In light of Georgetown’s Sweet 16 run, an article discusses Craig Esherick’s feelings about the success of Jeff and Roy, who were actually his recruits. He says he is proud that his boys are doing well. He also mentions that he knew they were talented and coachable when he recruited them, and “they’ve obviously received good coaching.”
But Green and Hibbert were on the way. And even during recruiting, Esherick thought that Green could be a Big East player of the year.
“That’s going to sound crazy, but I’m going to answer the question honestly: Yes, I did,” Esherick said. “When I first saw him play, I thought this kid could be a star.”
But be careful not to become an Esherick-lover. The article also mentions that JT III had to re-recruit these three and convince them to play with him. Often when a coach leaves his post, his recruits defect to another school (Scottie Reynolds accepted a scholarship to Oklahoma, but then Kevin Sampson moved to Indiana and he ended up at ‘Nova) or they follow the coach to his new school (JWall went with JTIII from Princeton to G’town). So, it seems that Jeff Green was attached to Georgetown more than he was to Esherick. Oh, and not to mention that Esherick was 13-15 my freshman year and we didn’t even make the NIT.
Another interesting nugget: Esh is apparently working as the VP of Athletic Relations for CSTV, but “considered pursuing another coaching position after he was fired.” This isn’t exactly true - he did more than think about re-entering the coaching world. In Feb. 2005, less than a year after being sacked, Esh applied for the head job at New Mexico State, saying, “I think, clearly, I wanted to get back into coaching.”
“I’d be a heck of a coach for them,” Esherick said. “But that’s not my call.”
Yea, I bet you woulda been awesome.
Posted by Keenan Steiner, Editorial Board Chair
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