WASHINGTON (AP) – Jeff Green, exercising his usual modesty, said 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert is the leader of Final Four-bound Georgetown.

Hibbert said without a doubt that it’s Green, who happens to be the Big East player of the year. When asked to break the tie, coach John Thompson III also didn’t hesitate. His answer: none of the above.

Not Hibbert nor Green nor even Jonathan Wallace, the savvy point guard. Not the other starting guard, Jessie Sapp. Not emerging freshman DaJuan Summers. Then perhaps it could be Patrick Ewing Jr., who leads the team in enthusiasm and carried the East Regional trophy off the bus when the team arrived back on campus Monday.

Nope. The coach said the team’s leader is junior swingman Tyler Crawford, who has started one game in his college career and this season is averaging a modest 2.1 points per game.

“You get to see just a snippet of our team,” Thompson said Tuesday. “You see us on the court 36 times, naturally you make judgments about the team and who the leaders are and who the leaders aren’t. But that’s just 36 days out of the year. The other 320-plus, he’s someone that day-in, day-out, in the locker room, in the dorms, is the leader of this team. It’s his commitment, it’s his work ethic, it’s his belief in how we’re doing it.”

Crawford is one-fourth of the recruiting class that has turned Georgetown around and will lead the Hoyas (30-6) into Saturday’s national semifinal against Ohio State (34-3). Crawford, Green, Hibbert and Wallace arrived as freshman during Thompson’s first year, determined to restore the Hoyas to their former glory. The other three were instant starters, while Crawford bided his time by working as the encouraging voice behind the scenes.

“He’s never quit,” said Ewing, a junior who transferred from Indiana. “He’s the one in practice telling us, ‘You guys have got to go hard.’ ‘You’ve got to do this.’ ‘You’ve got to do that.’ That’s why Coach made him the captain of this team. People are always talking about me standing up and running out into the huddles, but Tyler’s right there with me. Just everything he does, he’s almost the perfect teammate.”

But this was the season Crawford was supposed to play more. He made his debut as a starter in the season opener against Hartford and scored eight points. Then he started feeling poorly.

“I thought it was just a sore throat,” he said. “Then it turned out I had strep throat and acid reflux all mixed together.”

Crawford was hospitalized and lost 25 pounds. He missed four games while recovering, regaining his weight by eating “Mama Crawford’s cooking: sweet tea, a lot of greens, chicken, stuff like that.”

By the time Crawford returned, Summers had emerged to earn a starting spot. Another freshman, Jeremiah Rivers, was becoming the regular first option off the bench. Crawford was relegated to spot duty – a rebound here, a hustle play there. His last basket was a 3-pointer in the first half of the win over Vanderbilt in the round of 16.

It was during the Vanderbilt game that Crawford punched the goal support after a getting called for foul. His hand was wrapped in a black bandage at Tuesday’s practice, although he is able to practice and play.

“I was angry,” Crawford said. “I’m a competitive person, that’s all.”

But not angry or competitive enough to rock the boat over losing the starting job to Summers.

“To me, he’s the best freshman in the Big East, so I can’t get mad and tell coach to put me back in that position,” Crawford said. “He’s a freak athlete, like Jeff. I’ll keep working. If I get playing time, I’ll get playing time. If I don’t, I’m not going to complain and whine. That’s just my personality.”

Besides, he doesn’t want to lose sight of that bigger goal he and his three classmates set as freshman. As he spoke, he turned his head to nod toward the 1984 NCAA championship banner that hangs on the wall of McDonough Gymnasium.

“I think me, Jon, Jeff, Roy,” Crawford said, “we’ve taken pride in that, in trying to establish what this program once was. … To get that banner – another one for ourselves and our coach.”

AP-ES-03-27-07 1957EDT