Tucked away in a corner of Harlem on the edge of the East River, in the middle of the Woodrow Wilson projects, Jessie Sapp learned to play basketball. Hard-nosed. No referees. No specialization. There are no defensive replacements or three-point line lingerers. It’s a game as raw and unforgiving as the concrete it’s played on. The kids just play.
Sapp’s no different. His all-around, anything-it-takes, street-ball style of game came to the forefront last week in Georgetown’s season opener against William & Mary. He filled up the box score, pouring 18 points, grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. He also furthered his reputation as one of the team’s best defenders by helping to hold Tribe senior captain Nathan Mann to just eight points.
“Since I first started playing basketball, people always stressed to me that defense wins games,” said Sapp. “In order for us to win, that’s what you’re going to have to do. That’s what I enjoy doing.”
Players who love burning quads and fighting through mammoth picks are certainly not a premium in college basketball. It’s understandable; defense is hard. But Sapp thrives on the difficult. It’s what he’s used to. You don’t grow up playing on Harlem’s courts without learning a thing or two about squaring up on your man and paining yourself because you were called out.
“Growing up, they pick on the new kids sometimes,” Sapp said. “Playing on city streets, it plays a major role in my game, I think. It gave me a lot of heart, and it brings the toughness out of me.”
Even though the junior guard is spending most of his time on the Hilltop, Harlem is still very much a part of his life. His family is still there, as are his street-ball brethren. He’s played with Rafer Alston (a.k.a Skip to My Lou) of the Houston Rockets, former St. John’s star Omar Cook and Andre Barrett of Seton Hall, who recently had a stint with the Chicago Bulls. All the players still talk basketball, trying to help each other grow as players to the point where they can someday make a nice living off their street-smarts.
Sapp’s road will definitively be different from Alston’s, who is known for his flashy play and trying to bring street-ball moves to the NBA hardwood. A boxer as a kid, Sapp’s game pulls no punches. He comes right at you and could care less if you notice.
“We like flying under the radar,” Sapp said of himself and backcourt mate Jonathan Wallace. “Teams go, ‘Oh, the Georgetown backcourt is not that good.’ We don’t really care about that stuff. We’ve been to the Final Four. A lot of great backcourts haven’t even been able to do that. So we take the good with the bad and run with it.”
Tonight against Michigan, the cameras will be on and the lights shining bright—brighter than any streetlight in Harlem. To Sapp, though, it’s not much different from back home. He’ll still be doing a little bit of everything, just playing.
