Ewing has long preached a high-pace of play that resembles NBA-style and is thought to be attractive to recruits. The offense has had its problems under Coach Ewing, too. A far cry from John Thompson, Jr.’s full-court, 40-minute Hoya Paranoia Press. These have unfortunately become the hallmarks of the Ewing Era Defense. Instead, the program has exhibited the same tired issues on that end of the floor: poor switching on screens, abysmal perimeter guarding, over-helping inside, and impatience on head fakes. Fans wanted some indication that Ewing had figured out what it takes to be successful in the BIG EAST and college basketball generally. However, what fans expected this season-at least in January or February-was some semblance of last year’s stronger defense. Nothing will ever take that away from them or the program. Georgetown’s 8th BIG EAST Tournament Championship, the most of any program in the BIG EAST, is a credit to Ewing, the staff, and the players. Whether it was an adjustment in coaching, or a combination of length and experience in personnel, the defensive improvement made all the difference in the world. What fans saw last February and March that was different from the 100+ other games coached by Patrick Ewing, was defense. Based on those numbers alone, Ewing has one of the worst records for Big East coaches given at least five years and it’s trending in the wrong direction. Of course, a conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance last year should be noted, too. That makes, at this point, Ewing’s record 26-55 in the BIG EAST and 68-75 overall. Ewing was 15-15 (5-13 in the BIG EAST) in his first year at the helm. In 2018-2019, the Hoyas were 9-9 in the conference (3rd place) and 19-14 for the year. In 2019-2020, Georgetown was 5-13 in the conference and 15-17 overall. Last year, the Hoyas were 7-9 in the conference and 13-13 for the season. The team hasn’t shown any improvement since a shocking season opening loss to Ivy League afterthoughts Dartmouth on November 13th. Georgetown is 0-11 in BIG EAST play this year and 6-16 overall. For that, Patrick Ewing is to be commended.īut the record speaks for itself. This experiment was never phoned-in, rushed, or given less than 100% effort. His 15 years as an NBA assistant, his glowing recommendations from NBA players, the Van Gundy brothers, Steve Clifford, Pat Riley and more, and even the efforts fans saw with his 7-foot frame sitting in high school gyms across the nation all speak to his determination and dedication to becoming an excellent coach. This is not saying he’s not a good coach, or that he hasn’t worked hard. Patrick Ewing is not the guy to turn the program around right now.
But seeing the perennial basement dweller embarrass the Hoyas made this post inevitable. No Georgetown fan was surprised that the Blue Demons shot 7-10 from beyond the arc in 16 minutes since halftime. The loss to a shorthanded DePaul team missing its leading scorer, due to a 26-0 second-half run, was more symptomatic than climactic. Myron Medcalf of ESPN noted that “It’s fair to wonder, however, how long Ewing will stay at Georgetown” and “John Thompson III was fired for less, proving that an appetite for struggles is conditional, even with a coach who has close ties to Big John.” Zach Braziller of the New York Post wrote “I doubt Georgetown would outright fire the legendary player, especially after giving him a contract extension last April” and that “an amicable parting ways would be the best thing for both parties” before coming on Kente Korner and elaborating. Tony Kornheiser suggested Georgetown firing Ewing on his podcast. The Washington Post suggested that Georgetown no longer resembles the program of Big John’s Hoyas. The national media articles have said a fair amount recently, but not enough. And the only way out-causing as little further damage to this once-storied program, and the legacy of John Thompson, Jr.-is for Patrick Ewing to step down as head coach. The noble experiment of hiring Georgetown’s favorite son and basketball legend as the head coach and presumed leader of the program is currently failing badly. Looking back, change doesn’t always mean improvement. They needed to change the way they defended, they needed to change the pace of their offense, and they needed to change how they recruited. When Patrick Ewing was hired in April 2017, the Georgetown Basketball program desperately needed change.
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