Mourning Grows Up in Public

Alonzo Mourning’s spring began when Duke’s Phil Henderson dunked on him in the NCAA tournament East regional final. It took a turn with Georgetown Coach John Thompson’s shocking statement on national television that he had learned Mourning and Hoyas starting power forward John Turner had been seen fraternizing with alleged drug kingpin Rayful Edmond III. By the time summer rolled around, Turner had disappeared from Georgetown’s program and the usually engaging Mourning seemed to have disappeared from view. No interviews, no comment.

But fall now has fallen and the 6-foot-10 center from Chesapeake, Va., is back. He is a year older, a year stronger, a year smarter -- on and, perhaps more important, off the court. Oh yes, he also has a new, left-handed hook shot as sweet as the melody of Al Jarreau’s 1980 song entitled “Alonzo.” Its chorus consists of one line repeated four times: “Alonzo declared that he must reach to heaven forever.”

Others say the same thing.

Thompson: “I think Alonzo is like every other young person who is expected to be different because he’s Alonzo Mourning. He’s expected to be different because people know what he does because people are interested in what he does. But that’s why a person comes to college.

“You don’t come to college to be mature, you come to acquire maturity. You don’t come to college educated, you come to college to receive an education. I think that’s part of the role and responsibility I have as a coach. Anytime I feel a person is not receptive to that or I am unable to contribute to that, then adjustments are made.

“I am very pleased with his actions.”

Earlier this week, Mourning said of his relationship with Edmond, now on trial on cocaine conspiracy charges: “I made a mistake and I have to learn from my mistake of a bad association. You know, it really hurt me. But that’s something I can use for the rest of my life, learning about who I associate with, because I’m going to be introduced to so many people while doing what I do right now.

“It could have happened to anybody, but I have (to) take that in stride and just use that as a positive thing and go on with my life.”

Right now, that life involves helping the Hoyas defend their Big East regular-season and tournament championships and make a run at the NCAA title. Georgetown’s 29-5 record last season was built in large part on seniors Charles Smith, Jaren Jackson, Bobby Winston and Johnathan Edwards. But a large burden fell to Mourning.

A freshman, he responded by leading the nation in blocked shots (five per game for a school single-season record 169), leading Georgetown in rebounding (7.3 per game) and being the Hoyas’ second-leading scorer (13.2 points per game). He was named Big East defensive player of the year and a third-team all-America. This season, he is expected to perform even better -- and as Hoyas senior guard Dwayne Bryant asked, “How much better can you get?”

“I don’t think it’s any different from high school,” Mourning said. “Everybody expected a lot out of me in high school and during my first collegiate season, and I think it’s going to continue. All I can do is keep my composure because I’m not going to be able to play great in every game.”

The NCAA tournament game against Duke was a good example. In the second half Mourning had three points, one rebound and one blocked shot. His nadir came with 9 1/2 minutes to play and the Blue Devils leading, 60-56.

Henderson, a 6-4, 165-pound guard, knifed down the lane, sprang and slammed in Mourning’s face. The crowd ignited and so did Duke, which added eight points to its lead before the Hoyas began a futile comeback to which Mourning contributed virtually nothing.

“Things like that are going to happen,” Mourning said. “I’m at a level now where I’m playing against guys that have tremendous athletic ability. Phil Henderson just got a step on me. It’s nothing unreasonable. I’m learning.”

Part of what he learned was to become stronger and less predictable.

“I know that people are going to watch the tapes of last season,” Mourning said. “They will know that I love to go right, so I kind of figured I had to come back with something new.”

In addition to working on the lefty hook, Mourning spent a great deal of time this summer lifting weights with 7-foot-2 junior center Dikembe Mutombo. The results have been striking. “Both of them are stronger,” Thompson said. “Dikembe’s is a little different because his is a wiry strength, but with Alonzo, sometimes it’s almost frightening. I see my players jumping out of his way.”

This is the last thing Georgetown’s opponents needed -- particularly now that Thompson is heeding some advice he received this summer from Red Auerbach.

“We were eating lunch,” Thompson recalled, “and I said, ‘What do you think about the two big guys?’ As only Red could say, he said, ‘I like ‘em.’ Then I said, ‘You know, I didn’t play them together a lot last year.’ And he said, ‘Yes, John, and your opponents loved it.’ He didn’t say anything more. I got the message.”

So Mourning and Mutombo, who combined to account for 244 of Georgetown’s NCAA-record 309 blocked shots last season (the previous mark was 233), will play together “as much as possible” this season, Thompson said.

Mourning and Mutombo figure to find the lane very crowded during a season in which the Big East will be experimenting with a rule requiring six (rather than five) fouls for disqualification. It could be a major test for Mourning. He will be expected by John Thompson to fall in behind the leadership of the Hoyas’ five seniors. Yet, like the words in the song bearing his name, Alonzo declares that he must reach for heaven.

“I think a lot of the leadership should be left up to the seniors because they’ve experienced a lot more than I have,” Mourning said. “But being that I’m looked at by so many people as the great Alonzo Mourning, I think I have to set an example for people, too. I have to be a leader by example, by my play and by my actions off the court.”