Coaches

A decade after a 1,000 point career mark at the Hilltop, Tom O'Keefe was named head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas in 1960.

O'Keefe was a three year starter at guard for the Hoyas from 1946 through 1950, the beneficiary of an NCAA waiver that gave O'Keefe a fourth year of eligibility. The first three time scoring champ at Georgetown since Ed Hargaden (1932-35), O'Keefe averaged 14.5 points as a senior and became the first player in GU basketball history to reach 1,000 points for his career. He was selected to play alongside Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy in the 1950 Collegiate All-Star game, and was a fourth round NBA draft pick in 1950.

The pro career of O'Keefe was a short one. He played just two games for the Washington Capitols, who would fold during the season. Traded up the road to the Baltimore Bullets, he would play in just two more games before O'Keefe enrolled in the Army in 1951. Following military service and a position in the FBI, he coached high school basketball at Gonzaga (DC) and was appointed as freshman coach at Georgetown in 1957. Over a three year run as freshman coach, O'Keefe's Hoyas teams were 41-16, a promising record that led Georgetown officials to select him as head coach in the fall of 1960.

The Hoya teams of the O'Keefe era were among the most talented players of their generation at Georgetown. O'Keefe led the 1961-62 Hoyas to 14 wins, its most wins in a decade. A year later, he recruited another St. Peter's Prep guard, Jim Barry, who earned All-America honors on a team that lost four starters and nine seniors from the season before. Having recruited the likes of Jim Barry and Jim Brown, Jake Gibbons and Steve Sullivan, the Hoyas began each of the next three seasons with high hopes, only to be crushed in late season skids, including a 10-3 club in 1965 that dropped seven straight, and a 13-5 team in 1966 that dropped three straight that cost the Hoyas a NIT bid. Following a loss to Manhattan that ended the Hoyas' 1966 post-season hopes, O'Keefe announced his resignation at season's end, whereupon the Hoyas won their final three games to finish 16-8.

Over six seasons, Tom O'Keefe was 82-60 (.578) as head coach, but did so as a part-time employee who sold class rings to make ends meet. Amidst student and alumni calls to elevate O'Keefe to a full-time coach, Georgetown saw no need.

"Tom O'Keefe is here every morning and afternoon from October to March," said athletic director Jack Hagerty in 1966. "The only full-time coach we ever had was Elmer Ripley in the 1940's, and during the off-months he would sit around my office in the morning, nap in the afternoon, and go to the movies at night."

While out of sight to fans in the John Thompson era, O'Keefe was never forgotten by his former players, who would host annual reunions with the coach well into the 2000's. In 2007, O'Keefe, one of the five living head coaches in Hoya basketball history, was honored during the program's centennial for his team's Dec. 27, 1963 upset of #1-ranked and defending NCAA champion Loyola-Chicago, which was featured in a video retrospective of the program.

Year	Post-Season	Record	Pct.	Home	Away	NCAA/NIT
1960-61		11-10	0.524	6-3	5-7
1961-62		14-9	0.609	8-2	6-7
1962-63		13-13	0.500	9-4	4-9
1963-64		15-10	0.600	10-1	5-9
1964-65		13-10	0.565	7-4	6-6
1965-66		16-8	0.667	9-2	7-6
Totals		82-60	0.578	49-16	33-44