Hoyas Ewing’s kind of team
Georgetown built in image of ex-player, athletic director says
When Patrick Ewing thinks about the old days, about his 1980s college career at Georgetown as a dominant 7-foot center wearing a T-shirt underneath his jersey and No. 33 on it, this is what comes to mind:
“I should have three championship banners,” Ewing said in a telephone interview this week. “I only have one.”
That’s the takeaway? Focus on the misses, then mention success as an afterthought?
Well, let him explain his trio of final appearances under coach John Thompson, from the loss as a freshman against Michael Jordan, to the victory as a junior against Hakeem Olajuwon, to the loss as a senior against Rollie Massimino’s crew of near-perfect shooters.
“I got robbed versus North Carolina, with all of those goaltending calls. Beating Houston, going up against Hakeem The Dream — thank God, my team was much better. And unfortunately, losing to Villanova in ’85. But all of the experiences were great,” Ewing said from Indianapolis, where he will coach the No. 12 seed Hoyas against No. 5 Colorado in the East Region on Saturday, Georgetown’s first NCAA Tournament game in six years.
For much of this season and, indeed, for much of his four years as the coach at his alma mater in the nation’s capital, Ewing has been on the wrong side of that equation. So much so that the current edition, which included nine new players, was picked to finish last in the Big East — and then started 3-8.
None of that matters now. Ewing is back at the big dance. And so are the Hoyas (13-12), courtesy of an out-ofnowhere, offense-stifling, four-win run to the conference tournament title at Madison Square Garden, where Ewing played most of his Hall of Fame NBA career for the New
York Knicks.
“This team is built in his image,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed said. “Tough. Determined. Hard work. Rebounds. Defense.”
Adding to the unmistakable symbolism, the 73-48 upset of Creighton in the final happened to come 49 years to the day after Georgetown’s hiring of Thompson, who died last August.
“It’s great,” Ewing said, “to see everything come full circle.”
That’s precisely what Gene Smith, Ewing’s college teammate and roommate, was thinking, too, while following along on TV. So Smith texted a 20-strong group chat populated by former Georgetown players and team managers.
“I started out with an expletive,” Smith said with a chuckle. “I mean, it’s one thing to win. But they were beating Creighton’s behind! That was pretty crazy.” In Ewing the coach, Smith sees remnants of Ewing the player.
“There’s no quit in him. There’s no fear in him,” Smith said. “I’ve never seen anyone go after a 50-pound weakling with the same ferocity he goes after a 500-pound rhinoceros.”
He also sees traces of Thompson, the towering figure in charge of the Hoyas from 1972 to 1999.
Ewing, who has draped a white towel over his shoulder during games as a tribute to his mentor, embraces the idea of representing the man known as Big John.
“All of his players, we’re all part of his legacy. We’re part of his tree. We’re the roots he sprinkled out into the world to do our part to make this place a better place,” Ewing, 58, said. “I am proud to be part of his legacy. And I’m going to do the best job I can to walk in his footsteps.”
Truth is, Ewing wasn’t expected to be a coach at all.
Even Ewing acknowledges he “never had an inkling” during his playing days he would coach. A conversation with Johnny Davis, an Orlando Magic assistant during Ewing’s final pro season, helped change his mind.
Jordan offered Ewing his first sideline gig, with the Washington Wizards. That launched a 15-year, four-team odyssey as an NBA assistant. Ewing wanted a top job. It never happened.
“There’s a whole lot of people that would not have put up with that,” Esherick said. “It shows that Patrick has perseverance. And he has some humility.”
Georgetown — and Thompson, helping find a replacement after his son was fired — came calling in 2017.
“We didn’t think that Coach Ewing would be interested in college coaching,” said Reed, the AD. “But here’s a guy who had success at literally everything he’s done in his life.”
In their initial conversation, Reed recalls, Ewing aimed high.
“He was clear about his goals of wanting to get Georgetown basketball back to national prominence and consistently nationally relevant,” Reed said.
There’s still work to be done. The Hoyas last appeared in the AP Top 25 in 2015. Ewing’s teams are just 62-58.
But now, it’s the NCAA Tournament.
“You had to know that it was only a matter of time, with Coach Pat being the man in charge,” senior forward Jamorko Pickett said, “that eventually the team would be back to what it was before.”