Jan. 25, 2006
Leading up to the Men's Basketball Alumni Events slated for this weekend, guhoyas.com will be providing readers with a look back into Hoya History.
1960's
1960 was the beginning of the O'Keefe Era. Tom O'Keefe ('50), the first Hoya to score 1,000 points in a career, took over the Hoyas after the 59-60 season and led the Hoyas to an 82-60 record in six seasons at the helm. The O'Keefe Era produced four future Hall of Famers, three of which would join the 1,000 point club and one who would hold the career assists record for over 15 years.
Brian "Puddy" Sheehan ('61) was the Hoyas' scoring leader from 1958 to 1961. Puddy still ranks 8th all-time in career scoring average, having averaged 16.2 points per game and scored 1,070 for his career. Jim Christy ('64) was a guard who averaged 15.5 points per game, score 1,101 points for his career and still holds the career free throw shooting record of 81.6%. Jim Brown ('66) was a prolific assist guard during mid-1960's who would dish out 408 assists for his career, which still ranks 6th on the all-time list. Jim Barry ('66), who still holds the all-time single game scoring record with 46 points rounds out this group. Jim was an Honorable Mention All-America selection as a sophomore and would score 1,226 points in just 71 career games.
All four of these men will be in attendance at the Men's Basketball Alumni activities this weekend.
The 1960's would end and the 70's begin with Georgetown making its first postseason appearance since 1953 when they were selected for the prestigious National Invitational Tournament. The 1969-70 squad won 18 of their 24 regular season games, marking the most wins in a single season in 23 years. This was the most successful season under the coaching tenure of Jack Magee. The team upset 13th ranked Columbia at home, marking Georgetown's first victory over a Top 20 opponent in six years. The team averaged 80.4 points per game, which is still among the highest season scoring averages in Georgetown history.
The highlight of the 69-70 season certainly came during the 1970 NIT when fans learned to "never underestimate the power of a Hoya." Senior guard Mike Laska drew the unenviable and seemingly impossible task of containing LSU's basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Maravich when the Hoyas faced the Tigers in the 1970 NIT. To everyone's disbelief, Laska played the defensive game of a lifetime. In the first ten minutes of the game, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer had but one field goal. For the game, Maravich shot 6 for 16 from the field and had 20 points overall, a performance he called "pitiful". To Hoya fans, it was something else entirely.
With Maravich under wraps, LSU's front line of 6-8 Danny Hester, 6-8 Al Sanders, and 6-9 Bill Newton took advantage of its height. With the ball going inside, the Tiger trio combined for 56 points and 43 rebounds, and three Hoyas (Adrion, Laughna, and senior Paul Favorite) fouled out in the process. Still, the Blue and Gray would not quit.
Trailing 81-74 with 3:08 to play, the Hoya defense went to work, and LSU would not score another field goal the rest of the game. A pair of Georgetown goals narrowed the count to 81-78 with under a minute to play, and as Maravich looked to dribble out the clock, he was fouled. With the game on the line, Maravich missed the front end of the one and- one, and the Hoyas were still alive.
Coming down the court, Art White sank two of his team-high 28 points to narrow the score to 81-80 with 0:17 left. Maravich was quickly fouled again to stop the clock. He later told the New York Daily News that "I remembered the way my dad (LSU coach Press Maravich) got on me for missing the other one, so I figured I'd better make it." Despite the cries of every Hoya fan in the building, Maravich sank both free throws, and a final Hoya score closed out the 83-82 LSU win.
1970's
A new era of Hoya Basketball would begin in 1972 when John Thompson Jr. was named head coach. He would go on to coach at Georgetown for 27 years and compile a 596-239 record.
One of the first of many great wins under Coach Thompson's watch would come in 1975 when freshman Derrick Jackson connected on a 18-foot shot with just two seconds on the clock to give the Hoyas the improbable 62-61 win at West Virginia to win the ECAC-South Final. Georgetown would make its first NCAA tournament under Coach Thompson that same year.
One of the top games in Hoya history came on February 23, 1978 when Georgetown defeated George Washington at McDonough Gymnasium. With time running out (0:02) and the Hoyas down by two, Craig Esherick hoisted a 35 footer which tied the game as regulation expired. The Hoyas would go on to defeat the Colonials 78-77 in overtime. The Hoyas' third one-point victory in six days, prompts GW Coach Bob Talent analysis; "God is smiling on them this year."
After GW's Les Anderson hits a 12 foot fadeaway jump shot in the closing seconds, the Hoyas call a timeout. Steve Martin then inbounds the ball to Esherick, standing on just the other side of the half court stripe. Closely guarded by Anderson, Esherick pivots to his right and launches a shot which draws nothing but net.
"The shot was designed for Derrick Jackson. He's our number one clutch shooter," said Esherick. "But during the time out Mr. Thompson told me to look for the ball too. I had a perfect look at the basket." Asked about his feelings, Esherick calmly replies, "Every time I shoot it I expect it to go in."
Years later Esherick, then Georgetown University's 16th head men's basketball coach, wondered about the game: "I know how big McDonough is and I remember how many people I thought were in the building, but I just can't explain it ... I've had so many people tell me they saw that shot, I found myself wondering if the game was somehow in a gym that seated 25,000 people."
Read about the 1940's and 1950's here.
Don't forget to come out the Hoyas' game on Saturday at MCI Center to thank all the Hoya alumni for making the program what it is today.
For more on the Hoyas vs. Cincinnati, click here.
