A Hoya Comes Home
July 31, 2009
More than 600 fans packed Gaston Hall this month to welcome former All-American and retired NBA center Alonzo Mourning (C’92) back to the Hilltop. The star athlete was on campus for an ESPN show called “Homecoming.”
“I have a lot of roots here,” Mourning told ESPN host Rick Reilly during the July 23 taping on campus. “Four of the best years of my life were spent here.”
During a week of filming, Mourning and his wife, Tracy, ventured out to spots in the nation’s capital with family members and Reilly. The production crew taped portions of the one-hour show at Georgetown and Howard University, from which his wife graduated.
The sports network will air the episode on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. (ET).
Mourning and Reilly relived some of the NBA champion’s experiences as a Hoya. The two timed each other running up and down the famed steps on campus that appeared in the “The Exorcist” movie. They visited McDonough Arena, where the athlete played ball on campus. Mourning also took time to speak to current Hoya basketball players before their team workout.
But, it was the Thursday evening taping in Gaston Hall that served as the highlight of the week. Former Georgetown basketball standouts, including Mourning’s former Head Coach John Thompson, Jr., were on hand to celebrate the basketball great’s homecoming. Some of Mourning’s former teammates – Jaren Jackson (B’89), Ron Thompson (C’92) and Mark Tillmon (C’90) – as well as his assistant coach Ed Spriggs also were on hand for the event.
In the audience sat one of Mourning’s basketball heroes – Patrick Ewing (C’85), another famous NBA and Georgetown center. Ewing was among the players Mourning looked up to while growing up in Chesapeake, Va.
Though Mourning selected Georgetown as his “Homecoming” location, the show also delves into his early influences, such as his days of playing basketball at Indian River High School.
At Gaston Hall, Thompson talked about Mourning’s intensity on the basketball court as a player. He had a stubbornness about him,” he recalled. “Stubbornness isn’t bad as long as you know who’s in charge.”
Mourning added, “Fear helped a lot, too.”
The No. 2 NBA draft pick for 1992 cites Thompson as one of the most influential people in his life. But he also pointed to his teammates in the audience as inspiration.
“It wasn’t just about me. This homecoming is about all of the people here,” he said referring to the teammates, coaches, mentors and fans in the audience. “This is about everyone who helped me in the process.”
Mourning retired his No. 33 Miami Heat jersey this past spring after 15 years of playing in the league. Starting out with the Charlotte Hornets, Mourning later joined the Heat, where he earned a championship ring in 2006. Today, the retiree works as the Heat’s vice president of player programs and development.
“I was very intense by nature,” Mourning said recalling his playing days. “When I was on the court, that’s how I carried myself. Everyone had their own way of approaching the game and that was fine.”
Mourning’s intensity got him named to the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and earned him a gold medal. Yet, through all of his accolades and his battle and victory against kidney disease, Mourning recalls the one favorite moment of his career.
“It was when I graduated,” he said. “To be the first person in my family to graduate from college and to be there with the people who supported me, that was the best moment.”
Source: Office of Communications (July 31, 2009)
