1907–08 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
| 1907–08 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conference | Independent |
| 1907–08 record | 5–1 |
| Head coach | Maurice Joyce (1st season) |
| Captain | Richard Downey (1st year) |
| Home arena | Convention Hall |
The 1907–08 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1907-08 Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States college basketball season. Maurice Joyce coached the team in his first season as head coach. Georgetown was an independent and played its home games at the Convention Hall at 5th and K Streets NW in downtown Washington, D.C.
Joyce had introduced the new sport of basketball to Washington, D.C., in 1892 – the year after its invention by James Naismith – and had fostered its development there over the next 15 years as Director of Physical Education at the Carroll Institute. In the autumn of 1906, Georgetown had hired him as its athletic director with an eye toward developing a men's basketball program at the school, and he had founded the program late that year, in time to field Georgetown's first team in the 1906-07 season. That team had had no coach, relying instead on an elected student manager to provide leadership, monitor the team's finances, and schedule games and practices – roles now performed by the school's athletic department and coach. For Georgetown's second season in 1907-08, Joyce formally became the team's first head coach, although this did not diminish the role of the student manager, who continued in his duties; rather, the head coach acted as a teacher and faculty advisor, available to provide advice to the players during games rather than lead the team on the court. It was not until the late 1920s that the modern role of the head coach as in-game leader emerged.
During its inaugural season in 1906-07, Georgetown had played only four games, three of them against George Washington. George Washington had won two of the three games, led by center Fred Rice. When George Washington decided not to field a basketball team for the 1907-08 season, Joyce convinced Rice to enroll in Georgetown University Law School and play for the Hoyas in 1907-08.
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