SUMMER TOUR: Georgetown’s Bahamian Exhibition Games

Announced in May, the Georgetown Hoyas “will embark on a seven-day foreign tour this summer, traveling to the Bahamas [during] August 10-17, 2019” to play three exhibition games against the Bahamian National Team.

Here is what we know about the trip...

Schedule

The Summer Tour ticket website has the game schedule with “Monday, 8/12 at 7 p.m., Wednesday, 8/14 at 7 p.m., and Thursday, 8/15 at 5 p.m. (all times local).”

An email was sent with more details on the schedule, including times for meeting Coach Patrick Ewing the the team:

MONDAY, AUGUST 12

4:30 - 6:00 PM: PREGAME GATHERING - Pirate Republic Brewing Co. Taproom located in Atlantis Resort Marina Village

7:00 PM: HOYAS vs BAHAMIAN NATIONAL TEAM - Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13

2 PM : LUNCH WITH THE HOYAS - Join the Men’s Basketball team, coaches and staff for lunch at the Atlantis Resort Cafe at the Great Hall of Waters in the Royal Towers

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14

4:30 - 6:00 PM: PIRATE REPUBLIC BREWING CO. PREGAME PARTY - Sponsored by Pirate Republic Brewing Co. and Alessandra & Stephen (C’89) Holowesko

Pirate Republic Brewing Co. Taproom located in Atlantis Resort Marina Village

7:00PM: HOYAS vs BAHAMIAN NATIONAL TEAM - Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15

5:00 PM: HOYAS vs BAHAMIAN NATIONAL TEAM - Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GAME, POST-GAME GATHERING - Pirate Republic Brewing Co. Taproom located in Atlantis Resort Marina Village

Streaming

FloSports announced in June that they will “provide live and on-demand coverage of six Division I Men’s basketball teams’ foreign tours in three different countries on FloHoops.com,” including “Syracuse, Seton Hall, and Washington, alongside Georgia Tech, Xavier, and Georgetown.” FloHoops has these games listed on its schedule:

• AUG 12 9:00 am 2019 Georgetown Game 1: Bahamas [7PM]
• AUG 14 9:00 am 2019 Georgetown Game 2: Bahamas [7PM]
• AUG 15 9:00 am 2019 Georgetown Game 3: Bahamas [5PM]

Of course, 9AM is not the proper time.

FloSports advises that “To access live and on-demand coverage of the foreign tours and other basketball games, visit FloHoops.com to become a PRO subscriber” and “[w]atch across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and the App Store.” A PRO subscription also “unlocks the following ... Live events, Event replays, Event results, Team and athlete rankings, Breaking news, [and] Limited ads on PRO videos.”

A PRO subscription can be paid either monthly ($29.99/month) or annually ($150 paid yearly). Chances are that some may misconstrue the “12.50/mo” as monthly, but it appears to be the breakdown of the annual package paid all at once. Fans who expect to only watch the Georgetown games will likely subscribe for the month at $29.99. During this month of subscription a Hoyas fan may also want to root for a few Italian teams as Syracuse tours the boot and practices their 2-3 zone man-to-man?

You don’t necessarily have to decide today. It is possible to create a username with FloHoops and not subscribe to the video portion—i.e., not upgrade to PRO. I cannot guarantee it will work, but some basketball fans have reported receiving a discount offer when signing up and not yet upgrading to PRO.

Game Venue

The three games will be played against the Bahamian National Team at a 2,500-seat venue in Nassau, the Kendal G. L Isaacs National Gymnasium. According to Wikipedia, “Sir Kendal George Lamon Isaacs QC (23 July 1925 – 25 May 1996) was a notable Bahamian lawyer and politician. He served as Leader of the Opposition for much of the 1980s.” This has been the gym for many NCAA teams visiting the Bahamas in multi-team tournaments and summer tours.

Game Rules

The expectation is that, like other touring college teams, the Hoyas will play under FIBA rules, which includes a three-point arc at the new NCAA distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches.

The most evident changes would be the 24-second shot clock and using four 10 minute quarters (with 5-minute overtime periods). Of course, if they are indeed playing FIBA rules, Omer Yurtseven can show the team how he used to rip rebounds off the rim even when it’s still within the cylinder of the hoop during his days on the Turkish National Team.

The basketball itself would also be different under international rules, and shooting issues for the inexperienced may reveal themselves in game numero uno.

Practices

In preparation for a school which has elected to go on a foreign trip, the NCAA allows 10 full practices before the team departs for its international destination. Coaches appear to be allowed to spread those practices between July and August. Also, the NCAA allows four hours of instruction per week while players attend summer school. Coaches can watch pick-up games if they count them toward the NCAA’s mandated four hours of instruction.

Who is Going?

As far as anyone knows, the whole team is going, including Timothy Ighoefe (pronounced Igo-wefe, we believe), who apparently fulfilled his academic requirements and is on campus.

• Jagan Mosely (G) (2020)
• Terrell Allen (G) (2020)
• George Muresan (F) (2020*)
• Jamorko Pickett (F) (2021)
• Jahvon Blair (G) (2021)
• Omer Yurtseven (C) (2021)
• Galen Alexander (F) (2021)
• Josh LeBlanc (F) (2022)
• Mac McClung (G) (2022)
• James Akinjo (G) (2022)
• Jaden Robinson (G) (2022*)
• Qudus Wahab (C) (2023)
• Malcolm Wilson (C) (2023)
• Timothy Ighoefe (C) (2023)
• Myron Gardner (F) (2023)
• Chuma Azinge (G) (2023*)

Who Will Start?

The guess is that James Akinjo, Mac McClung, Jamorko Pickett, Josh LeBlanc, and Omer Yurtseven will start the first game. The not-the-hottest take by anyone this summer is that Pickett may lose his starting wing spot to Galen Alexander or Myron Gardner, with Alexander having the edge due to his experience. This is more of an appreciation of depth at the small forward position than worry about Pickett’s offensive game (which, by many accounts this summer, has improved in aggressiveness and shooting form/speed).

The question is, for each game, does Coach Ewing spread the minutes out or does he let one group dominate the floor of one game and another squad run the second game? For instance, one might expect Terrell Allen to start a game or play significant minutes to recreate some of Yurtseven’s pick-and-roll (or lob) skills observed at Kenner. Likewise, it may be worth seeing if Jahvon Blair’s ball handling and decision making has really improved or if he will just be reserved as a sharpshooter. Freshman center Qudus Wahab may need a baptism by Bahamian fire. The point being, if the starting lineup fluctuates in these exhibition games, the first response should not be an assumption of (knock on wood) injury.

Expectations?

The expectations are minimal—teams use these summer tours to bond and develop chemistry because January through April is the time that matters. Coaches like to use the 10+ practices and three games to evaluate personal growth of each player and identify areas for development before November.

The Hoya-fans who are visiting will get a chance to meet the team and those of us streaming will hopefully get our first look at the talent in the 7+ newcomers. The big keys are, though: no injuries, and no fighting.

The casual contributors will pass on any information that we hear and will likely have some game summaries.

HOYA SAXA