Greatest Moments in JT III's Tenure, so far...

[1984alloveragain]

So GREAT to be a DIE HARD HOYA FAN --- MOST especially since JT III took the helm 3 and a half years ago. There have been so many great moments, events, games and victories since he's taken over; without even trying I came up with a list of almost 20. I thought it would be fun to rank them, just five for now, and I'd be interested in what other people might say were more glorious or meaningful moments for the program in their view. Here goes:

5. TIE: BET Semi-Final win vs. ND w/ the Vandy Sweet 16 win (thanks JEFF!!)... Yeah, a tie's probably a cop-out...

4. BEATING DUKE, and everyone else, on Oct. 13, and making it clear to GREG MONROE he was born to be a HOYA FOR LIFE...

3. BEATING Just Duke on Jan. 21, 2006...

2. BET Championship, 2007...

and,

1. MARCH 25, 2007 - ENDING UNC's season (AGAIN) and ADVANCING to the FINAL FOUR!! THE BEST SPORTING EVENT EVER attended by yours truly!!

Here's to modifying this list NUMEROUS times in the years to come!! HOYA SAXA!!

[doublehoya]

I'd put beating Syracuse at home after the Duke victory in my JTIII top 5.

[Hoya06]

Don't know where this fits but:

JTIII and players spending time/buying food for students that were waiting in line for tickets last spring. Such an awesome moment that speaks so much about the quality of our coach and players, IMO.

To clarify: I was not even there for this, although I wish i was.

[strummer8526]

hoya06 said:

Don't know where this fits but:

JTIII and players spending time/buying food for students that were waiting in line for tickets last spring. Such an awesome moment that speaks so much about the quality of our coach and players, IMO.

Completely agree. I'd put that night in McDonough Parking Lot as one of my top few Georgetown moments, forget limiting it to basketball or JTIII.

I guess this also falls under the UNC win, but the charge down M St has to be up there.

[Boz]

Well, in retrospect, given what has transpired since then, you might want to add in JTIII's first speech/press conference as Georgetown head coach, in which he introduced two phrases/ideas that have now become fundamental tenets of being a Georgetown fan.

"Some have forgotten, we will remind them."

and, of course

"We are Georgetown."

(not that "we are georgetown" is new, but it was resurrected at that moment)


I'm not sure if anything can beat last year's BET championship, but I imagine I would put the UNC game up there if I was in attendance.

This is too tough though. Either this list needs to be expanded to a top 10 list, at least, or you have to have an "on court best moments" list and an "off court best moments" list.

EDIT: Oh, and it might not be as monumental as winning the BET or going to the Final Four, but the fist in the air after the ND win at the buzzer -- and following what seemed at the time like a 45-minute review by the refs -- still holds a special place for me.

[nathanhm]

January 5th 2005....... The 8-3 Hoyas are in the 1st season under JT3. With victories over Clemson & Penn State, 3 ugly losses to Illinois, Temple, and Oral Roberts, and OT escape at home over Norfolk State most people have no idea what to make of this new coach.

To make matters worse the Hoyas have to open Big East play at #16 Pitt in the Peterson Events Center. At the time Cuse was the only Big East team that had won in the building. The Hoyas had dropped 8 straight conference games and hadn't beat a ranked team in almost 3 years. Even worse Pitt had just been shocked by Bucknell and hadn't lost back to back games in 3 years.

To make matters even worse I couldn't root for my Hoyas that night because foolishly I had decided to propose to my girlfriend of 6 years on the same night. What I learned however is she is an incredibly good omen for the Hoyas. (I had my rehearsal dinner the night of the Vandy game) and spent my 1st day married watching us beat UNC).

Anyway the Hoyas gutted out a huge victory (67-64) and started a very nice run in the Big East that ultimately ended with a deep run in the NIT. It wasn't the most pretty season but to me that was the day JT3 proved to us, he was special.

[lpucci]

The Monroe commitment is definitely more high profile, but the Macklin commitment was probably more critical. That one commitment put us back on the recruiting map. Macklin was an ACC lock until Georgetown came in and nabbed him. This led to similar situations with Freeman and Wright. The Monroe commitment, while unbelievably amazing, is definitely a product of that Macklin commitment.

[hoyaLS05]

I'd bet you JT III might put us beating Davidson in his first season on the list. He treats that Davidson victory almost as if it is on par with us beating Duke.

[aggypryd]

5. John Thompson Jr. playfully pushing Jeff Green on the back of the head after the victory over Notre Dame.
4. Victory over Carolina in the East Regional.
3. My newborn daughter and me sitting in the den watching the Hoyas.
2. Calling my family and friends to give them the blow by blow of the upset victory over Duke.
1. Aggypryd's prediction of the upset victory over Duke!!!

[strummer8526]

I'll never forget that the day of the Duke game, for logistical reasons, my Corp service had to interview potential new hires. So I remember jumping on ESPN.com between interviews and seeing that we were winning going into the half. From that point on, anyone who had left the game to come to their interview got automatically hired. That night, the house next door to me committed one of the most reckless celebratory arsons I've ever seen, firing up a University-issue townhouse chair right underneath a large and dry tree.

[1984alloveragain]

I agree with Boz, that there probably should be two lists--one for on-court moments and one for off; and the list should be longer. Among my others were:

(Like Nathan) - the Pitt win on that day. It was JT's first BEAST Game; on the road against a tough (NCAA) team--AFTER that ugly article saying we should be in a lesser conference. HUGE because it showed that if the team continued to buy into what he and the Staff were implementing, greater things would follow...

The Syracuse loss later that month: the "BB's Feet are an inch too big" game. Showed we could continue and be consistent against another tough road opponent. Especially liked when their announcer said loudly after the final buzzer: "...and the RIVALRY is BACK"...

The Pitt win at home last year to take the lead late in the conference season...

The Pitt win on Super Bowl Sunday in '06... Two wins vs. ranked opponents in 15 days...

The AT Vandy ('06); AT Michigan ('06); AT Oregon ('05) and AT UTEP wins... Road wins against other major conferences showing we were becoming tougher minded and playing with greater skill and unity, especially in hostile environments...

The AT L'ville game last year... Every time I watch that game, I am in awe in how there was nothing the 'ville could do to stop us... They were dumbfounded and not even ashamed, knowing that lost was not an embarrassment since they lost to one of the BEST teams in the USA...

The 100th Anniversary/ Marquette Game: We led by only one with just under 6 minutes left, and before they could look up again, it was a double digit lead----ALL FROM THE TOUGH D, and the HALF COURT OFFENSE that WORE THEM DOWN... One of my favorite games to (re) watch (especially LOVE where JEFF and ROY high five each other and hug as the buzzer sounded)...

All the Midnight Madnesses - each one better than the one before. I went to the one in '05 and last year and they were both AWESOME.. But THIS year's was PHENOMENAL!!!

Coach's Extension... 'NUFF SAID!!! Without that, I think we're possibly still sweating it out for GM...

NBA DRAFT- featuring JEFF (for us) as the 5th Pick... JEFF alone sells the Program-- But his classiness shows GU accepts and develops only GOOD and GREAT Men, and Ballplayers...

ROY in the Pan AM Games....

BRINGING JON WALLACE WITH him from Princeton to here... MAJOR COUP!!!

The development and growth of both Wallace and Sapp... I can't stop laughing when I think of that columnist from Prov. saying "(G'town's ) guards don't make me lose sleep"... hahhaha...

YES.... The incredible RECRUITING of The Ticket; SUMMERS; Freeman and Wright.... ETC... Just AWESOME to be the place to be AGAIN and for the future...

I'm sure there are so many more, but for all of these and much more, and for all the great moments still left to be lived and experienced... THANK YOU JT III!!!

[1984alloveragain]

Sorry... Forgot the NIT home game at McDonough and on espn....

[idhoya]

Can you count Wright though? He kinda fell into GU's lap. Remember he was done to NC State, but they fired Sendek. So GU has NCSU to thank for Chris. Although his folks wanted him to go to GU all along, it was his decision. Freeman was important cause he was the 1st DeMatha recruit since Jarrod Mustaf (just kidding). Opened up that pipeline again.

[SFHoya99]

I love following recruiting, but there's no way any of these commitments match actually winning games for me. But of the commitments, I was most excited about Austin's.

Best game I didn't see mentioned (though I read quickly)? The Notre Dame game where Ashanti drive the length and Roy dunked it in. They replayed it and the image of Thompson walking off the court with his fist held high was awesome.

EDIT: I see Boz did list this one, so put me in agreement.

My favorite attended game was Louisville. About twenty Hoya fans against 20,000, and we were louder at times.

[vcjack]

As great as the UNC win was (and I was there) watching coach cut down the nets at MSG and start a "We Are Georgetown" chant was one of the greatest moments of my life, so I'll put that at a tentative #1

[idhoya]

How about sitting in my office watching ESPN and the words"Georgetown fires Craig Esherick" scrolled across the bottom of the screen. That one's right up there, even though it was prior to the III era, but it ushered it in.

[1227]

Ditto to the WAG chant after we beat Pitt in the Big East final. I was sitting right under the basket...what a great moment. I think that marked our offiicial return.

[bandleader2004]

doublehoya said:

I'd put beating Syracuse at home after the Duke victory in my JTIII top 5.

Definitely an interesting perspective. However, I have to agree. Nice how JTIII got the team to focus and beat Syracuse following such a monumental win for the Hoyas.

[youngjeezy]

5) Any and all wins against Villanova. Cheating cocaine-blowers. ESPECIALLY the win on the 20th anniversary of 1985 when WE BEAT THEM by the same exact score. They weren't ayo for yayo anymore, I guess.
4) BET Champions 2007. Ridiculous. Between a 26-2 lead on Villanova, one of the highest scoring games we had all season with Notre Dame and their arsenal of threes, and an absolute defensive domination of Pitt, we earned our 2 seed this year in the tourney.
3) Even though we lost, I think the Final Four. Just for the team to go out and deal with the pressure, get the publicity, etc etc etc, was huge for the program. And now the guys have seen it, so they're completely ready to run the table for the next few years....
2) January 21, 2006. I'll never forget that date. Or Shelden Williams being held to 4 points.
1) absolutely has to be the UNC game. My roommate puts it best: "You know... we're down by double digits with not that much time left... and even then, i just wasn't worried. I don't know why, I just wasn't." I had the same feeling - I just knew our season couldn't end that day. One magical Jon Wallace 3-pointer and an overtime slaughterhouse later...

[Coast2CoastHoya]

Rather than rank my Top Five events in order, I'm focusing on 5 things that, to me, "make" JT III's tenure what it is: hope & grace, tradition, excellence, electricity, and tenacity, and the moments in time most representative of those things, since this thread calls for greatest "moments." So here they are:

Hope & Grace
1/8/05, a loss to #10 UConn by 7 in III's first season.
[edited to correct the year]

Normally I would never put a loss in a Top Five, but this was significant because it was the first indicator of how different the JT III erea was going to be. The previous year, when we lost by 10 to #3 Pitt at home, people were booing, doing the "Fire Esherick" chant, and the mood was really gloomy. We didn't look good in defeat. When we lost to the Hated Huskies the next season with III at the helm, the mood in the Booth was noticably more upbeat and the team looked somehow better in losing.

The Moment: I was sitting in the same seat at both games, and distinctively remember talking with Pushyguyfanclub about how much better that loss "felt" than the UConn loss. The team looked like it knew what it was doing in defeat, even moreso than the previous year's team did in vicotory - there was hope! We went on to win the next two, including a girtty nail-biter over Villanova - the first win at 'Nova since 1998.

Tradition
TIE: 2/12/07, a win over Marquette in the 100 Years of Georgetown Hoops game, and 2/25/06, a win over Syracuse on Senior Day.

Marquette game: Besides the fact that this game was one of the most fun I've ever been to (and that includes pre and post-game festivities), it was the cornerstone of our 100 years celebration: linking past greatness with present and (seeming) future greatness, solidified with a home win against a dangerous ranked opponent. Syracuse game: last game of III's second season, it was also the first time we'd beaten the hated Orange at home since 2002, thereby helping rekindle a rivalry many had left for dead.

The Moments. Two games, same moments: celebrating with my friends and fellow Hoyas before, during, and after the buzzer. I remember these wins because the moments that mattered were how much FUN we were all having, how anyone with a Hoya shirt or hat became an instant friend, how the wins just felt "right" because they were in support of and supported by Georgetown's tradition of basketball greatness. The post-game of those wins ended up being two of the most fun adventures in post-victory revelry that I've ever had in any sport.

Excellence.
3/10/07, the 23-point victory over Pitt to win G'town's first Big East Championship since 1989.

Anyone who watched this game: do you remember thinking how perfect the team looked? I can't remember any game in my basketball lifetime where a Gtown team looked so ... excellent! We could have beaten anyone that night, and it just happened to be against Big East powerhouse Pitt in the Big East Championship. This game was what the III era is all about: excellent basketball on big-time stages against big-time opponents.
The Moment: Singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at the Tombs. The Hoyas played such an amazing game that night, Pitt was so disheartened by the second half, Roy was so dominant over Aaron Gray ... i could go on and on ... that turning the Tombs into 80's Night with our utter unadulterated unabashed joy is what sticks in my mind as the defining moment of the night. It happened sometime between the buzzer and the nets getting cut down....I think ;D
See also Beating tOhio State University in Dayton in 2006, and the Hoyas' Super Bowl Sunday victory over top ten Pitt in 2006.

Electricity.
1/21/06, the win at home over undefeated #1 Dook.

In so many ways, this put the program back on the map and verified what we all felt, what we all wanted, what we all KNEW the III era would be like. Remember what the Phone Booth felt like that day? Had you ever felt that at the Booth before? Remember rushing the court, and rushing out onto the streets after? Remember how the lower bowl - FINALLY - was packed with Gtown homers, and drowned out the Dook fans! From the buzz that this game generated at tipoff, to the shock waves it produced at the buzzer, to the lightning storms it set off on HoyaTalk and in the media afterward, this game represents one major change III has brought: energy and electricity on the court! And we got to do it against Dook!

The Moment: This moment will be with me forever: when Brandon stole the ball from J.J., the clock expired, I looked at the scoreboard and it said we had more points than Dook, and I thought: "This is real. This is happening. Holy Edited, this is really happening!" And then, as Rich said, the "place [was] bedlam."

Tenacity
3/9/07, the Big East Semifinal win over Notre Dame, coming from way behind in the second half.

I think of tenacity as a cocktail of patience, toughness, and perseverance. If any game (other than UNC, below) represented the tenacity that is Gtown basketball in general and under III's leadership in particular it's this one. Most teams, having just won the regular season outright, getting ready for a high seed in the Dance, being down double digits on a team that was shooting lights out from three, wouldn't gut it out like Hoyas did that day. From Wallace's rain-making, to Jesse and Pat's toughness, to Jeff's leadership and explosiveness in scoring and defending, to every other aspect of this game in the last 6 minutes, this is one thing that separates III's teams from any Gtown teams since the 1980's: they refuse to quit, and they know how to finish games.

The Moment: Like tenacity itself, this win made the rest of the postseason possible. The moment was at Grand Slam at the Grand Hyatt downtown DC after we won, thinking that we were going to have a great month of March.
See also: Jeff's game-winning acrobatics after being down to Vandy in the Sweet 16.

Putting it All Together, and the GREATEST moment, victory, and celebration of the JT III Era:
3/25/07, the overtime win against North Carolina in the Elite 8.

What else needs to be said about this game that hasn't been said already? Probably the greatest win in III's tenure thus far, one of the all-time greats in Gtown history. So, instead of repeating what everyone else has said, here's my analogy: Beerfest! The final sequence, when the American team is losing to the juggernaut Germans (i.e. UNC), mounts an incredible and unlikely comeback (i.e. last ten minutes of the game), then, having been "beaten" by the Germans in large part because of Cherry's antics in the Boot Line Chug (i.e. the refs), comes back on stage, takes a HUGE risk and challenges the Germans to "double or nothing," (the pass to Wallace) gets away with it (Wallace's amazing three pointer to send the Hoyas to overtime), and goes on to win with Germany's best beer recipe on the line (the Final Four!).

The Moment: Baron von Wolfhausen -- in a moment of utter classiness -- raises his stein and closes the lid, saluting the American victory. In real life, the next day at work when my die-hard UNC fan co-worker leaves a copy of the front page of the paper on my desk with the words "Nice win for the Hoyas" written on it.


And with that, 1,000 posts.