Georgetown Basketball History: Top 50 Players Of The Thompson Era

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(A note on the rankings. Each player is listed with the years that they played - 92 for example means the 1991-92 season - height, and the position (s) played, roughly in order of frequency.)

21. Eric Smith (79-82) (6-5) (3, 2) - The smartest Hoya player ever? Maybe, and certainly on the very short list for best team player as well. Eric Smith was the co-captain for the 1982 national runner up team.

Eric arrived at Georgetown as a two sport star (football was the other) from Potomac, Maryland. Raw at first, his game seemed to improve weekly. An excellent defender, he was especially effective on the weak side of the full court press. Offensively, he ran the floor well and hit the open jumper out to about 15 feet. Mostly, though, he would do whatever he was asked to do. His scoring average progressed from 2.7 to 6.8 to 10.8 points in his junior year and he was named second team Big East.

In 1981-2 things changed. The 1981-2 recruiting class included, along with Patrick Ewing, two other heralded recruits in Anthony Jones and Bill Martin, who needed time to develop, much of which would come out of Eric Smith's minutes. His minutes went way down, especially in the early season laughers that littered the Hoyas' schedule. His assists more than doubled as he shot less. And his scoring average declined to 9.7 ppg in his senior year. He was not named to a Big East all star team.

But his importance did not decline. His line for the championship game, 35 minutes, 6 for 8 from the floor, 2 of 2 from the line, 14 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Alone among the Hoyas, he had the presence of mind to take off after James Worthy and foul him as he tried to run out the clock after Fred Brown's ill-fated pass.

22. Jonathan Smith (73-76) (6-1) (2, 1) - Ultra-athletic shooting guard who came with John Thompson from St Anthony's High School in Thompson's fist recruiting class. He had both range and quickness and led the Hoyas in scoring for his first three seasons with averages of 13.0, 17.9 and 10.9. The 10.9 scoring average remains the lowest total for a Hoya team scoring leader, as the Hoyas had 6 payers with scoring averages between 9.4 and 10.9 ppg in what has to be close to the most balanced team scoring performance in NCAA history.

He did not seem to adjust well to the general influx of talent into the program, and that, coupled with some injury problems caused his average to fall to 7.3 in his senior season. He rallied in his last Hoya game, as he and Derrick Jackson both scored 28 or so points to keep the Hoyas close in a first round NCAA loss to Arizona State.

23. Fred Brown (81-84) (6-5) (1) - I can't imagine what it must be like to have the greatest mistake of your life replayed on TV year after year. Yet Freddie has had to repeatedly relive his errant pass to an out of position James Worthy as that game has taken on added importance over time since the winning basket was scored by "The greatest player the game has ever seen." Ironically, two days earlier he had been the MVP of the national semi verses Louisville, a game that remains, for me, as the most intense defensive basketball game that I had ever witnessed. More ironically, Freddie was probably the best passer to have ever played for the Hoyas.

Tall for a point guard (6-5) Freddie was perfect for a John Thompson system that never placed much of a (any?) premium on point guards who could penetrate and dish. His entry passes were things of beauty, crisp and accurate, delivered to places where the post player could actually do something with them. Had Othella Harrington played with Freddie it might have been worth an additional six points a game to him. He was an excellent ball handler and, with his height, very hard to press. Not much of a shooter (he could hit the open 15 footer - sometimes) he was an exceptional rebounder for a guard and defensively very solid.

Freddie blew out his knee before his junior season and was never the same player. He wore an enormous brace on his knee and it was painful to watch. Competitive to the end, he tried to make up for in chippieness what he had lost in speed - his subtle push-offs under the basket were a thing of beauty, if you like that sort of thing. His embrace of John Thompson after the 1984 national championship victory provided a neat symmetry with the consoling hug that Thompson had provided after the loss to North Carolina two years before.

24. Gene Smith (81-84) (6-2) (1, 2) - Gene Smith was, without question, the worst outside shooting guard (starter or reserve) of the Thompson era. His jump shot had less rotation than a knuckleball, twisting and soaring on whatever currents were available inside the arena (one shudders to think what it must have looked like on the playground). This fact, as any Ewing era fan of the Hoyas knows, is completely irrelevant since Gene Smith was about one thing - masterful, physical, relentless lock down defense.

Gene was 6-2 and stocky, with quick feet and quicker hands. As a one on one defender he got low and wide - opposing point guards must have felt like they were trying to dribble the ball on his head. Smith would literally turn these guards into the rest of the Hoya help. And, if perchance you happened to get past him you were really in trouble, because he would come at you like a rocket from behind often diving and skidding at the ball at your feet.

With its inclusion of Gene Smith, this list now has six players - Smith, Ewing, Wingate, Mourning, Mutombo and Iverson - who would probably each rank as the best defensive player to ever play for most other Division 1 schools. Basketball teams can only play 5 at a time (unless you are Seton Hall against the Hoyas). Who doesn't make the first team?

My favorite Hoya moment ever? 1984 National Semi-final, second half, and Kentucky is melting down under the Hoyas' pressure in the midst of a ten minute scoring drought that Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall would attribute to "extra-cerrestrial" forces. Smith knocks the ball away from Kentucky guard James Blackmon and out of bounds for about the fifth time in the preceding minute, looks over at Billy Packer who is doing the color commentary and…..WINKS.

One of the reasons a lot of people hated the Hoyas is that they said we were arrogant. And we were. And it was awesome.

25. Perry McDonald (85-88) (6-4) (5, 4, 3, 2) - If a book was written about the Georgetown-Syracuse rivalry during the 1980's, the only appropriate title would be "Only the Ball was Orange." Georgetown-Syracuse was as big then as Duke-NC is today with every single game on national TV and with the Hoyas generally coming out on top. Between 1978-79 and 1988-89 the Hoyas were 20-10 verses the Orange who were generally ranked and often ranked higher than the Hoyas.

Among the highlights of the rivalry:

• In 1979 Ed Spriggs and Jeff Bullis come off the bench to spell a foul plagued Hoya front line and the Hoyas upset the 6th ranked orange in an NCAA play in game.
• In 1980, the Hoyas rally from a double digit second half deficit to end the nation's longest home winning streak at 57 in the last game played at Manley Field House. John Thompson declares that "Manley Field House is officially closed" endearing himself to Orange fans everywhere.
• In 1981 the Hoyas lose to the Orange in the Big East semi-final, played at the new Carrier Dome, but still get an NCAA invite. Despite winning the tournament, the Orange stay home.
• In 1984, 1987 and 1989 Georgetown beats Syracuse in the Big East final. The 1984 final features a quasi-brawl between Michael Graham and Syracuse's Andre Hawkins. At the press conference after the game, Jim Boeheim throws a chair.
• In 1988, Charles Smith goes end to end at the buzzer to beat Syracuse at the dome and runs straight down the tunnel in celebration.

(We will avoid mention of the 1990 game in which Sam Jefferson sets the Hoya record for Foul-Stupidest when he inexplicably grabs at Billy Owens 45 feet away from the basket as time expires. Owens two free throws send the game into overtime and the Orange win.)

No year better exemplified the frustration of Syracuse fans than 1987. To be fair, Syracuse did make the national final that year, losing to Indiana when they forgot how to call time out after going down late in the game. That Syracuse team was loaded with Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, and Derek Coleman. And that Syracuse team lost to Reggie and the Miracles three times. Against Syracuse no Miracle came up bigger than Perry McDonald.

Perry McDonald was listed on the Hoya roster as a 6-4 guard and came to the hilltop as the leading scorer in New Orleans high school history. In his first two seasons he struggled to find a role as a shooting guard, a role for which he was ill-fitted since he had significant difficulty hitting outside shots. In 1986-87, his junior year, he was reincarnated as a low post presence to great success. His signature move was catching the ball about 12 feet from the basket in the lane, taking one large step and launching his body towards the basket, taking contact and laying the ball in high off the glass. He was also an exceptional offensive rebounder and scored a large number of points on follows. He averaged 13.0 as a junior and made second team Big East, and then finished his career with a 10.1 ppg senior season.

Perry's most visible victim was 6-11 Syracuse center Rony Seikaly. During the "Miracles" year, McDonald had three big games against Seikaly, who was in constant foul trouble. In his best game, an 83-81 win, he scored a career high 23 points including the winning basket at the buzzer. Matched up with McDonald, Seikaly resembled nothing so much as a cartoon elephant confronted by a mouse. By the Big East tournament Seikaly was actively avoiding contact with McDonald and the Hoyas won easily in the final.

26. Brandon Bowman (03-Current) (6-8) (3, 4) - Should move up a few more positions on this list with a good senior season. As athletic a player as the Hoyas have had at his size, and a great jump shooter with almost unlimited range when he squares up to the basket, he was a major beneficiary of the change in offensive philosophy last year, as his shooting percentage rose from 42.8% as a sophomore to 50.1% as a junior.

A big reason for the increase appears to have been in essentially eliminating the back to the basket post up moves where his off balance shots would generally be thrown back in his face.

27. Al Dutch (76-78, 80) (6-7) (3) - Sometimes life gets in the way. Al Dutch holds an important and under-recognized place in Hoya history as the first truly national recruit - even though he was from Washington D.C. the Hoyas beat out North Carolina and Notre Dame (back when D.C. was prime recruiting territory for N.D. e.g. Austin Carr and Adrian Dantley) for his Parade All-American services. With a game very much like Billy Martin's - featuring sweet jumpers with range from the baseline and smooth drives in traffic - Al had an immediate impact scoring 27 in an OT home win against 12th ranked St Johns, for John Thompson's first win over a ranked team. After the game, St Johns' coach Lou Carneseca was quoted as saying that Dutch had played 'like a derned pro." In his first two years, Al averaged 11.6 and 13.3 points respectively.

Then, trouble. As his junior year began, his game seemed to have fallen apart as if his mind was elsewhere. Turns out it was, as he had a series of personal issues (including having a child) and his scoring average plummeted to 5.0 ppg. He missed the entire next season, but returned as a solid starter (but without his former aggressiveness) on the 1980 regional final team.

28. Joey Brown (91-94) (5-10) (1) - Joey Brown epitomized everything that was both good and bad about the program in the early 90's. A four year starter as a 5-10 point guard, he was active and effective on defense, generating a breakaway lay-up or two a game. He was fine on the break and generally made the right pass in those situations - indeed, he ranks second all time in Hoya assists. Joey always hustled and made the occasional big play - his last second steal and winning basket against Connecticut in 1992 is one of my fondest Hoya memories.

Emblematic of the program, though, his game had two major issues - he couldn't make wide open jump shots and he couldn't make the entry pass in half court situations. The fact that he threw up bricks from the perimeter simply affirmed that he was a Hoya, but the entry passing was a big issue since the post player he was trying to feed was first Alonzo and then Othella. By the time most of the telegraphed and looping passes reached their target, the defense would generally have enough time to triple or quadruple team the post. Trying to go one on three or one of four, Zo would often commit an offensive foul and end up on the bench, Othella would just get stuffed.

Had Joey been a 10-15 minute a game backup at point guard for his career, I might remember him as a personal favorite. He did a lot of good things and his effort was ever inspiring, but there were 75-100 Division I point guards who could have run the offense better. John Thompson was not, however, interested in recruiting any of them.

29. Dwayne Bryant (87-90) (6-2) (1, 2) - Fifth all time in assists and ninth in steals, this McDonald's All-American was somewhat of a disappointment until his senior year when John Thompson finally figured out how to use him.

It seems that Dwayne had a schizophrenic skill set. He was a good ballhandler and passer and a good long range shooter, but he was only a good shooter while catching and shooting not off of the dribble - which can be a problem if you are the point guard with the ball in your hands. The arrival of David Edwards at point guard in 1989-90 allowed him to play off of the ball more often and his scoring average surged to 12.3 as a senior.

30. Michael Graham (84) (6-9) (4) - He only played one season and averaged a whopping 4.7 ppg but it was the loudest sub 5 ppg in Hoya history. He made the NCAA all-tournament team in the Hoyas' championship year and was scary good (and just scary) in the Big East tournament as well. Twenty years after his one college season he made an ESPN.com list of the most intimidating figures in all of sports.

Graham was big, mobile and a violent finisher in traffic. He took to his studies with substantially less enthusiasm and left before his sophomore season. His absence arguably cost the Hoyas national championships in 1985 and 1987. His was the greatest Hoya career that could have been.

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