"It actually dates from a game played in December 1979 at the D.C. Armory. During a tense, well-played contest, emotions between Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. and Maryland coach Lefty Driesell spilled over and Thompson screamed a profanity at Driesell. Furious, Driesell refused to shake hands after the Hoyas won.Originally Posted by Smokey 1
As luck would have it, the teams played again that season in a Sweet 16 game in Philadelphia. During a news conference that week, Thompson apologized to Driesell for what he had said. That led to one of Driesell’s all-time classic lines. Asked if he accepted Thompson’s apology, Driesell said: “ ’Course I do. Everyone knows to err is human, to forgive divine and I’m divine.”
His team wasn’t quite as divine in the game a couple of nights later. Georgetown won again.
The Hoyas ruled the town for most of the 1980s. Led by Patrick Ewing, they won a national title, went to three Final Fours in four years and reached the Elite Eight six times in 10 years. Maryland never went past the Sweet 16 and fell on hard times after Len Bias’s death and Driesell’s forced departure. It wasn’t until Joe Smith and Keith Booth arrived in the fall of 1993 that the Terrapins became a factor again.
During that time, Georgetown stopped playing just about every local team. Thompson, who has a long memory, never forgot DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten not scheduling Thompson’s St. Anthony’s teams in the 1970s and Driesell not being terribly eager to play Georgetown when the Hoyas first began to play well. Once he wielded the hammer, he stopped playing all locals, including George Washington, which for many years was Georgetown’s biggest rival."
Reply With Quote
