Mike Sweetney, Former Knicks First-Round Pick, Dies at Age 43

Michael Sweetney, the former Georgetown standout and NBA first-round pick selected ninth overall by the New York Knicks in 2003, has died at age 43. His wife, India, announced his passing on Thursday via a Facebook post, noting that no cause of death was released. Before retiring from professional basketball in 2017 after playing for teams overseas including China and Puerto Rico, Sweetney served as an assistant coach at Yeshiva University starting in 2019 before taking a high school coaching position with the Golda Och Academy in West Orange just one month prior to his death. During his college career, he helped lead Georgetown to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 and averaged over 22 points per game as a finalist for national player of the year awards.