Is This Big East Basketball Coach On The Hot Seat?
The Georgetown Hoyas set a dubious record on Wednesday night as they lost their 25th straight Big East conference game. Their loss broke DePaul’s 24-game conference losing streak back in 2011 for the longest in the Big East. Leading the team is former college basketball and NBA star Patrick Ewing. Is he now on the hot seat for his disappointing coaching tenure at Georgetown?
Georgetown University hired Patrick Ewing to be the basketball coach in 2017. He replaced John Thompson III, who coached the Hoyas to a Final Four appearance and conference championship in 2007. The hiring of Ewing brought on high expectations for the program because of Thomson’s successful coaching record and Ewing’s much-decorated resume.
Ewing’s Career
Patrick Ewing played for John Thomson’s father at Georgetown beginning in 1981. He became a full-time starter as a freshman, where he helped lead the team to a Big East title and the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Hoyas lost to North Carolina in the National Championship game.
Ewing was very good as a sophomore, but Georgetown lost in the second round of the tournament. As a junior, Ewing and the Hoyas beat Houston in 1984 for their first and only NCAA Tournament win, and he was named Most Valuable Player. Ewing almost led his school all the way once again as a senior, but they fell to Villanova in the title game.
In total, Patrick Ewing earned three First-Team All-American honors, was the 1985 college player of the year, and led his school to three national championships, winning one. His success translated to the NBA, mostly as a member of the New York Knicks. As a pro, he was a rookie of the year, an 11-time All-Star, and had his jersey number retired by the Knicks. Ewing spent some time as an assistant coach in the NBA before returning to the college level as a head coach.
As A Coach
Patrick Ewing’s coaching tenure at Georgetown has not yet matched his successful playing career there. In his first season, he coached his team to eight-straight wins to open the year but struggled once conference play began. Georgetown finished 15-15 overall but went just 5-13 against Big East competition.
Georgetown made an NIT Tournament appearance the following season, finishing 19-12 overall but 9-9 against the Big East. In 2019, the program went 15-17 and another losing conference record. A seven-game losing streak and canceled tournaments due to the Covid-19 pandemic ended the season short.
The 2020-2021 season was Ewing’s most successful season as a coach so far. He led the Hoyas to a 10-13 record overall and 7-9 against the conference, but the team went on a late-season run. Georgetown won their first three Big East tournament games before defeating Creighton for the conference championship. The Hoyas lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to Colorado.
Last year was very disappointing for the program as they went 6-25 overall and lost all 19 conference games. With the 0-5 Big East record this year, Georgetown has lost 25 straight conference games, the longest ever in the Big East. Their 5-11 overall record means the program is on pace for yet another losing season. Ewing has only posted one winning record as a head coach.
In Conclusion
It’s certainly been a disappointing tenure for the former basketball star as he tries to lead his alma mater. Patrick Ewing has had challenges to navigate through, such as the pandemic, player injuries, and players transferring, but the other conference teams are doing better. Perhaps leading a school in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball is not yet the right fit for Patrick Ewing. It will be interesting to see how much longer he remains the coach or if the program will give him a chance to turn things around.