The 2003-04 Georgetown men’s basketball season, which concluded with an overall record of 13-15 and a Big East record of 4-12, will go down in the record books. Unfortunately this season will be remembered not for the team’s accomplishments, but for what the Hoyas did not achieve. The 2003-04 season is the first year in the 25 years of Big East tournament history that a Georgetown team did not reach at least the quarterfinals. In fact, the Hoyas only made the conference tournament courtesy of a West Virginia victory over Miami on the last day of the regular season. This season will also be remembered as the first time in the last 30 years that the Hoyas did not receive an invitation to a post season tournament, breaking the longest such streak in the NCAA Division I. Then, the sudden firing of Craig Esherick this Tuesday left the Hoyas looking to rebound next season without a head coach. All of this, after a promising 10-0 start gave many fans a reason to believe this Hoyas team could build on last year’s trip to the NIT Finals after the flight of standout forward Mike Sweetney to the NBA and the New York Knicks.
The Hoyas raced out from the gate, picking up 10 straight wins, nine of them against non-conference opponents. In the second game of the season, the Hoyas had a close call in their game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, winning the game 79-78. With 1.1 seconds left and a Nittany Lions one-point lead, Penn State guard Brandon Cameron was called for a controversial foul after he dove for the ball, which had been rolled inbound to sophomore guard Ashanti Cook by fellow sophomore guard Brandon Bowman. Cook hit both free throws and gave the Hoyas a one-point win.
With a 2-0 record, the Hoyas went to win eight more games in a row. The last win in this streak was a 63-57 win over Rutgers. The win proved to be crucial for the Hoyas later in the season when it came time for the Big East tournament.
In its first matchup against a No. 1 team in a 10-day period, Georgetown was soundly defeated at Gampel Pavilion by Connecticut, 94-70. The Huskies’ senior guard Taliek Brown scored 20 points, just a point shy of his career high, and had seven rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, a career high. Brown found himself open partly because the Hoyas paid so much attention to National Player of the Year candidate Emeka Okafor. Junior forward Okafor scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked seven shots even though the Hoyas double-teamed him for much of the night. Georgetown’s defense did not do much to slow down the Huskies, who scored 24 points off fast breaks. The 24-point loss tied Esherick’s worst loss as head coach.
Looking to regain their winning ways after three straight losses, the Hoyas returned home to face St. Johns, who were in the cellar of the Big East standings. The close, back-and-forth game was decided when Cortland Freeman dunked emphatically with 0.5 seconds left in the game, and the Hoyas survived 71-69.
Four days after they just escaped a loss against St. John’s, the Hoyas’ second matchup against a then-No. 1 team in the nation was not very different from their first. In front of the largest Georgetown basketball crowd in the history of CI Center, Georgetown lost to Duke 85-66. After a promising 16-18 start, the Hoyas could not keep up with the Blue Devils, and Duke ended the first half on a 30-8 run. Georgetown had no answer for Duke forward Sheldon Williams in the paint, who finished the game with 26 points, shooting 12-15 from the field.
Entering the game with a two-game losing streak and a 4-6 record in the Big East, it looked as if the one team that Georgetown would have a somewhat easy win over was St. John’s. Just weeks before the game, several St. John’s players were expelled or suspended from school, leaving the Red Storm with just nine available players, including four walk-ons. Rumors had even suggested that St. John’s could suspend the basketball program because of the troubles. St. John’s, however, showed up to play, and the Hoyas seemingly did not. The Storm won the game 65-58. After the game Esherick said, “There were times in the game where we did not take them seriously as a team and that hurt us.” Regarding Georgetown’s 23 turnovers, Cook said, “It was like we were in a daze.” Even though they entered the game on a two-game losing streak, the loss at St. John’s marked a turning point of the Hoyas’ season for the worse.
Inconsistency was one of the major weaknesses for Georgetown this season. In its first nine games against weak non-conference foes, the Hoyas’ average shooting percentage was 46.8 percent. However, in its next 18 games against Big East foes and Duke, Georgetown averaged a shooting percentage of 38.7 percent, a decline of more than 8 percent.
The Hoyas’ games against Syracuse and Pittsburgh – both ranked teams – started and ended in similar ways. In front of a predominately Syracuse crowd, Georgetown had the lead down the stretch by as many as six points. With no time remaining, Syracuse sophomore guard Gerry McNamara hit a game-winning three-point shot. After the game, Bowman said, “Losing is just disappointing. It’s hard, especially like this, on a shot like that . I thought that we had the game.” Just three days after the devastating Syracuse loss, Georgetown hosted then-No. 3 Pittsburgh at MCI Center with similar results, losing to the Panthers 68-58. Also similar to the loss to the Orangemen, Pitt fans outnumbered Georgetown supporters and Georgetown had a lead going to halftime. Pittsburgh rallied early in the second half and put the Hoyas away. Even though it ended in a loss, the game still showed promise for the rest of the season. The Pittsburgh games may be the two best games the Hoyas played all season.
After two strong outings against Syracuse and Pittsburgh, a win against Seton Hall was within reach. However, the Hoyas had their worst shooting performance of the season and lost to the Pirates 75-48. The first half was by far the worst-played half of the year. The Hoyas scored only 14 points, and Brandon Bowman was the only Hoya to make a field goal. While Bowman finished the half with three field goals, the rest of the team shot 0-of-19, and Georgetown’s 14 points in the half was a season low. Leading-scorer Gerald Riley shot 0-of-11 from the field. Meanwhile, Seton Hall senior guard Andre Barrett scored 25 points, distributed five assists, and shot 5-of-6 from behind the three point arc in his last home game as a Pirate. The loss to Seton Hall was the sixth in a row for the Hoyas, who were now looking to finish the season with a .500 record, the requirement for receiving a bid to the NIT.
The Hoyas followed up the Seton Hall debacle with a 61-48 loss at Notre Dame, and entered the last regular season game versus Virginia Tech needing a win to ensure a spot in the Big East tournament. The game also marked the last home game for seniors Riley, Freeman and forward Omari Faulker. After a slow start, Georgetown came back and took a 32-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, the teams traded the lead until there were five minutes left, when Virginia Tech’s Bryant Matthews hit a three-pointer that put the Hokies in the lead for good. Only after a West Virginia win over Miami were the Hoyas in the field for the Big East tournament. The team’s 4-12 conference record tied it with Miami for the second spot from the bottom, but Georgetown’s two wins over Miami allowed it to pass on to the conference tournament.
The Hoyas just reached New York City and Madison Square Garden by an inch, and they did not last there very long. The season ended with a 68-57 loss to Boston College in the first round of the Big East tournament.
The future outlook for the Hoyas is uncertain. Three recruits, including 7-foot-2 local Roy Hibbert, will come in the fall looking to boost the Hoyas for the next four years. Freshman guard Matt Causey showed great promise toward the end of the season, especially with his stellar performance against Boston College in the Big East tournament. Three starters – Ashanti Cook, Darrel Owens and Brandon Bowman – will return and look to lead the Hoyas back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years. There are several questions yet to be answered: Will any recruits look to get out of his National Letter of Intent after the coaching change? Will any current Hoyas look to transfer? Who will take over as head coach? Fans will have to wait and see.