The 1941–42 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented

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during the 1941–42 NCAA

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season.

Elmer Ripley Elmer H. Ripley (July 21, 1891 – April 29, 1982) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball at seven different schools and for several professional teams. Early life Ripley was born in Staten Island, New York on July 21, ...

coached it in his sixth of ten seasons as head coach; it was also the fourth season of his second of three stints at the helm. For the second straight year, the team played its home games at

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, the last season in which Georgetown played home games there.The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Home Courts
/ref> It played an upgraded national schedule this season and struggled, finishing with a record of 9–11, and had no postseason play.

Season recap

Senior

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Francis "Buddy" O'Grady, who had led the team through challenging seasons the previous two years, had another good season, averaging a career-high 8.8 points per game for the year. Of OGradys departure due to graduation at the end of this season, the Georgetown student

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, ''Ye Domesday Book'', wrote, "In Buddy O'Grady, Georgetown loses one of the greatest basketball players ever to trod on the Ryan Gym eorgetown's practice facilityfloor, and there have been many," adding that over his years "he has undoubtedly been the best basketball player in the

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." Junior

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Bill Bornheimer, who had starred for Georgetown the previous year, scored 23 points against

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in the second game of the season. Opposing teams soon learned to play a defense that contained Bornheimer in the middle, and he only scored in double figures one more time, although his 8.0 point-per-game average was only slightly lower than his 8.4 points per game of the previous season. He also provided a strong defensive presence and was an important rebounder for the team. Georgetown would institute an accelerated graduation program the following season because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, causing him to graduate in January 1943 and making him ineligible for varsity play in 1942–43, so he did not return to the team during his senior year. His 8.2-point-per-game average over his two-year collegiate career, however, was the second-highest career average by a Georgetown player between

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

and 1942, exceeded only by guard Ed Hargadens 9.8 points-per-game career average between

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

. The Hoyas challenging schedule – which included highly regarded teams such as

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, Marquette, and DePaul – and the focus of opponents on limiting Bornheimers scoring opportunities caused the team to struggle to a 9–11 finish. It had no post-season play. The

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entered World War II when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, at the beginning of the season. After the season ended, all but three of the players graduated or left school to enter military service. Ripley thus had to rely on a team nicknamed the "Kiddie Korps," made up mostly of sophomores, the following season.

Roster

Sources Junior forward Ken Engles left school for military service after this season but returned to play for the 1945–46 team, and also served as its head coach that season, the only player-coach in Georgetown men's basketball history. Engles was one of two future Georgetown head coaches on the 1941–42 squad; the other was senior guard Buddy O'Grady, who coached the Hoyas from

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. Senior guard Don Martin served as head coach at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

from 1953 to 1962.

1941–42 schedule and results

SourcesThe Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1940s Seasons
/ref>2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 60.
/ref> , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Regular Season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1941-42 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team