Four Georgetown Players Look to Future

Charles Smith, Jaren Jackson, Bobby Winston and Johnathan Edwards say there is no special bond between them except that they are the only seniors on Georgetown’s basketball team.

Hoyas Coach John Thompson sees it another way.

“They were one of the reasons I would have been reluctant to take a leave of absence after the Olympics,” said Thompson, who was offered an opportunity to do so after spending last spring and summer directing the U.S. national team.

“More than any other group as a whole, they have fulfilled their academic obligation to this school. That lends itself toward my feeling a sense of obligation to them, and I felt extremely committed to them. They came to Georgetown to play basketball for me and they can’t take a leave of absence from their senior year. This is their last time around and I wanted them to go out in style.”

So far, they have. The third-ranked Hoyas (23-4) won their first outright Big East Conference regular-season championship since 1983-84 and became the first team to clinch the Big East title before its final game. And Friday night, with a Big East tournament quarterfinal game, the four seniors will begin their last postseason journey -- one they hope will end in Seattle and the Final Four.

When this group of players came in, Edwards seemed the one destined for greatness. He was selected to the Parade high-school all-America team, and he was first-team all-Louisiana while Jackson was honorable mention. Winston, who played ahead of Smith while the two were at Washington’s All Saints High School, was a first-team All-Met selection and set to go to Missouri until Thompson gave him the chance to go to Georgetown. Smith, an honorable mention All-Met, was passed over by Seton Hall in favor of Gerald Greene. He said he probably would have attended a small Division I or Division II school had Thompson not taken him.

“I probably would have put myself at the bottom (compared to Edwards, Jackson and Winston),” said Smith, who entered Georgetown at 6 feet and 150 pounds.

Of course, it hasn’t worked out that way. Smith started for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team and has become Georgetown’s captain and its unquestioned team leader. This week he was named Big East player of the year.

“What Charles has accomplished speaks for itself,” Thompson said. “This kid is basically the man on the team and he’s done that through hard work and determination.”

Thompson said he believes Smith’s NBA prospects are bright. But if a pro career does not develop, Smith says he will be ready and is hoping to enter the movie-production business.

“Basketball wasn’t the only thing I was in school for,” he said. “I was here for an education. I’m going to have something to fall back on.”

For Edwards, a 6-9, 240-pound forward, the need to have something on which he could fall back developed earlier than he would have liked.

As a freshman, he played in all 32 games and led his classmates with averages of 4.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and nearly 14 minutes. He also was named to the Big East’s all-freshman team.

But early in his sophomore year, he injured his back and missed 12 of the Hoyas’ first 14 games. He has been playing catch-up ever since.

“It’s been difficult sometimes,” said Edwards, who plans to pursue an MBA. “I think about high school, when I was the center of attention. ... But I also think about how people’s reactions to me changed when I wasn’t in the limelight. That brought me back down to earth. I learned right away that this only lasts for a little bit. ... “

“He’s handled his situation very well,” Thompson said. “ ... He didn’t sit around and pout, and he didn’t say, ‘I’m a senior and I should be playing.’ He just kept working hard.”

Winston, a 6-5 guard, also has continued to work hard this season despite averaging only 14 minutes in Georgetown’s first 22 games. As a result, when Thompson increased his playing time in Game 23, at Boston College, Winston was ready. He tied his career best with 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists. In the four games since, he has averaged 28 minutes per game and performed the way Thompson expected.

Winston said that playing for Thompson has been about so much more than just playing ball.

“I’ve learned a lot of things under Coach Thompson that really have nothing to do with basketball,” said Winston, who is planning on a business career after he graduates. “That’s what I’ve appreciated most about coming to Georgetown.”

Jackson, who is interested in computer science, agreed with Winston.

“It’s unfortunate that every college basketball player can’t be under Coach Thompson,” he said.