Georgetown's potential return to the Sweet 16 was dealt a stunning blow Tuesday when starting guard Demetrius Hunter decided to transfer, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com.
Hunter, a 6-foot-2 junior, was the team's third leading scorer (9.2 ppg) and second on the team in assists (2.2 apg) and was expected to start alongside rising senior Kevin Braswell. The Hoyas, who finished 25-8 before losing to Maryland in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, Calif., last March, are expected to be a preseason favorite to win the Big East title. The only significant players departing from last season's team were senior forwards Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje and Lee Scruggs and guard Anthony Perry.
The Hoyas were expected to announce Hunter's decision with a news release Wednesday. Sources said Hunter told the shocked coaching staff that he wanted to be closer to his nearly 2-year-old daughter in his hometown of Las Vegas.
But at least one representative for Hunter called the coaching staff at Oregon and Oklahoma to see if either were interested in him. Oklahoma, Wyoming, BYU and San Diego State were all expected to be in the hunt for Hunter, but not apparently UNLV. Hunter's AAU coach, John Wardenburg, is on BYU's staff. BYU and Oklahoma have a scholarship available, Oregon doesn't. Wyoming and San Diego State might have an open scholarship. Most schools start classes within two weeks, meaning Hunter has to make a quick decision.
Schools must also deal with the five-eight scholarship rule, meaning they can only sign five players in a given recruiting class, no more than eight in two years. Some schools might have already met their quota in last season's recruiting class, and then with commitments for this November.
Hunter would have to sit out one season under NCAA rules, thus giving him two seasons of eligibility remaining. But there's no guarantee Georgetown will release him to a school if the Hoyas determine there was tampering involved in trying to get Hunter to transfer. If Georgetown doesn't release Hunter, then he would have to pay for school next season.
The Hoyas will likely start either freshmen Tony Bethel or Drew Hall in Hunter's absence. If not, then Braswell will play the point with sophomore Gerald Riley at big guard, either junior Victor Samnick or freshman Harvey Thomas at small forward, sophomore Michael Sweetney at power forward, junior Wesley Wilson at center and redshirt sophomore Courtland Freeman as the top forward off the bench.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
|
|
|
