In the fall of 2004, four freshmen basketball players began their careers at Georgetown University. That was an important time in Georgetown Basketball history. The previous March had marked the worst season in over thirty years, the coach had been unceremoniously fired, and the program ran a serious risk of losing all connection to the glory of the past. There was a cloud of doubt at the start of the 2004-05 season, and in many ways the future of Georgetown Basketball depended on those four freshmen.

In 1986 the freshmen were Mark Tillmon, Dwayne Bryant, Sam Jefferson, and Anthony Allen. In 2004 the freshmen were Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, and Tyler Crawford. There are a number of striking similarities between the two classes, from their abilities, to their personalities, to their legacy.

Both groups had some of the best Hoyas ever. Mark Tillmon is arguably the best pure shooter the program has ever known, and Dwayne Bryant is easily one of the best Hoya point guards; Jeff Green, Jon Wallace, and Roy Hibbert will all be mentioned as one of the top players ever at their respective positions.

Both groups bridged vital gaps in the history of Georgetown. In 1986, Georgetown needed to show that there was life after Patrick Ewing. Only one player remained from the 1984 Championship team, and that precious trophy was beginning to get a little dusty. Without Tillmon and Bryant, it’s hard to know if Georgetown would have been able to keep it’s head above water. In 2004, the Hoyas really ran the risk of falling off the map of college basketball. Coach Thompson deserves credit for helping to turn things in the right direction, but without the perseverance and strength of his first freshman class, the change could not have taken place so quickly.

Both groups established their own success. Tillmon, Bryant, Jefferson, and Allen won two Big East Tournament Championships during their careers, and went to the Elite Eight twice as well. As juniors, that class became the first to win a Big East Championship on a team without any players who appeared in a Final Four. Basically, their success was not reliant on the greats of the past. Green, Hibbert, Wallace, and Crawford (and Ewing Jr. by this point) won the Big East Championship during their junior season. That Championship marked the first time Georgetown reclaimed the crown jewel of the Big East since 1989, which amazingly was the very same tournament in which Tillmon et al. were victorious. In winning that tournament, those players did something that Allen Iverson, Othella Harrington, Mike Sweetney, Joey Brown, Kevin Braswell, and Robert Churchwell never managed to do. Those juniors led the Hoyas to the Final Four for the first time in over 20 years, a feat that even Alonzo Mourning never managed to achieve.

And unfortunately, both groups had unbefitting ends to their careers. In 1990, when those freshmen from 1986 entered the NCAA Tournament, they were knocked out in the second round in an upset. Foul trouble plagued the big men for Georgetown, and the #6 seed Xavier Musketeers defeated the #3 Georgetown Hoyas in the Midwest region. 18 years later, another upset in the Midwest regional brought down the curtain on another remarkable and historic senior class.

The frustration and sadness from the defeat to Davidson will eventually fade, but not the positive impact these players had on their University’s basketball program. The seed that was planted in the fall of 1986 provided benefits that were reaped for years to come. Similarly, the fall of 2004 marked not only a new chapter in Georgetown Basketball, but also the continuation of the incredible success the program has now known for four decades. Whatever heights the Hoyas reach in the upcoming years, Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, and Tyler Crawford are responsible for helping them get off the ground in the first place.

Hoya Hoops: You played with two of the best big men ever for the Hoyas, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, do you see any elements of Roy’s game that are similar to Alonzo’s or Dikembe’s?

Dwayne Bryant: I think at this same point, mostly those guys were defensive players. Roy doesn’t have the athleticism that Alonzo had, but Alonzo didn’t have the post play that Roy has, at that time. Alonzo was a tremendous shot blocker and got quite a few of his baskets off of dunks. Roy is a little bit more of a finesse player; he has very good foot work, very good at getting low post position and shooting the little hook shots. The similarities are more with Dikembe than with Alonzo - just because of their size and their length, they’re able to bother people even without getting off the ground.

HH: During your days playing for the Hoyas, there were four of you that were classmates for all four seasons: yourself, Mark Tillmon, Sam Jefferson, and Anthony Allen. Do you see similar things this year with Roy, Jon Wallace and Tyler Crawford who are all four years players together?

DB: In particular Roy and Jon because they have been together for so long and playing together for so long - obviously with Tyler not playing as much. I’m sure they’re familiar with each other and they’re very confident in each other’s abilities. Jon and Roy you can see can make plays without actually having to communicate, and that’s what happens when you’ve been around someone for four years, and you’ve played with them for four years. You become very familiar with their tendencies; you become very familiar with where they like the ball, how they like the ball. I think they do a great job with that high ball screen - you know the little step back screen that Roy always sets for Jon to open him up for a three point shot. On that same token, Jon gives Roy in the post exactly when he wants it and where he wants it, which makes it a lot easier for him to score down low.

HH: There’s a long Georgetown tradition of landing some of the top players from your hometown of New Orleans. Next year, Greg Monroe will be the latest addition to that long list; how much do you know about Monroe from your contacts in New Orleans?

DB: Very little actually. I know a lot about him from my brother, and I’ve spoken to [Monroe’s] uncle quite a bit who grew up with me and went to grade school and high school with me. Obviously he’s a tremendous kid, a very bright kid, the type of kid who I think will do extremely well at Georgetown because he’s a very unselfish player. He’s a very bright kid so he’ll pick up on the offense relatively quickly and be able to contribute right away. You’ve got a 6′10″ – 6′11″ kid that can shoot the mid-range jump shot, that can handle the ball, which is what that offense is predicated on, being able to handle the ball and make passes and make plays out of motion. I think he’ll fit in well. I think he’s the kinda guy that John’s looking for.

HH: Tell us about your team, the Georgetown Prep Little Hoyas. Who are some of your potential Division I players?

DB: Markel Starkes, who I think is as good as any guard in this area - possibly in the country - averaging about 15 points and 9 assists a game. Garvey Young has already signed to play with the University of Vermont. And we have a senior Alvin Tucker who is as good as any player we have on our team right now, who I think is also a Division I talent that kind of fell through the cracks because he’s not an AAU player. He’s a kid that can play Division I as well.

HH: If Hoya fans want to come out and see your team, do you have any advice on when is a good time to come out to North Bethesda?

DB: Anytime. I think we play a very exciting brand of basketball - we get up and down the floor. We play a five out motion which is somewhat of an extreme hybrid version of what they do at Georgetown with the Princeton offense. We have five guards basically that play, so we get up and down the court, we press a lot, and we shoot a lot of threes.

And for all of you Georgetown fans thinking about getting out to catch Dwayne’s team in action, you can check out the Georgetown Prep Varsity Basketball schedule right here, or download a copy.

Hoya Hoops: How much credit do you deserve for the player that Roy has become, probably quite a lot?

Dwayne Bryant: I wouldn’t say a lot of credit. I think Roy’s work ethic has gotten him where he is. He’s always been a kid that works extremely hard to get better and I think now he’s reaping the rewards of all of that hard work. If there’s any credit I deserve it’s just giving him an opportunity to play.

HH: Roy made that game winning shot from long range against UCONN a few weekends ago. Was he allowed to shoot those kinds of shots in high school?

DB: Actually he was. He actually shot perimeter shots quite a bit, especially from the foul line area. He’s always had a great touch, but typically when you’re that big you don’t stray too far. I think anyone who saw him shoot that shot in the game saw that he shot it with a lot of confidence, he didn’t hesitate, he turned and let it go.

HH: We know that even as a freshman at Georgetown Roy was a little bit unpolished as an offensive post player, what can you say about the progress he’s made over the past four seasons?

DB: It’s obviously a tremendous amount of progress. His first two years at Georgetown Prep, he suffered foot injuries that kind of slowed his progress down. Again, it’s a testament to his work ethic. A lot of kids would have given into the fact that they were injured and wouldn’t work hard to get back or work hard to get better, but Roy didn’t. Even after his foot injuries, he continued to work and get better and better, and now that he’s at Georgetown he’s able to get some work with other big guys and you see the progress he’s made has been tremendous.

HH: Besides his scoring and shot blocking, Roy is a very good passer. At times it looks like he’s in a great position to score, but he’s still looking for open teammates. Are you surprised that he is so unselfish?

DB: He was that way in high school. He was a very unselfish player in high school. I mean people forget that he averaged 20 points and 17 rebounds a game as a senior in high school. He also averaged 5 assists and 6 blocks a game as a senior. He was never a selfish player. He was never a guy that would force up shots or anything like that. He was always willing to make the extra pass or, as I like to say, the right pass. So it doesn’t surprise me that he’s become a good passer and unselfish player on the college level because he’s playing with better players, he’s playing with Division I caliber athletes - some would even say professional level athletes - so it’s not surprising that he’s still very unselfish.

That’s all we have for today. Check back tomorrow for Part II of our discussion with Coach Bryant. He’ll be talking about similarities between this team and those of year’s past, about his Little Hoyas, and a little bit about Georgetown’s newest recruit.

With Alonzo Mourning, you never know what to expect - many people thought his career was over after his kidney disease. Mourning has already said he won’t return next season, and as focused and proud as he is, it’s impossible to believe that he’d return to the court if he was unable to contribute.

With that in mind, Hoya Hoops spoke with some people who knew Alonzo in different capacities. Dwayne Bryant, his former Georgetown teammate, Rich Chvotkin, long-time Voice of the Hoyas, and Dave Johnson, radio play-by-play announcer for the Washington Wizards were all gracious enough to share their thoughts on Alonzo Mourning.

On Alonzo’s impact arriving at Georgetown in the fall of 1988

Rich Chvotkin: He was such a tremendous high school basketball player, and at that time Georgetown was in the need of another center. People were really looking forward to him because John Thompson in 1988 was the Olympic coach, and Alonzo had spent a lot of time in tryouts even to make the Olympic team. He never did make that final cut, but he practiced with them all that summer, so basically he was getting himself prepared for college basketball, playing against some of the better players prior to that.

Dwayne Bryant: I think he was the player of the year coming out of high school, and I think he wanted to show everybody why he was the player of the year. He was obviously the centerpiece of the success we had those two years that I played with him. I was always amazed at how hard he practiced and how he brought it everyday.

On Alonzo’s recovery from kidney disease

Dave Johnson: From a financial standpoint, he could’ve gone off into the sunset and enjoyed a nice retirement, but clearly his desire and his love of the game was that strong; and I think in an age where so much is focused on how much money NBA players are making, he demonstrated that the money’s nice, but there was more that he was in the game for.

Rich Chvotkin: The tremendous will and perseverance to fight through that just shows what a great warrior he was, and it was more than just basketball that he stood for; and he continues to be a champion for that. In all fairness, he did things both on and off the court that were very memorable.

What has been the most impressive part of Alonzo’s Career?

Dwayne Bryant: I think people list Alonzo at 6′10″ or something like that, but a guy his size, I’d probably say 6′9″, to be able to be [NBA] Defensive Player of the Year, playing against guys that are much bigger than he is night after night just gives onus to the fact that he was a warrior. He was a guy that brought it every night; it didn’t matter who he played against. As a basketball player playing against him going to the basket, if he was in the game, you knew you had to make a spectacular play to get a bucket on him.

Dave Johnson: He was just a dominant player; he had a tremendous will and desire. Being a part of a championship team, puts him in a position where he’s leaving a legacy as a true winner and someone who was determined to get that goal of a champion. As much as we talk about great teams and great players, when you really look at the history of the NBA, there are really not that many championship teams. He goes out leaving a legacy as a determined winner and a champion, and that’s something that many, many great players exited the game without accomplishing. If this is it for him, he can look back at all the numbers and the wins and losses, but he’s also defined as a champion - that alone separates him.

Rich Chvotkin: I’ll never forget this, when I went to the Gulf War - right before I went, he put his arm around me and he said, “I hope things work out well for you.” And when I came back, he said, “I’m glad to see you back alive.” Just that little extra 10, 15, 20 seconds means so much, that he thinks more than just basketball; he thinks about you as a human being, and I think they’re the kinds of things that make the difference between an individual who’s just there, and an individual who is more involved.