Georgetown, looking for bounce-back year, open vs. Lehigh

Last month, Georgetown coach Ed Cooley dismissed rumors about taking over for Tony Bennett at Virginia.

Instead, Cooley is fully focused on helping the Hoyas recapture some of the glory they had under former coach John Thompson, who won the national championship in 1984 and guided Georgetown to three Final Fours.

After finishing a dismal 9-23 in his first year at Georgetown, Cooley is confident the team has a strong roster of players that can show improvement this season. Cooley will have a better idea of his squad's talent when Georgetown opens the season against Lehigh on Wednesday.

Cooley is committed to the Hoyas over the long term.

"I will tell you this, this will be the last college job I have," Cooley told Fox College Hoops. "My goal is to make Georgetown basketball powerful again, inspire other people. That's all false news (regarding Virginia), and it's unfortunate that people jeopardize livelihoods, jeopardize people. It's unfortunate.

"But Martin Luther King's dream will protect them, too. They can dream big somewhere else, but don't dream on my dream. I'm living that dream, and it's as a Georgetown Hoya."

Georgetown is led by junior Jayden Epps, who topped the team and finished third in the Big East with an average of 18.5 points per game last season. Epps also contributed 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 29 games.

Sophomore Malik Mack is expected to make an impact after averaging 17.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds at Harvard last season. Georgetown's other key transfers include Micah Peavy (TCU), Jordan Burks (Kentucky) and Curtis Williams Jr. (Louisville).

Lehigh, which earned a spot in the Patriot League championship game last season but finished 14-18 overall, opened the new campaign with a 90-46 loss to Northwestern on Monday in Evanston, Ill.

Nasir Whitlock paced the Mountain Hawks with 11 points off the bench, and the team's top scorer last season, Tyler Whitney-Sidney, added 10. Lehigh shot just 32.1 percent from the floor, including a 2-for-17 showing (11.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Keith Higgins Jr., who ranked second on the team at 12.6 points per game in 2023-24, shot 2-for-7 and scored just five points on Monday.

Coach Brett Reed has put together a tough early-season slate that also includes No. 22 UCLA and Dayton.

"This year's upcoming nonconference schedule should once again be challenging and a great opportunity for our team to grow and learn through November and December," Reed said. "I look at our nonconference schedule as a wonderful test and a way for us to learn more about ourselves as we pursue our quest for a Patriot League championship."

--Field Level Media