1962–63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

The 1962–63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1962–63 NCAA University Division college basketball season. Tommy O'Keefe coached them in his third season as head coach, but Georgetown's head coaching position paid so little that he could only coach part-time and held a full-time job outside of coaching in order to meet his financial obligations, impairing his ability to recruit players.[1][2] The team was an independent and played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C. It finished with a record of 13-13 and had no post-season play.

1962–63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
Record13–13
Head coach
Assistant coachTom Coleman (2nd season)
CaptainEd Lopata (1st year)
Home arenaMcDonough Gymnasium
Seasons
1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Loyola (Ill.)   29 2   .935
Providence   24 4   .857
Miami (FL)   23 5   .821
Colorado State   18 5   .783
Seattle   21 6   .778
Niagara   14 4   .778
Idaho   20 6   .769
Pittsburgh   19 6   .760
Penn State   15 5   .750
Utah State   20 7   .741
Canisius   19 7   .731
Memphis   19 7   .731
Texas Western   19 7   .731
Oregon State   22 9   .710
Seton Hall   16 7   .696
Marquette   20 9   .690
Oklahoma City   19 10   .655
Villanova   19 10   .655
Notre Dame   17 9   .654
DePaul   15 8   .652
Holy Cross   16 9   .640
Iona   12 7   .632
Regis   15 9   .625
Butler   16 10   .615
Dayton   16 10   .615
Florida State   15 10   .600
Duquesne   13 9   .591
Houston   15 11   .577
Louisville   14 11   .560
Detroit   14 12   .538
Gonzaga   14 12   .538
Boston University   10 9   .526
St. Bonaventure   13 12   .520
Creighton   14 13   .519
Georgetown   13 13   .500
Montana State   13 13   .500
Loyola (LA)   12 12   .500
Navy   9 9   .500
Centenary   12 14   .462
Air Force   10 12   .455
Saint Francis (PA)   10 13   .435
Xavier   12 16   .429
Oregon   11 15   .423
Army   8 11   .421
Boston College   10 16   .385
Hardin–Simmons   10 16   .385
Syracuse   8 13   .381
Idaho State   9 15   .375
Portland   8 18   .308
Rutgers   7 16   .304
Colgate   5 13   .278
Montana   6 18   .250
West Texas State   6 18   .250
Denver   6 19   .240
Washington State   5 20   .200
New Mexico State   4 17   .190
Rankings from AP Poll

Season recap

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After a successful 1961-62 season, Georgetown lost a school-record eight seniors to graduation. The departed players had been responsible for 79.9% of the team's scoring. Only two lettermen returned for 1962-63, and the only starter to return was the point guard, junior guard Jim Christy. In order to complete his roster, O'Keefe had to put five walk-ons on the 1962-63 team and rely on six newcomers in all.[3][4]

Christy and sophomore forward Jim Barry – newly arrived on the varsity team after a year on the freshman team, and destined to become perhaps the greatest player of Georgetown men's basketball's "Classic Era" (1943-1972) – were the main scoring threats on the team. They scored a combined 1,000 points during the 1962-63 season, and their performance allowed the inexperienced team to avoid a disastrous season in a rebuilding year.[3][4]

Barry made his varsity debut in the first game of the season against St. Joseph's and scored 29 points, which remains the school scoring record for a debut game. Through the first eight games, he averaged 16.5 points per game, the best on the team. Despite his efforts, however, the Hoyas returned home with a record of 2-7 after losing both their games in the Motor City Classic in Detroit, Michigan. Barry then began to turn in a lengthy list of high-scoring performances, and Georgetown embarked on a six-game winning streak – the longest Georgetown winning streak since the 1952-53 team opened 6-0 – that pushed its record to 8-7. During the streak, Barry averaged 28.9 points per game, and scored 31 points against Loyola and 41 against Navy.[4]

The winning streak ended with Georgetown losing all three games during a tough road trip in which they visited Niagara, Syracuse, and Maryland. Barry averaged 25.7 points per game in the three losses. Coming home with an 8-10 record, the Hoyas began another winning streak, winning five straight to move to 13-10 on the year, with Barry scoring 39 points against Manhattan and 21, 22, 25, and 28 points in the other four wins.[4]

For his part, Jim Christy appeared in 24 games and scored in double figures in 22 of them. His top games of the year included 26 points against Maryland, 34 against Holy Cross, and 32 against Rhode Island.[3]

The Hoyas closed out the season with three straight losses, but Barry had one more great performance. In the second-to-last game of the year, Georgetown visited La Salle at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 1963. Barry scored 30 points, and Philadelphia-area sportswriters judged it the best performance of the year at the Palestra, exceeding even the accomplishments there of Princeton's Bill Bradley and New York University's Barry Kramer during the season. Jim Barry ended the season scoring 20 or more points in 16 games and 30 or more points in six games, averaging a school-record 22.8 points per game, fourth among all sophomores in the United States.[4]

The team finished with a record of 13-13, the only team that did not have a winning record in O'Keefe's six seasons as head coach. However, it was a creditable record against a tough schedule in a rebuilding year that saw them win 11 of their last 17 games.[3][4]

The team was not ranked in the Top 20 in the Associated Press Poll or Coaches' Poll at any time.[5][6]

Roster

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From the 1958-59 season through the 1967-68 season, Georgetown players wore even-numbered jerseys for home games and odd-numbered ones for away games; for example, a player would wear No. 10 at home and No. 11 on the road. Players are listed below by the even numbers they wore at home.[7]

Sources[3][4][7][8]

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous team(s)
4 Jim Barry 6"6" 195 F So. Elizabeth, NJ, U.S. St. Peter's Preparatory School
10 Jim Christy 6"1" 185 G Jr. Brooklyn, NY, U.S. Saint Pascal HS
12 Joe Franz 6"5" N/A F So. Baltimore, MD, U.S. Loyola HS
14 John Prendergast N/A N/A G So. Utica, NY, U.S. Notre Dame Junior Senior HS
20 Joe Mazelin 6'2" N/A G Jr. Indianapolis, IN, U.S. Sacred Heart HS
22 John Brogan 6"1" N/A G Jr. South Orange, NJ, U.S. Saint Benedict's Preparatory School
24 Charles "Buddy" O'Donnell 6'3" N/A F Jr. Upper Darby, PA, U.S. Monsignor Bonner HS
30 Bill Fox 6'2" N/A F Sr. Auburn, NY, U.S. Auburn HS
30 Owen McGuill N/A N/A G Sr. Hampden, MA, U.S. Catholic High School
32 Chuck Devlin 6'5" N/A F Jr. Philadelphia, PA, U.S. Germantown Academy
34 Ed Lopata 6'5" N/A F Sr. Vandergrift, PA, U.S. Vandergrift HS
40 Jerry Moriarity N/A N/A G So. Franklinville, NY, U.S. Ten Broeck Academy
42 Pardie Abadie 6'3" N/A F/C Sr. Washington, DC, U.S. Archbishop Carroll HS
44 Bill Hodgman N/A N/A F/C Jr. Grosse Pointe, MI, U.S. Austin HS
50 Tom Cradock 6'4" N/A G So. St. Louis, MO, U.S. University HS

1962–63 schedule and results

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Sources[4][9][10][11][12]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Sat., Dec. 1, 1962
no, no
St. Joseph's L 74–81  0-1
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Tue., Dec. 4, 1962
no, no
Maryland W 79–70  1-1
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Fri., Dec. 7, 1962
no, no
at New York University L 65–85  1-2
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
Tue., Dec. 11, 1962
no, no
Duquesne L 56–68  1-3
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Thu., Dec. 13, 1962
no, no
George Washington L 67–73  1-4
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Mon., Dec. 17, 1962
no, no
at Rutgers W 84–79  2-4
College Avenue Gymnasium 
New Brunswick, NJ
Wed., Dec. 19, 1962
no, no
at Army L 68–72  2-5
Hayes Gymnasium 
West Point, NY
Fri., Dec. 28, 1962
no, no
vs. Detroit
Motor City Tournament
L 82–103  2-6
Cobo Hall 
Detroit, MI
Sat., Dec. 29, 1962
no, no
vs. Western Michigan
Motor City Tournament
L 77–85  2-7
Cobo Hall 
Detroit, MI
Thu., Jan. 3, 1963
no, no
Loyola Maryland W 108–83  3-7
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Sat., Jan. 5, 1963
no, no
at George Washington W 72–60  4-7
Fort Myer Gymnasium 
Fort Myer, VA
Tue., Jan. 8, 1963
no, no
at American W 82–78  5-7
Washington Coliseum 
Washington, DC
Sat., Jan. 12, 1963
no, no
Boston College W 71–58  6-7
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Wed., Jan. 16, 1963
no, no
Navy W 83–71  7-7
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Sat., Jan. 19, 1963
no, no
Fordham W 74–70  8-7
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Thu., Jan. 31, 1963
no, no
at Niagara L 75–89  8-8
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 
Buffalo, NY
Sat., Feb. 2, 1963
no, no
at Syracuse L 70–76  8-9
Onondaga War Memorial 
Syracuse, NY
Mon., Feb. 4, 1963
no, no
at Maryland L 72–73  8-10
Cole Field House 
College Park, MD
Wed., Feb. 6, 1963
no, no
Loyola New Orleans W 72–70  9-10
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Sun., Feb. 10, 1963
no, no
Holy Cross W 85–84  10-10
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Sat., Feb. 16, 1963
no, no
Manhattan W 89–87  11-10
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 20, 1963
no, no
Lafayette W 89–58  12-10
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Fri., Feb. 22, 1963
no, no
at Fairfield W 79–61  13-10
New Haven Arena 
New Haven, CT
Sat., Feb. 23, 1963
no, no
at Rhode Island L 84–97  13-11
Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, RI
Tue., Feb. 26, 1963
no, no
at La Salle L 72–75  13-12
Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Sat., Mar. 2, 1963
no, no
Seton Hall L 76–78  13-13
McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

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  1. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 46. Tom O'Keefe". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 35. Jim Christy
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 8. Jim Barry
  5. ^ sports-reference.com 1962-63 Independent Season Summary
  6. ^ sports-reference.com 1962-63 Polls
  7. ^ a b "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1960-61 to 1969-1970". Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  8. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers
  9. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1960s Seasons
  10. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  11. ^ sports-reference.com 1962-63 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results
  12. ^ 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 61.