Busting Brackets
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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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24 Jan 1995: ALLEN IVERSON OF GEORGETOWN ON COURT DURING THE 88-71 WIN OVER ST. JOHN”S IN WASHINGTON DC.
24 Jan 1995: ALLEN IVERSON OF GEORGETOWN ON COURT DURING THE 88-71 WIN OVER ST. JOHN”S IN WASHINGTON DC. /

5. Allen Iverson (1995-96)

Career stats: 23.0 ppg and 4.6 apg

This was by far the hardest player to judge when making a ranking. From a pure talent perspective, Iverson may be the greatest player ever to put on a Hoya uniform. “The Answer” was a tremendous scorer in his two seasons at Georgetown, scoring 20.4 and 25.0 ppg respectively. The second number is good for No. 1 in program history for a single season.

Iverson was an incredible scorer and performer, leading the team to a Sweet 16 and Elite 8 appearance in those two years. There were a ton of games that captured his Hall of Fame potential including a pair of 40-point efforts against Arizona and Seton Hall. He had no choice but to enter the 1996 NBA Draft, going No. 1 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Had he stayed with the program all four years, there’s a chance that not only the Hoyas but all of the Big East scoring records would be broken and still untouched to this day.

Because of the collective accomplishments of the four players coming up, I feel that Iverson slotted at fifth is fair, although there won’t be any argument from me for those who think he should be much higher.

But I want to also discuss the personal relationship between Iverson and Thompson that’s even more important than stats. The player’s troubles in high school landed him at a dark place and college was heavily in doubt. Yet thanks to his family reaching out, Coach Thompson gave Iverson his one and only chance at a basketball career. By the numbers and results, the guard more than paid him back ten-fold.

In return, the coach was fiercely loyal, including threatening to walk off the court in a game against Villanova where fans were wearing black and white prison gear to mock Iverson. Similar to his encounter with a local gang leader, Thompson’s threat was received, with fans backing off on his players ever since. If it wasn’t for family and a guaranteed top draft pick, Iverson likely would’ve stayed all four seasons, something that the other stars did before him.

But regardless of where Iverson lands on a particular list, his name is synonymous with modern-day Georgetown Basketball that has benefitted the program to this day. The popularity of the guard would’ve never happened without the mentorship of Coach Thompson, proving how much more valuable a man he was than even as an elite head coach.

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