WASHINGTON -- In Georgetown's basketball guide for this season, coach John Thompson dwells on "unknowns" in his preseason assessment.
"The biggest adjustment we are going to have to make will be putting a freshman into the point guard position that Joey [Brown] is leaving. It's always the most difficult position for somebody to have to play, because that person is an extension of the coach and that person has to create a lot of things for other people."
But when the freshman filling the slot is Allen Iverson, there is nothing unknown involved.
Iverson, one of the nation's most heralded recruits, has turned Thompson's question mark into an exclamation point by averaging 21.5 points -- second in the Big East Conference -- through eight games and flashing the skills that likely would make him the most sensational point guard in Georgetown history and the most prolific if he stays for four years.
In keeping with school policy that forbids freshmen from conducting interviews until they have completed a semester, Iverson had been doing all of his talking on the court.
Yesterday, with Thompson at his side, he held a news conference at McDonough Arena and said, basically, that everything is going fine.
Thompson agreed, saying that the public perception of Iverson -- who spent four months in prison -- has been far too harsh.
"Because of a set of circumstances that happened in his life, there has been a total distortion of the person," said the coach. "He goes to school, practices and takes directions well.
"I thought I had to get the National Guard in here when I listened to other people. That's not even close to being the case at all. This [Iverson] is not a project, far from it. I can name 20 who have been here who were projects and I wanted to get them on out of here. Not Allen."
The image stemmed from Iverson's conviction on three felony charges of maiming by mob in July 1993 after a brawl between blacks and whites the previous February at a Hampton, Va., bowling center. He was 17 at the time.
When Iverson and three other blacks were sentenced to prison terms, the incident became a national cause celebre, with protest groups forming to support Iverson and his friends.
In December 1993, Iverson was granted conditional clemency by then-Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder that allowed Iverson "limited freedom" but bound him to a nightly curfew and forbid his participation in organized athletics.
