GW Athletics Hall of Fame Spotlight: Men's Basketball 1993 Sweet 16 Team
10/18/2022 12:22:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
Share:
The 1992-93 GW men's basketball team earned its shot at March Madness and made the most of it with a historic run that brought national acclaim to Foggy Bottom.
After earning an at-large bid into the NCAA field, the Buff and Blue rolled through the opening weekend of the tournament to advance to the Sweet 16, where they went toe-to-toe with Michigan's famed Fab Five.
Together, a group that mixed veterans who'd spent years building toward something special with talented youngsters eager to make their mark, put together an unforgettable season. On Homecoming Weekend in February, the squad, led by Head Coach Mike Jarvis, will fittingly enter the GW Athletics Hall of Fame together in celebration of a postseason push that remains unmatched in program history.
"We experienced something very few people get to experience in their lives," said Sonni Holland, a senior forward on that squad who was inducted into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. "Not only did we play college basketball, but we went to the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Sweet 16.
"It's really a rare experience. To go through it with a group of guys that you genuinely liked/loved was really special."
Sonni Holland is defended by Michigan's Chris Webber in the 1993 Sweet 16.
"Man, that's an experience that you can't get back," added senior guard Dirkk Surles, an All-Conference Second Team pick that season and also a Hall of Famer. "I think lots of guys take it for granted, but for us, to get there once was pretty, pretty awesome."
After going 10-1 through its non-conference schedule, GW had to battle back from an 0-3 start to Atlantic 10 play to build its NCAA resume amid a conference loaded with quality competition.
Rookie center Yinka Dare was sensational in averaging a double-double en route to National Freshman of the Year honors from Sports Illustrated, and Surles, Holland and Bill Brigham were seniors who provided steady scoring as well as veteran leadership.
A quick exit in the A-10 Tournament left the group sweating out Selection Sunday, before they ultimately celebrated the program's first national tournament bid in three decades during a watch party in the University Student Center.
Just earning an invitation to the Big Dance was a major breakthrough for a program that had gone 1-27 only four seasons before.
"I think there's some footage of me bursting into tears when that announcement was made," Holland remembered. "To come from signing a Letter of Intent to a team that finished 1-27 that year to getting invited to go play in the NCAA Tournament my senior year and then all of those experiences in between, that kind of all came together at that moment and just got released out of me. I was overwhelmed at that particular moment."
As the No. 12 seed in the West Region, GW squared off with No. 5 New Mexico in the opening round at Arizona's McKale Center. The Buff and Blue, led by 19 points off the bench from Kwame Evans, swiftly proved they belonged with an 82-68 victory.
"As the ball was tipped and we started playing, I think we all looked at each other and were like, 'We can beat these guys,'" Holland said. "I think that's exactly what happened. We went out there and played our game and were confident and really felt like the moment wasn't going to be too big for us."
Two days later, GW kept the good times going with a 90-80 defeat of SWAC champ Southern. Holland scored 19 points to pace five double-figure scorers for the victors.
The Buff and Blue were in the Sweet 16 and garnering headlines across the country for their Cinderella run.
George takes time to read Cinderella during the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
"When we were leaving to go to Seattle, we picked up a newspaper, and we had this whole page advertisement for us," Surles said. "I'll never forget that. It was like everybody was looking at us. 'Who are these guys? Why are they getting so much attention?' It was pretty cool."
Just the seventh 12th seed to advance to the Sweet 16 at that point, GW did its best to prepare for the opportunity ahead vs. top-seeded Michigan while enjoying the whirlwind ride.
"It was a blur," Holland said. "I think that was the best week of practice that I ever had. That was the best week of team camaraderie that we ever had. The food tasted better. The jokes were funnier. Everything was just kind of perfect, and it flew by."
Taking on the Wolverines led by future NBA stars Juwan Howard, Chris Webber and Jalen Rose before more than 24,000 fans at Seattle's Kingdome on March 26, 1993, GW promptly missed its first 10 shots to fall into an early 13-point hole.
Jarvis called for a timeout, seeking to stem the tide.
"When he called timeout, I'm thinking he's just going to read us the riot act, he's just going to go off on us," Holland said. "We sit down, and he lifts his head up and he's kind of chuckling. He hits my knee and he's like, 'Guys, we're not this bad. Relax and go out and play.' At that moment, I felt better."
Indeed, GW rebounded to threaten another upset. The Buff and Blue had pulled within two by the halftime break and took their first lead at 48-47 on a spinning hoop by Holland with 10:40 to play to the delight of the fans far from home.
"It just seemed like as we started to build momentum the crowd started to get more into the game and that kind of fueled us, too," Surles said.
GW pushed Michigan to the final minute before the Wolverines escaped with a 72-64 victory.
The Buff and Blue's season was over at 21-9 overall, but there was still more celebrating to be done. The band was waiting for them at the airport upon their return to D.C. and later hundreds of fans packed Smith Center for a rally to mark the historic achievement.
"That was terrific," Holland said. "It was unexpected, appreciated, a lot of fun. It started at the airport when we got back, and it lasted until graduation day, probably. That whole time was the best time to be a GW Colonial for me."
Nearly 30 years later, the group still holds a vaunted place in GW Athletics lore.
Holland, Surles, Evans and Jarvis are already members of the department's Hall of Fame, and now the full group will get a well-deserved moment in the spotlight together as they take their place among the best and brightest in Buff and Blue history.
"I was really, really excited and happy for all of us as a group but especially for the other guys that don't necessarily get as much recognition as they should," Holland said. "Because they were really big parts of bringing that season together and contributing to the success that we had."
"Guys that aren't as heralded - Alvin Pearsall, Nimbo Hammons - they were part of the backbone of our team that gave us that kind of success and the confidence to do what we did that year," Surles said. "They'll get to stand up now and say their piece. Sonni and I had our speeches. Now it's time for those guys to get recognized because, like Sonni said, without those guys we don't do anything that year."
