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Georgetown Basketball: Top 10 players that played for John Thompson II

By Tristan Freeman

21 Mar 1996: Georgetown players (left to right) Allen Iverson, Aw Boubacar, Jerome Williams, and Jahidi White gather and talk during the Hoyas loss to the University of Massachusetts in Providence, Rhode Island. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello/ALLSPORT
21 Mar 1996: Georgetown players (left to right) Allen Iverson, Aw Boubacar, Jerome Williams, and Jahidi White gather and talk during the Hoyas loss to the University of Massachusetts in Providence, Rhode Island. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello/ALLSPORT /
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NEW YORK – MARCH 15: Patrick Ewing Jr. #33 of the Georgetown Hoyas (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – MARCH 15: Patrick Ewing Jr. #33 of the Georgetown Hoyas (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

1. Patrick Ewing (1982-95)

Career stats: 15.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 3.4 bpg

Few players can compare their individual accomplishments as Ewings, who arguably was the first national star of the Big East Conference in its early years. He certainly was the best defender, winning the Big East Defensive Player of the Year Award all four seasons.

Ewing was a dynamic offensive player as well, scoring 17.7 ppg as a sophomore, while also grabbing 10 rpg as well. He and the Hoyas became a national phenomenon, particularly in high-profile conference matchups.

The NCAA Tournament was where Ewing shined, including going for 23 points and 11 rebounds in the national title loss to North Carolina as a freshman. As a junior, the 7’0 center had 16 points and 15 rebounds in a high-profile win over UNLV, before going for 10 points, nine board, and four blocks in the national title victory over Houston, winning Most Outstanding Player honors.

Along with a national title and two other Final Four appearances, Ewing was Big East Player of the Year and All-American multiple times and was Naismith National Player of the Year as a senior in 1985. He won countless other awards and ended up as the program’s all-time leader in blocks, while also finishing second in scoring (2,184) and first in rebounding (1316).

Ewing went on to become the No. 1 pick to the New York Knicks in the 1985 NBA Draft and went on to become a Hall of Famer. He ended up as an NBA assistant before being tabbed, with Coach Thompson’s blessing, to be the head coach of Georgetown Basketball in 2017. His own reputation for developing big men has brought in the likes of Omer Yurtseven and Qadus Wahab already, which is incredibly ironic considering that Ewing’s success as a player allowed Coach Thompson to bring in the big men on this list that followed Ewing himself.

Next. Top 10 Big East head coaches since 2000. dark

One thing that many of the players on this list have in common is not just their great success as pro players, but as outstanding human beings with great respect. That in itself should be the defining legacy of Head Coach John Thompson II, who developed and created prosperity with every player, fan, and the Hoya program overall. To do that, combined with the amount of winning on the court is a feat that won’t be duplicated, no matter what the final score shows.

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