With the transition to a more up-tempo style of college basketball arriving in the 1940's, Irv Rizzi proved to be a man of Georgetown's future, not its past.

Rizzi was well suited to the quicker style of play of new coach Elmer Ripley, was a frequent starter throughout his first two years, with a career high 20 against George Washington and 17 versus Temple.

Elected captain in 1940-41, Rizzi yielded to Jim Kiernan in the starting lineup his senior season, averaging 4.4 points per game.

Irv Rizzi proved to be one of the best captains ever to perform for [Elmer Ripley], wrote the 1941 Ye Domesday Booke. "He showed a marvelous spirit throughout the season and connected for his share of the points in addition to his outstanding defensive play. A sports writers' poll named Irv captain of the All-District Team for 1940-41, truly an accomplishment for a Hoya."

Following Georgetown, Rizzi played in eight games for the Washington Brewers of the American Basketball League before enlisting in the U.S. Navy at the onset of World War II. Upon returning stateside after the War, he competed his law degree at Georgetown in 1949.