By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 15, 2005

Georgetown guard Ray Reed and forward Cornelio Guibunda have been given their releases and will transfer, the university announced yesterday.

The 6-foot-1 Reed was often the first back-court substitute last season as a sophomore; he averaged 2.4 points in 16.2 minutes per game. Reed provided some much-needed quickness, but he would have had to battle for minutes in a crowded back court next season. Georgetown has two incoming freshman guards -- Jessie Sapp, an All-Met from National Christian, and Josh Thornton -- to go along with incumbent starters Ashanti Cook and Jonathan Wallace.

Guibunda, a 6-9 freshman from Mozambique, appeared in only four games for a total of seven minutes.

"Both Ray and Cornelio are fine young men," Coach John Thompson III said in a statement released by the school. "We support and wish them all the best as they move on."

Reed and Guibunda are the fourth and fifth players to transfer from Georgetown since the end of the 2002-03 season. Their departures, however, should help alleviate an impending scholarship logjam for the Hoyas and could lead to a fifth year for Darrel Owens and a scholarship for Wallace.

Owens, who averaged 16.2 points in the Big East tournament and National Invitation Tournament, sat out his freshman season as a partial academic qualifier. He is set to graduate next week, which makes him eligible to return for a fifth year -- something that he said throughout the season he would like to do. Wallace joined the Hoyas as a walk-on last season and wound up starting every game, averaging 6.5 points (fifth-best on the team).

Attempts to reach Thompson yesterday were unsuccessful.