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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1956-11-01)November 1, 1956 (age 69) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1974–1978 | Georgetown |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1979–1981 | Georgetown (GA) |
| 1982–1999 | Georgetown (assistant) |
| 1999–2004 | Georgetown |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 103–74 |
| Tournaments | 2–1 (NCAA Division I) 5–3 (NIT) |
Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956)[1][2] is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor ofsport management forGeorge Mason University andcolor commentator forcollege basketball games.[3] He was formerly the head coach of theGeorgetown University men's basketball team and assistantbasketball coach andscout for the1988 U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team.
Esherick grew up inSilver Spring, Maryland, and graduated fromSpringbrook High School in 1974 as an all-state forward. He was a four-year basketball letterman at Georgetown from1974 to1978 and thereafter attendedGeorgetown University Law School, receiving aJ.D. degree in 1982. During his final two years of law school at Georgetown, he served as a graduate assistant toJohn Thompson In1982, Thompson offered Esherick the position of assistant coach, and along with former teammate Mike Riley, he stayed in the position for the next 17½ seasons. After abruptly resigning in January 1999, Thompson named Esherick head coach.[4]
Esherick continued the style of play and scheduling habits of his predecessor as coach. During his 5½-season tenure, Esherick came under growing criticism for the weak non-conference teams he scheduled, and his inability to close out tight games.
After Esherick took over the team on January 8, 1999, Georgetown finished the1998–99 season with a record of 15–15 before falling toPrinceton Tigers in the first round of the1999 National Invitation Tournament. The1999–2000 team improved to 19–15, earning anotherNIT bid. Following a quadruple overtime win over theVirginia Cavaliers, 115–111, Georgetown lost to theCalifornia Golden Bears in the second round.
In Esherick's third season,2000–01, the team made the2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament under the stardom of future top-10National Basketball Association draft pickMike Sweetney. The Hoyas made it to the "Sweet 16", losing to theMaryland Terrapins in the West Region Semifinals.
Esherick's final three seasons proved disappointing. The2001–02 season saw the Hoyas narrowly miss the NCAA tournament with a 19–11 mark, and Esherick was criticized for rejecting a bid to the2002 NIT, as he objected to playing away from home throughout that tournament because of the number of classes his players would miss. In the2002–03 season, Georgetown earned a bid to the2003 NIT, in which the Hoyas advanced to the championship game, losing toSt. John's.
The departure of Mike Sweetney left the Hoyas' lineup bare entering the2003–04 season, in which the Hoyas started 13–6 before collapsing and losing their last nine games of the season, ending with a 13–15 record.
A year earlier, Georgetown had extended Esherick's contract through 2009.[5] He indicated to the press late in the 2003–04 season that his position as head coach was secure,[5] that he had a good recruiting class joining the team for thefollowing season[5] – it included future starsJeff Green,Roy Hibbert, andJonathan Wallace[6] – and that they should "stay tuned,"[5] and Georgetown presidentJohn DeGioia gave him a public show of support around the same time.[5] Despite all this, and despite Esherick's declaration on March 5, 2004, that "I ain't going anywhere – I may be here for another 30 years,"[5] DeGioia fired him on March 16, 2004,[5] six days after the end of the season, following student protests over his continued tenure and failure to produce winning teams.[citation needed] Esherick had spent 28 of the first 30 years of his adult life at Georgetown as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. He was replaced by John Thompson, Jr.'s son,Princeton University head coachJohn Thompson III.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown Hoyas(Big East)(1999–2004) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | Georgetown | 8–10‡ | 6–8‡ | 10th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1999–2000 | Georgetown | 19–15 | 6–10 | T–8th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2000–01 | Georgetown | 25–8 | 10–6 | T–2nd(West) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2001–02 | Georgetown | 19–11 | 9–7 | T–3rd(West) | Declined NIT invitation | ||||
| 2002–03 | Georgetown | 19–15 | 6–10 | 5th(West) | NIT Runner-up | ||||
| 2003–04 | Georgetown | 13–15 | 4–12 | T–12th | |||||
| Georgetown: | 103–74 (.582) | 41–53 (.436) | |||||||
| Total: | 103–74 (.582) | ||||||||
‡John Thompson Jr. resigned on January 8, 1999, with Georgetown's record at 7–6 overall and 0–4 in the Big East; Esherick coached the rest of season. Georgetown's record for the entire 1998–99 season was 15–16 overall and 6–12 in the Big East.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
