Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Mourning (CAS '92) played for the Hoyas men's basketball team from 1988-1992. Mourning went on to have an outstanding NBA career, winning an NBA championship in 2006 and entering the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Georgetown (1988-1992)

Mourning, a center, was the top-ranked high school recruit in the country and committed to play for Coach John Thompson Jr.'s Hoyas1. He nearly made the 1988 US Olympic team, coached by Thompson, but Thompson left Mourning off the team since he would have missed his first month of classes2. 

With a #2 ranking3, the Hoyas entered Mourning's freshman year with high expectations. Georgetown entered the NCAA Tournament with a #1 seed, barely outlasting Princeton in a surprisingly tough first-round matchup4. The Hoyas then beat Notre Dame and NC State to set up an Elite Eight matchup with Duke, which they lost 85-775. Mourning made an instant impact in his freshman year, averaging over 13 points per game6 and leading the nation in blocks7. 

While tournament success eluded Mourning after his freshman year, he continued to play a crucial role for the Hoyas. With 16.5 points per game his sophomore year8, Mourning led Georgetown to a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament9. After his teammate Dikembe Mutombo graduated in 1991, Mourning took on an even more significant role. He averaged 21.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game in his senior year, finishing his college career with over 2000 points and over 1000 rebounds10. After the Hoyas exited the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Florida State11, Mourning entered the NBA Draft.

NBA career

The Charlotte Hornets selected Mourning with the #2 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft12. Mourning spent three seasons in Charlotte, where he consistently averaged at least 21 points per game13. He made his first playoff appearance in 1993, helping the Hornets beat the Boston Celtics in the first round before losing to Patrick Ewing's New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals14. The Hornets returned to the playoffs in 1995 but lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round15.

Before the 1995 season, the Hornets traded Mourning and several other players to the Miami Heat for a package that included a 1996 first-round pick16. The trade was a clear win for Miami since acquiring Mourning gave the Heat a star center and future Hall of Famer. Mourning made his deepest playoff run yet with the Heat in 1997, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Orlando Magic and the Knicks17. Ultimately, the Heat would lose the series 4-1 against Michael Jordan's Bulls18. While Mourning continued to produce on offense, he was also a dominant defender, leading the NBA in blocks per game in both the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons19. 

While playing for the Heat, Mourning was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, a kidney disease20. Expected to miss the entire 2000-01 season21, he returned for 13 games and the playoffs22. Mourning missed the entire 2002-03 season23 and signed with the New Jersey Nets in 2003. However, his condition worsened and he received a kidney transplant in 200324. Despite Coach Thompson's advice to retire25, Mourning returned to the NBA with the Nets in 200426. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of a package for Vince Carter that December but didn't appear in a game with Toronto before the Raptors cut him in February 200527. He returned to the Heat, where he would ultimately finish his career. Mourning won an NBA championship with the Heat's 4-2 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals28. He retired following the 2007-08 season29.

Legacy

Mourning is one of the greatest players in Georgetown history and, alongside Ewing and Mutombo, one of three Hoya centers in the Hall of Fame. He played a crucial role on the tough, defensive-minded Georgetown teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mourning also had an outstanding NBA career, best remembered for his two stints with the Heat. In 2009, Mourning became the first player to have his number retired by the Heat30. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 201431.

  • 1Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 204.
  • 2Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 204-205.
  • 3Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 218.
  • 4Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 231-232.
  • 5Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 232-233.
  • 6Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 7Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 218.
  • 8Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 9NCAA.com, Browse every NCAA bracket since 1939 with stats and records. https://www.ncaa.com/basketball-men/d1/every-ncaa-bracket-1939-today-tournament-stats-records.
  • 10Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 11NCAA.com, Browse every NCAA bracket since 1939 with stats and records. https://www.ncaa.com/basketball-men/d1/every-ncaa-bracket-1939-today-tournament-stats-records.
  • 12Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 13Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 14Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 15Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 16Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 17Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 18Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 19Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 20Robbins, Liz. "PRO BASKETBALL: Mourning Is Out for Season With a Kidney Disease." The New York Times. 17 October 2000.
  • 21Robbins, Liz. "PRO BASKETBALL: Mourning Is Out for Season With a Kidney Disease." The New York Times. 17 October 2000.
  • 22Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 23Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 24"PRO BASKETBALL; Mourning Has a Kidney Transplant." The New York Times. 20 December 2003.
  • 25Thompson, John with Jesse Washington. "I Came As A Shadow." Holt Paperbacks, 2022, p. 247.
  • 26Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 27Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 28Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 29Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
  • 30Crouse, Karen. "For Mourning, Tears, Note From Obama and a Place in Heat History." The New York Times. 31 March 2009.
  • 31Basketball-Reference.com, Alonzo Mourning. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mournal01.html.
1992 basketball card depicting Mourning after the Hornets drafted him

1992 basketball card from the brand Upper Deck, showing Mourning after the Hornets drafted him

A basketball card showing Mourning at Georgetown

A 1992 basketball card by Four Sport depicting Mourning playing for the Georgetown Hoyas against Providence College.

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