Sports
Senior guard Jessie Sapp arrived at Georgetown near the end of what might charitably be called a rebuilding period. His January 2005 commitment came partway through John Thompson III’s first year as head coach, a season that began without rank or expectation and ended in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Craig Esherick’s thirteen wins the year before were the fewest since 1974, and the squad that Sapp and fellow recruits Tay Spann, Marc Egerson, and Josh Thornton were set to join lacked the sense of pride and tradition that had characterized Georgetown during its dominant years in the 1980s. Only the strong freshman class of future Hoya stars Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green ,and Jon Wallace hinted at what was to come. When Sapp and the 2005-2006 Georgetown squad stepped onto the court for the first time, it was a sign that Hoya basketball was back; after a decade of appearing in the National Invitational Tournament, the team would go to three NCAA tournaments over the next three years.
By
Jeff Bakkensen
November 13, 2008
