Georgetown's Rivers to Transfer

Georgetown guard Jeremiah Rivers has decided to transfer, becoming the second Hoyas reserve to leave the program since the season ended. Rivers's classmate, forward Vernon Macklin, announced his intention to leave in late April and reportedly plans to enroll at Florida.

The two departures, coupled with the graduation of four seniors, leave the Hoyas with just four players who played significant minutes for the Big East regular season champion: rising senior Jessie Sapp, rising junior DaJuan Summers, and rising sophomores Austin Freeman and Chris Wright.

But Georgetown has depth in its back court, with Sapp, Freeman and Wright, plus the addition of Jason Clark, the All-Met Player of the Year from O'Connell.

The 6-foot-4 Rivers struggled offensively during his two seasons at Georgetown, but he carved out a niche as a defensive specialist. He was often the first guard off of the bench and averaged 18.6 minutes per game as a sophomore. He shadowed some of the country's top guards last season -- Memphis's Derrick Rose, Villanova's Scottie Reynolds, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn and Davidson's Stephen Curry -- and the Hoyas credited his late-game defense with helping them eke out narrow victories over Syracuse and Villanova.

Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, attempted fewer than three shots per game and averaged 2.5 points on 31.8 percent shooting.

"Jeremiah and his family made a decision and determined this was best for him," Coach John Thompson III said in a statement released by the university. "We appreciate his hard work and wish him best in his future endeavors."

Attempts to reach Rivers yesterday were unsuccessful, and Thompson did not return phone messages.

Rivers is the fifth player to leave Georgetown since October 2006. All five players -- Josh Thornton, Marc Egerson, Tay Spann, Macklin and Rivers -- were part of Thompson's first two recruiting classes at Georgetown. Only Sapp and Summers remain with the team.