1953–54 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

1953–54 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
1953–54 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
Conference	Independent
Record	11–18
Head coach	Harry "Buddy" Jeannette (2nd season);
Assistant coach	Hugh Beins (1st season)
Captains	Joe Carroll (1st year); Lou Gigante (1st year);
Home arena	McDonough Gymnasium
	Seasons ← 1952–53 1954–55 →

1953–54 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Holy Cross		–		–	26	–	2	.929
No. 17 Seattle		–		–	26	–	2	.929
No. 5 Duquesne		–		–	26	–	3	.897
No. 6 Notre Dame		–		–	22	–	3	.880
No. 2 La Salle		–		–	26	–	4	.867
Dayton		–		–	25	–	7	.781
Louisville		–		–	22	–	7	.759
No. 9 Penn State		–		–	18	–	6	.750
Oklahoma City		–		–	18	–	7	.720
Navy		–		–	18	–	8	.692
Army		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Villanova		–		–	20	–	11	.645
Lafayette		–		–	17	–	10	.630
Saint Joseph's		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Xavier		–		–	18	–	12	.600
No. 7 Bradley		–		–	19	–	13	.594
John Carroll		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Seton Hall		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Temple		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Muhlenberg		–		–	12	–	10	.545
Washington University		–		–	12	–	10	.545
Syracuse		–		–	10	–	9	.526
Cincinnati		–		–	11	–	10	.524
DePaul		–		–	11	–	10	.524
Iona		–		–	11	–	10	.524
Butler		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Boston College		–		–	11	–	11	.500
Loyola (Calif.)		–		–	14	–	16	.467
Rutgers		–		–	11	–	13	.458
Creighton		–		–	14	–	17	.452
Gonzaga		–		–	12	–	15	.444
Valparaiso		–		–	10	–	13	.435
Marquette		–		–	11	–	15	.423
Lehigh		–		–	8	–	12	.400
Pittsburgh		–		–	9	–	14	.391
Georgetown		–		–	11	–	18	.379
Siena		–		–	7	–	14	.333
Portland		–		–	9	–	19	.321
Loyola (IL)		–		–	7	–	15	.318
Drake		–		–	7	–	16	.304
Colgate		–		–	5	–	12	.294
Bucknell		–		–	4	–	16	.200


Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953–54 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1953–54 NCAA college basketball season. Harry "Buddy" Jeannette coached them in his second season as head coach. The team was an independent and played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C. It finished the season with a record of 11-18 and had no postseason play.

Season recap

Sophomore forward Warren Buehler joined the varsity team as a starter after a year on the freshman team, replacing star Bill Bolger, who had graduated after the previous season. Destined to become the top Georgetown scorer of the 1950s, Buehler got off to a quick start, ending the season as the team's top scorer for the first of two consecutive seasons. Playing in 28 of the season's 29 games, he scored in double figures 26 times, including 29 points each against Pittsburgh and Duquesne, 30 against Detroit, and a career-high 36 points against Virginia – in a game which Georgetown nonetheless lost when Virginia's Buzzy Wilkinson scored 45 points against the Hoyas. By the end of the year, Buehler had scored a Georgetown-record 511 points and averaged 18.2 points per game, second in school history.^[1]

Senior guard and team co-captain Lou Gigante had starred for the team during the two previous seasons, and began another strong season this year, averaging in double figures. During the game against New York University at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 12, 1954, however, he broke his foot, ending his season and collegiate career. He had averaged 9.2 points per game during his three varsity seasons.^[2]

The previous season, Georgetown had made its first-ever appearance in the National Invitation Tournament and its first post-season tournament appearance since the 1942-43 team went to the 1943 NCAA Tournament. In sharp contrast, this season was a disappointment: In the face of academic losses and injuries that would plague the Hoyas throughout the last three seasons of Buddy Jeannette's four-year tenure as head coach^[3] – in addition to losing Gigante to an injury, the team lost one of its top scorers at midseason to an academic suspension^[1] – the Hoyas finished with a record of 11-18 and had no post-season play. They were not ranked in the Top 20 in the Associated Press Poll or Coaches' Poll at any time.^[4]^[5]

Roster

Sources^[1]^[6]^[7]

After senior guard Lou Gigante suffered an injury, senior guard Jim Frisby replaced him on the team. Both wore No. 13 during the season.^[7]

#	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Position	Class	Hometown	Previous Team(s)
5	Warren Buehler	6"4"	185	F	So.	Bayonne, NJ, U.S.	Sweeney HS
6	Tommy Doyle	6'0"	N/A	F	Sr.	New York, NY, U.S.	St. Francis Preparatory School
8	Tom Heyman	N/A	N/A	F	So.	N/A	N/A
9	Bob Scott	N/A	N/A	F	Sr.	N/A	N/A
10	Jack Vail	6'0"	N/A	C	Jr.	South Amboy, NJ, U.S.	St. Mary High School
11	John Morchower	6'7"	N/A	G	So.	Bayonne, NJ, U.S.	Sweeney HS
12	Joe Bolger	6'3"	N/A	G	Jr.	New York, NY, U.S.	Xavier HS
13	Lou Gigante	5'9"	N/A	G	Sr.	New York, NY, U.S.	Cardinal Hayes HS
13	Jim Frisby	6'0	N/A	G	Sr.	Washington, DC, U.S.	Gonzaga College HS
14	Frank Major	N/A	N/A	G	Jr.	Washington, DC, U.S.	St. John's HS
17	Bill Cowley	N/A	N/A	F	So.	N/A	N/A
20	Jack Walsh	5'11"	N/A	F	So.	New York, NY, U.S.	Brooklyn Preparatory School
21	Dale Seymour	6'5"	N/A	G	Fr.	Washington, DC, U.S.	Gonzaga College HS
22	Joe Carroll	N/A	N/A	G	Sr.	Baltimore, MD, U.S.	Calvert Hall College HS
N/A	Daniel Grochowski (also spelled Grohoski)	6,1	N/A	F	Jr.	Glen Lyon, PA, U.S.	N/A

1953–54 schedule and results

Sources^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Wed., Dec. 2, 1953 no, no	Baltimore	W 110–59	1-0	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Sat., Dec. 5, 1953 no, no	Saint Peter's	W 69–60	2-0	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Mon., Dec. 7, 1953 no, no	Mount St. Mary's	W 93–83	3-0	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Sat., Dec. 12, 1953 no, no	St. Joseph's	W 75–71	4-0	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Mon., Dec. 14, 1953 no, no	Xavier	L 54–74	4-1	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Wed., Dec. 16, 1953 no, no	Loyola Maryland	W 92–79	5-1	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Fri., Dec. 18, 1953 no, no	at No. 20 La Salle	L 49–58	5-2	Philadelphia Convention Hall Philadelphia, PA
Mon., Dec. 28, 1953 no, no	vs. Detroit Motor City Tournament	L 66–72	5-3	Detroit Olympia Detroit, MI
Tue., Dec. 29, 1953 no, no	vs. Wayne State Motor City Tournament	L 48–62	5-4	Detroit Olympia Detroit, MI
Thu., Jan. 7, 1954 no, no	at No. 12 George Washington	L 64–88	5-5	Uline Arena Washington, DC
Sat., Jan. 9, 1954 no, no	Maryland	W 58–56	6-5	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Tue., Jan. 12, 1954 no, no	at New York University	W 75–67	7-5	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
Sat., Jan. 16, 1954 no, no	American	W 59–46	8-5	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Sat., Jan. 23, 1954* no, no	at St. Francis (NY)	L 52–77	8-6	II Corps Armory Brooklyn, NY
Wed., Jan. 27, 1954 no, no	at No. 2 Duquesne	L 56–69	8-7	Duquesne Gardens Pittsburgh, PA
Thu., Jan. 28, 1954 no, no	at Youngstown State	L 74–78	8-8	South Field House Youngstown, OH
Sat., Jan. 30, 1954 no, no	at John Carroll	L 88–97	8-9	Cleveland Arena Cleveland, OH
Tue., Feb. 2, 1954 no, no	Pittsburgh	L 73–80	8-10	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Sat., Feb. 6, 1954 no, no	at Fordham	L 51–68	8-11	Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY
Wed., Feb. 10, 1954 no, no	at No. 16 Navy	L 75–110	8-12	Dahlgren Hall Annapolis, MD
Sat., Feb. 13, 1954 no, no	Virginia	L 78–85	8-13	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Tue., Feb. 16, 1954 no, no	at Mount St. Mary's	W 65-54	9-13	Alumni Gymnasium Emmitsburg, MD
Thu., Feb. 18, 1954 no, no	at No. 11 Maryland	L 50–53	9-14	Ritchie Coliseum College Park, MD
Sat., Feb. 20, 1954 no, no	Niagara	L 56–69	9-15	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 24, 1954 no, no	at American	W 56–49	10-15	Clendenen Gymnasium Washington, DC
Sat., Feb. 27, 1954 no, no	Temple	W 61–59	11-15	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Tue., Mar. 2, 1954 no, no	No. 9 George Washington	L 67–79	11-16	McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC
Thu., Mar. 4, 1954 no, no	at Penn State	L 54–61	11-17	Recreation Hall State College, PA
Sat., Mar. 6, 1954 no, no	at Saint Francis (Pa.)	L 80–109	11-18	Doyle Hall Loretto, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 42. Warren Buehler
^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 88. Lou Gigante
^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ sports-reference.com 1953-54 Independent Season Summary
^ sports-reference.com 1953-54 Polls
^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1950-51 to 1959-1960". Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ ^a ^b The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers
^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1950s Seasons
^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ sports-reference.com 1953-54 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results
^ 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 61.

[buehler-1] The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 42. Warren Buehler

[2] The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 88. Lou Gigante

[3] "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[4] sports-reference.com 1953-54 Independent Season Summary

[coaches-5] sports-reference.com 1953-54 Polls

[6] "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1950-51 to 1959-1960". Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[jersey-7] The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers

[8] The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1950s Seasons

[9] "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents". Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[10] sports-reference.com 1953-54 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results

[11] 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 61.

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v t e Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
Venues	Washington Light Infantry Armory (1906–1907) Convention Hall (1907–1908) Odd Fellows Hall (1908–1911) Arcade Rink (1911–1914, 1927–1928) Ryan Gymnasium (1914–1927) Clendenen Gymnasium (1928–1929) Tech Gymnasium (1929–1940, 1942–1943) Riverside Stadium (1940–1942) Brookland Gymnasium (1945–1946) Uline Arena (1946–1947, 1949–1951) D.C. Armory (1947–1949) McDonough Gymnasium (1951–present) Capital Centre (1981–1997) Capital One Arena (1997–present)
Rivalries	St. John's UConn
Culture & lore	History Hoya Saxa Jack the Bulldog There Goes Old Georgetown 1989 Princeton game Above the Rim
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics