Georgetown freshman Greg Monroe intends to return for his sophomore season, Hoyas head coach John Thompson III told the school’s newspaper, The Hoya, on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-11 center from Gretna, La., had been projected as potential NBA Draft lottery pick but had long maintained that he planned to come back to the Hoyas next season.
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Monroe, who arrived in Georgetown as one of the nation’s top recruits, was named the 2008-09 Big East rookie of the year, averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
The Hoyas, however, finished with a disappointing 16-15 record, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, while losing in the first round of the Big East Tournament and the postseason National Invitational Tournament.
Only two of the 11 members of the Big East’s first and second teams (Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody and West Virginia’s De’Sean Butler) are returning to school, which will make Monroe a strong contender for league and national player of the year honors.
With junior DaJuan Summers recently declaring his intention to enter the NBA Draft and sophomore Omar Wattad announcing his plans to transfer, the Hoyas are without a returning senior and have just seven scholarship players.
Eight Hoyas in the last four seasons have left Georgetown before their eligibility expired: Summers, Wattad, Jeff Green (NBA), Marc Egerson (transferred to Delaware), Vernon Macklin (transferred to Florida), Jeremiah Rivers (transferred to Indiana), Octavius Spann (transferred to Marshall), and Josh Thornton (transferred to Towson).