On Nov. 27, 1972, John Thompson Jr. made his teaching debut at Georgetown, the place he led this system to the 1984 nationwide title and turned the Hoyas into a school basketball powerhouse.
On Tuesday, practically 50 years after Thompson’s reign started, Georgetown snapped a 21-game dropping streak.
Previous to Georgetown’s 99-89 additional time win towards Coppin State, Patrick Ewing’s squad had not received a sport in 328 days. However the win didn’t come and not using a battle.
Head coach Juan Dixon, the previous Maryland star, and Coppin State — picked to complete fifth within the MEAC’s preseason ballot — led Georgetown late within the sport. The Eagles then weathered a burst by the Hoyas down the stretch earlier than Mike Hood hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to pressure additional time.
Georgetown managed to tug away from Coppin State, which had additionally performed Monday night time, in additional time.
Justin Steers got here off the bench to guide Coppin State with 21 factors, whereas Primo Spears completed with a game-high 28 factors for Georgetown.
Georgetown not resembles this system Thompson, who died in 2020, as soon as guided throughout its richest years as he molded star gamers, comparable to Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning and Allen Iverson.
Following Georgetown’s 85-73 win over Howard on Dec. 15, 2021, the Hoyas misplaced their subsequent 21 video games. The Hoyas haven’t received a Huge East sport since March 2, 2021.
Six gamers entered the switch portal after final yr’s struggles and Aminu Mohammed, the staff’s finest participant, turned professional. Ewing started this season with 9 new gamers.
He has been the topic of rumors about his job standing in recent times. Whereas it is troublesome to ascertain the varsity firing a legend who led the staff to a nationwide title beneath Thompson, it is also arduous to think about Georgetown accepting one other season just like what it endured final season.
“The beauty of this yr, about now, is it is a new yr,” Ewing instructed reporters previous to the sport Tuesday. “We’re beginning off contemporary. We’ve got to be sure that we get and keep on monitor from begin to end and be sure that we’re constructive and upbeat and all of the issues that we talked about from this summer season.”
