College basketball’s All-time Starting Five: Georgetown Hoyas
With March Madness right around the corner, The Dagger is picking an all-time starting five from some of college basketball’s most tradition-rich programs.
Our picks were based on a variety of factors, including stats, tourney success, All-America selections, and of course, our opinions.
First up: Georgetown Hoyas.
Who was considered from Georgetown:
1. Patrick Ewing, C, 1981-85 (15.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.4 bpg)
2. Alonzo Mourning, C, 1988-92 (16.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.8 bpg)
3. Allen Iverson, G, 1994-96 (23.0 ppg, 4.6 apg)
4. Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, G, 1978-82 (17.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
5. Reggie Williams, F, 1983-87 (15.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
6. Jeff Green, F, 2004-07 (13.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
7. John Duren, G 1976-80 (13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
8. Mike Sweetney, F, 2000-03 (18.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
9. David Wingate, G, 1982-86 (12.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
10. Dikembe Mutombo, C, 1988-91 (9.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.7 bpg)
Georgetown’s All-time Starting Five
G — Allen Iverson
• Feb. 10: Arizona
• Feb. 12: Georgetown
• Feb. 17: Louisville
• Feb. 19: UConn (women)
• Feb. 22: Indiana
• Feb. 24: Syracuse
• Feb. 26: Michigan St.
• Feb. 29: Kentucky
• March 2: UCLA
• March 4: UConn (men)
• March 7: Duke
• March 9: UNC
• March 11: Kansas
The most prolific scorer in Georgetown history was a point guard with a slight frame, a huge heart and a lightning-quick crossover dribble. Iverson awed Hoyas fans during his two seasons in college, averaging 20.4 points as a freshman and 25 as a sophomore. He also earned Big East defensive player of the year honors in 1996. The lone knock on Iverson is his teams never reached a Final Four despite ample supporting talent. He shot 6-for-21 in an Elite Eight loss to UMass in his final collegiate game.
G — Eric “Sleepy” Floyd
Already the leading scorer in Georgetown history, Floyd surely would have tallied even more points had the 3-point arc arrived sooner than 1986. Many of Floyd’s 2,304 career points came on long-range jump shots. Floyd averaged 16.6 or more points all four seasons he spent at Georgetown and led the Hoyas to four straight NCAA tournament bids. In 1982, he teamed with Patrick Ewing to spearhead Georgetown’s run to the national title game, where the Hoyas lost by one to North Carolina.
F — Reggie Williams
A solid reserve throughout much of his freshman season, Williams offered a hint of greatness to come when he scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Georgetown’s 1984 national title game victory over Houston. Over the next three seasons, he evolved from understudy to Patrick Ewing, to breakout star, to the heart of a team of overachievers that won the Big East title and made the Elite Eight in 1987. The All-American averaged 23.6 points and 8.6 rebounds that season.
C — Alonzo Mourning
The consensus top recruit in the 1988 class, Mourning could have gone anywhere for college but he chose to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Ewing. Mourning never led Georgetown to a national championship like Ewing did because he didn’t have the same talent around him, but the 6-foot-10 center was still one of the dominant big men of his era in college basketball. He earned first-team All-American honors twice and averaged 21.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.0 blocks as a senior.
C — Patrick Ewing
The most accomplished player in Georgetown history earned first-team All-American honors three times and led the Hoyas to the national title game three times in four seasons. Ewing’s lone victory in those three games came as a junior when he helped lead Georgetown to a 84-75 victory over Houston. In four seasons at Georgetown, Ewing averaged 15.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. He was the No. 1 overall pick of the New York Knicks in 1985.
Toughest omissions: The five above guys are generally considered the consensus top five players in Georgetown history. The only real question is if this is actually the best lineup the Hoyas could field. Maybe you throw Jeff Green or Mike Sweetney in at power forward rather than going with a twin tower look. Perhaps you find a point guard more amenable to sharing the basketball than Allen Iverson. But if you’re trying to get Georgetown’s five greatest players on the floor at once, this is probably the right lineup.
