EWING GETS HIS SHOT
G’TOWN HIRES KNICKS LEGEND AS NEXT COACH
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It will be 1985 all over again. Chris Mullin and St. John’s against Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, the two legends leading the respective Big East rivals.
On Monday, Georgetown announced the hiring of Ewing as its men’s basketball coach, replacing John Thompson III, after Xavier’s Chris Mack, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Harvard’s Tommy Amaker reportedly showed little interest in the position. JT III, the son of Ewing’s coach at Georgetown,wn, John Thompson Jr., was fired after 13 seasons and eight NCAA Tournaments, but with the program currently in a downward spiral, with consecutive sub-.500 seasons and having missed out on the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years. Ewing was said to be the elder Thompson’s preference, and his hiring is a sign Thompson still wields a lot of power in the program.
Ewing returns to the college ranks for the first time after 15 seasons as an NBA assistant with the Magic, Wizards, Rockets and, most recently, the Hornets.
“My four years at Georgetown were the best of my life,” Ewing said in a statement. “Georgetown is my home, and it is a great honor for me to return to my alma mater and serve as the next head coach. I have been preparing to be a head coach for many years and can’t wait to return to the Hilltop.”
The 54-year-old Ewing was passed over for several NBA head-coaching positions until getting his break with his alma mater. Ewing is considered the best player in Georgetown history, a national champion in 1985 and three-time All-American who was the first pick of the Knicks in the 1985 NBA Draft. A Hall of Famer, Ewing played with three teams in 17 seasons, the first 15 in New York, and is the Knicks’ all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocked shots, steals and field goals made. He reached the NBA Finals twice, but never won a title. After his playing career ended, he remained close to the game, breaking in as an assistant coach with the Wizards in 2002, the year after he retired.
“He has worked exceptionally hard to become a great coach, putting [in] 15 years as an NBA assistant, and now he gets to take all he’s learned and take it back to where he grew so much as a player and as a man,” Jeff Van Gundy, Ewing’s coach with the Knicks who also brought him in as an assistant with the Rockets, said in a phone interview. “I think he’s overjoyed with the fact to become a head coach, but more with the fact to do it at Georgetown.
“I think what I’m most excited about is that Patrick’s been underestimated as a coach, and his personality has been grossly and unfairly at times misstated, and so for the masses get to see who he really is and what he is all about as a coach, I couldn’t be happier for a guy. He just oozes integrity and loyalty and all [those] values that everyone holds dear.”
The college game is different from the NBA, primarily because of the importance of recruiting. It will be imperative for Ewing to bring in an experienced coaching staff that can replenish the talent base at Georgetown and is familiar with the talentrich area that surrounds the school.
“I would say this,” Van Gundy said, “anybody underestimating him is making a mistake.”
Ewing’s first task will be to keep five-star point guard Tremont Waters, who requested his release prior to JT III’s firing. Leading scorer Rodney Pryor graduated, and star guard L.J. Peak declared for the NBA draft.
“The game’s the same. I think it’s just an adjustment in dealing with the day-to-day differences,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said in a phone interview. “There’s more off-the-court things on the plate of a college coach than a pro coach.”