WASHINGTON — Dante Harris and Jamorko Pickett grew up in the area, and now look to take Georgetown University on a Cinderella-run through the NCAA tournament.
Harris, who spent his first 13-years in the D.C. area, moved to Tennessee right before high school, according to the Citizen Tribune.
Harris, a point guard, is the star player for the Hoyas and will look to make an impact after dominating the competition in the Big East Tournament last week.
Harris was named the tournament MVP for his performance.
Pickett, who played high school ball at Eastern High School in the District, is an experienced senior guard/forward that will play a part in keeping a team made up of many lower classmen and graduate transfers composed in their first game on Saturday.
Georgetown will be a No. 12 seed when they take on No. 5 seed Colorado in the men's NCAA tournament on Saturday, and the seeding for the Hoyas statistically shows that they have a good chance of making the next round on the tourney.
The iconic No. 5 vs No. 12 matchup is one that even the NCAA knows has a historic past that has produced upsets through the years.
There have been 50 upsets by 12-seeds since the NCAA tournament field expanded in 1985. That means the lower seed is 50-90, equating to a 35.71 win percentage, according to the NCAA in an article.
According to the NCAA, there have only been five years (1988, 2000, 2007, 2015 and 2018) that a 12 seed has not beaten a 5 seed in the men's tournament.
The Hoyas entered the season with nine new players, so it took some time before they started to click. After a 3-8 start, a COVID-19 outbreak forced Georgetown to postpone four games, keeping them off the court for 17 days in January. But they came back stronger, and in one month went from last to first.
They won the Big East title on the 49th anniversary of Thompson’s hiring at Georgetown, something that made Saturday’s win extra special for head coach Patrick Ewing.
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