2004-05 – Record: 11-5 (Conference 5-3)
Senior Class: Ramell Ross (Graduate Student)

The new Thompson Era under JTIII began in the fall of 2004. The Princeton offense made an immediate impact, not only on the court. The fans began flocking to Verizon Center, and for the first time since Allen Iverson, there was truly a local buzz about Georgetown Basketball. The season was moving along very smoothly, until the middle of February when the Hoyas hit a poorly timed 5-game losing streak to end the regular season. Still, the foundation for the success in the seasons to follow was laid in the 2004-05 season.

The Good: Georgetown finally defeated Notre Dame at the Verizon Center after four straight home losses. It looked as though the luck of the Irish would prevail as Colin Falls made an off-balance three-pointer with ten seconds left to put the Irish up by one. Ashanti Cook coolly drove the length of the floor and fed Freshman Roy Hibbert for a two-handed slam at the buzzer. It’s important to remember that Hibbert was not a major offensive force at that stage of his career; he was barely a minor force. But even with his inexperience and limited offense, he made a play to win the game. Even before he was great, Hibbert had greatness.

The Bad: The opening game of the season was not the kind of dramatic beginning that Hoya fans were looking for. It seemed like everybody felt as though having Coach Thompson would be an automatic link to the greatness of the past. There was little greatness on JTIII’s opening night. The Hoyas were beaten very handily by the Temple Owls, 75-57.

The Ugly: There has been so much excitement around Coach Thompson since he arrived at Georgetown that revisionist history often seems to indicate that everything went very smoothly from day one. On December 28, 2004 Georgetown needed overtime to beat Norfolk State. The Spartans were down by 10 at halftime, but rallied and took the lead midway through the second half. The Hoyas refocused in overtime, making 6 of 7 from the field, but they just narrowly escaped what would have been one of the worst losses in school history.


Ten Years in Ten Days:
1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07