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Georgetown’s Tyler Adams, whose career ended after four games, will start on ‘Senior Day’

111411-140 tyler adams

Georgetown Sports Communication

Entering college in 2011 as a four-star recruit, power forward Tyler Adams was a player expected to be a key factor for Georgetown throughout his college career. Unfortunately he played in just four games before being diagnosed with a heart ailment that ended his career. Since then Adams has remained a part of John Thompson III’s program, doing what he can to help Georgetown despite being unable to take the floor and contribute in games.

With the program celebrating Senior Day on Saturday when they host Seton Hall, classmates Mikael Hopkins and Jabril Trawick will be honored and the same goes for forward Aaron Bowen (he played just seven games in 2010-11 due to injury) and big man Joshua Smith. Adams will also be honored Saturday, and thanks to a waiver given by the NCAA he’ll be in the starting lineup.

John Thompson III’s decision to start Adams came as a surprise to the player, who received the news with the rest of the team on Thursday.

He told me with the team yesterday,” Adams said with a smile. “He called us together in a group and mentioned how he doesn’t do what other coaches do with starting seniors, that it wasn’t that big of a deal to him, but at the end of the conversation he said, `But we’re going to make an exception and start you.’

“I thought it was a joke, everyone started laughing and it kind of shocked me, but everyone was excited when they heard the news.”


The waiver allows Adams to appear in the game “briefly,” and it’s good to see that he’ll be able to complete his Georgetown career with one final on-court appearance. It also gives Adams the chance to spend his final home game in uniform alongside Hopkins and Trawick, with whom he arrived on campus in 2011.

Adams may not have been able to play in games, but Georgetown’s gesture shows what he’s meant to the program during his time on campus.

Video courtesy of CSN Washington