1962–63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
| 1962-63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conference | Independent |
| 1962-63 record | 13–13 |
| Head coach | Tommy O'Keefe (3rd year) |
| Assistant coach | Tom Coleman (2nd year) |
| Captain | Ed Lopata (1st year) |
| Home arena | McDonough Gymnasium |
The 1962–63 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1962-63 NCAA Division I 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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