Sophomore Jeremiah Rivers, widely considered Georgetown's best defensive guard, intends to transfer, he said Wednesday morning.
The news comes just two weeks after Georgetown announced the transfer of Rivers' classmate, forward Vernon Macklin. With the graduation of four seniors, the Hoyas are left with just four players who played significant minutes last season — junior guard Jessie Sapp, sophomore forward DaJuan Summers and freshmen guards Austin Freeman and Chris Wright.
"Jeremiah and his family made a decision and determined this was best for him,
" Head Coach John Thompson III said in a press release issued Wednesday evening. "We appreciate his hard work and wish him best in his future endeavors.
"
Contacted when THE HOYA's story was first posted, an athletic department spokesperson declined to comment.
Rivers, who averaged 2.5 points over 18.6 minutes per game last season, was known more for his defense than his offense. As the Hoyas' defensive stopper, the 6-foot-4 guard often drew the opposing team's offensive star.
Rivers shut down Syracuse's Jonny Flynn at the end of a January win over the Orange, forcing the Syracuse guard into a tough three-point attempt that would have given the Orange a win as time expired. Rivers also forced a turnover with seconds remaining in a tie game against Villanova in February as Scottie Reynolds drove to the basket.
Though Rivers spent last summer working on his shooting form, he often appeared out of sync on the offensive end. He shot just 31.8 percent from the field and his assist-to-turnover ratio was 1-to-1 last year. In particular, Rivers had a tough time from three-point range as the season wore on — he started the year 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) in the non-conference slate, but went just 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from behind the arc in Big East and NCAA tournament play. For his college career, Rivers shot 27.8 percent from three-point range.
Rivers scored a career-high nine points in a December game against Fairfield, and he added four rebounds and five assists. He dished out a career-high seven assists in the first round of the NCAA tournament his freshman year against Belmont.
Rivers, of course, is the son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers.
"It's something he wanted to do,
" Doc Rivers told the Boston Globe. "I loved where he was at. He wants to be happy in a different system. He loved Coach [John ] Thompson. I love Coach Thompson. It was a tough one.
"I didn't try [to change his mind] because if I did and it didn't work out then it's Dad's fault. I did try to show him where he was at as far as school. He was playing a lot and had a great chance to start the following year.
"
In addition to the four returning regulars, Georgetown will bring in four highly-touted recruits. Three big men, highlighted by 6-foot-10 Greg Monroe, will be joined by 6-foot-2 guard Jason Clark, who rivals.com lists as the 12th best shooting guard in his class.
