Hoyas stay patient and poised, just like their coach

Down 10 late in the game, Georgetown sticks with its offense -- which John Thompson III learned from Princeton's Carril

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- After Georgetown's stunning 96-84 overtime win over North Carolina, each Hoyas player approached John Thompson Jr. on press row.

Like a proud father in the receiving line of a wedding, Thompson -- who worked a national radio broadcast of Sunday's East Regional final -- gave each player a hug.

The congratulatory parade was a salute to Georgetown's past, but this win validates the present and how Thompson's son, John Thompson III, has rebuilt the program. The Hoyas are back in the Final Four for the first time in 22 years, when the older Thompson was the coach and "Hoya Paranoia" ruled college basketball.

"We had to show respect to the guy who paved the way for us," Hoyas forward Jeff Green said.

The younger Thompson showed his own respect with an on-court embrace with his college coach, Pete Carril. It was Georgetown's ability to remain loyal to the offense Carril taught Thompson at Princeton -- and UNC's uncharacteristic departure from its offensive philosophy -- that ultimately decided the game.

Jonathan Wallace's late 3-pointer sent the game to overtime and the Hoyas scored the first 14 points of the extra session, but the game started to turn in Georgetown's favor in the final seven minutes of regulation.

Down by 75-65, the Hoyas still were patient, if not stubborn, enough to run the spread-the-floor offense that relies on back cuts -- the very hallmarks of Carril's "Princeton Offense."

While UNC departed from its strength, the inside game, the Hoyas embraced theirs. They ran their sets for two straight layups and then a dunk by Roy Hibbert with 4:22 left to make it 75-72.

Lesser teams would have panicked, Georgetown's players kept faith in their coach.

"We're a team of unselfish guys that believe in each other and believe in what we're doing and believe in how we're doing it," Thompson said.

Their patience and effectiveness showed in their shooting -- 57.6 percent (38-for-66) from the field for the game. The dribble drives and backdoor cuts opened up the outside for Georgetown, which quietly was 8-of-14 on 3-pointers compared to 5-of-20 for UNC.

The Hoyas had 26 assists, with the starting guards Wallace and Jessie Sapp -- the supposed weaker link compared to a headline-grabbing front court -- combining for 15 assists and 34 points.

"We just wanted to stay patient and get the best shot that we could get," Wallace said.

Not that Georgetown's bigs didn't contribute. Green scored a team-high 22 points and Hibbert finished with finished 13 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.

"I said before the tournament Georgetown was the best No. 2 seed, and you could make a case they were playing the best basketball in the country," UNC coach Roy Williams said.

By the time Hoyas reeled off the first 14 points in overtime, there was little doubt they were the best team on the floor.