The Georgetown University Hoyas once was one of the premier basketball programs in the country. Led by John Thompson, the Hoyas were known for their rugged, in-your-face defense, and a long succession of dominant big men, beginning with Patrick Ewing. The golden era for the program was the 1980s, as Thompson led the Hoyas to a string of NCAA Tournament bids, three championship game appearances in four years, and a national title in 1984.
However, as the '80s came to a close and the '90s arrived, Thompson no longer was able to bring in top-flight talent to keep the program among the nation's elite and the team fell into the throes of mediocrity. The Hoyas were still good enough to make the NCAA tournament, but they were never serious championship contenders.
Things only got worse as we entered the millennium. The Hoyas were never quite bad enough to be considered one of the worst teams in the Big East, but they never were a serious threat to contend for a conference title, either.
Eventually, Thompson retired and his long-time second-in-command, Craig Esherick, was hired to replace him. Unfortunately, Esherick wasn't able to recreate the success that "Big John" had enjoyed back in the '80s and early '90s, never leading the Hoyas past the Sweet 16 and failing to get the team into the tournament altogether in his last three years at the helm.
So, in an effort to restore the luster to a formerly luminous program, Georgetown officials went "back to the future," hiring John Thompson III, the son of former coach Thompson this offseason. Many felt that Thompson III was hired mainly because of his famous father and not because of the solid results he'd achieved as head coach of the Princeton Tigers.
Not many people gave him much of a chance to succeed, especially this season, citing the difficulty of closely following a coaching legend who also just happens to be your father and because of a dearth of big-name talent. As such, the Hoyas were picked by many to finish at or near the bottom of the Big East standings this year, continuing the recent downward spiral of the team.
But, a funny thing happened to the Hoyas on their way to the grave this season — they began to win. And compete. Hard. The Hoyas enter the last week of January sporting a surprising 11-5 overall record (3-2 in the Big East), including a road victory over a Pitt Panther team that almost never loses at home. They played Illinois, the number one ranked team in the country, to a stalemate for a half, before running out of steam in the second half and losing by 15. They stormed back from a 20-point halftime deficit before eventually losing to the ninth-ranked UConn Huskies by seven. They fought tooth-and-nail with the No. 7 ranked Syracuse Orangemen, extending them into overtime, at the Carrier Dome no less, before finally succumbing, 78-73.
Not bad for a team that wasn't given much of a chance to do anything this year. So, what's been the difference? The young Mr. Thompson III, that's what. He's transformed a team that played porous defense and with little energy last year into a team that fights, scratches, and claws for everything, plays fundamentally-sound offensively, and plays defense with an intensity that hasn't been seen on the Hilltop since the days of "Hoya Paranoia."
Thompson III has combined the defensive teachings learned at the feet of his father with the deliberate, half-court offensive sets taught to him by legendary Princeton coach Pete Carril to form a team that's very tough to play and has a legitimate shot at getting an NCAA tournament bid ... if they continue to play well.
Of course, there's still a lot of basketball yet to be played this season, but for the first time in years, there at least appears to be hope for Georgetown basketball. Freshman forward Jeff Green has been a revelation, garnering multiple Big East Rookie of the Week awards and providing the Hoyas with a potential star and building block for the program. Along with Green, junior swingman Brandon Bowman has recently stepped his game up, especially since conference play began.
If Ashanti Cook ever lives up to his high school press clippings and improves, the Hoyas will not be as far away as people think. Big Roy Hibbert, all seven-feet, two inches of him, gives the Hoyas a big presence in the middle and is another solid piece to the rebuilding effort. If Thompson III is able to recruit a few quality guards next season to go along with Green and Bowman, the resurrection of the program will be even quicker.
The Hoyas, along with the equally surprising St. John's Red Storm, are quietly turning the corner and appear to be back on the road to having a quality program. With one or two more solid recruiting classes, coach Thompson will soon have a team very capable of making noise in the NCAA tournament.
Whoever said that Georgetown basketball is dead had better keep an eye on the Hoyas. They may have been on life support for a while, but coach Thompson has given them the electric shock that just might resuscitate them and bring them back to life quicker than people may have imagined. Although he probably wasn't the first choice by many to coach the Hoyas, Thompson III has proven very quickly that he is the man for the job and that he will, given time, bring the program all the way back to national prominence.
Indeed, the rumors of the death of Georgetown basketball have been greatly exaggerated ... thanks to a prodigal son that found his way home.
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