance of his players, specifically calling White "a disappointment" in an interview with the campus newspaper ''

The Hoya ''The Hoya'', founded in 1920, is the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., serving as the university’s newspaper of record. ''The Hoya'' is a student-run paper that prints every Friday and publish ...

''. White did not return to the team for the following season because of academic issues, presaging a dismal Hoya performance in 1971-72. The 1970-71 team was not ranked in the Top 20 in the

Coaches' Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

at any time.

Roster

Source

1970–71 schedule and results

Sources2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 62.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1970-71 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 ...