An Impossible Choice Looms for Georgetown
With a coach who appears unwilling to step down of his own accord right now, and a university administration reluctant to force a legend out, it's anyone's guess how the next six weeks goes.
Last week I wrote the following article, about the opportunity that awaited Georgetown, with three winnable games coming up, all of them in front of a home crowd.
The results? Three losses, by an average margin of defeat of 16 points. Only the Seton Hall game was remotely close.
Georgetown was embarrassed on Thursday in front of a half-empty McDonough Arena, losing 90-77 to St. John’s, and it was outclassed on Sunday afternoon, getting blown out in the second half by Providence by a score of 44-22, leading to a 71-52 defeat.
To add insult to injury, signs of frustration among the fan base started to show this week too, with a Georgetown fan bringing a #HirePitino sign to the Seton Hall game, and faint boos coming from what was left of the student section in the second half of the St. John’s game at two different points.
With each passing loss, the chances of going winless in Big East play grow stronger. Georgetown is the worst team in the conference— and among all high major programs— by a mile, and this team continues to show no collective improvement. Look at these numbers!
The performance of this season’s team, coupled with the trajectory of the program overall, are unacceptable and unsustainable.
But it isn’t going to get any easier for Georgetown. If it is decided that change needs to be made, this looks to be headed down a very complicated path. It’s anyone’s guess how this ends right now, because of the impossible choice that Georgetown looks to soon be faced with, barring a miracle turnaround this season.
An article from Zach Braziller of the New York Post on Monday morning was the latest recent piece from a national outlet discussing the possibility of a coaching change needing to be made at Georgetown this offseason. What was notable about this story was the passing mention of the university “giving him a contract extension last April”, which appears to confirm the rumblings that have been alluded to here on our channels for the last couple of months.
The extension is believed to be a one-year deal that was tacked on to Ewing’s existing deal, which expires after the 2022-23 season. This means that any potential severance package or buyout that would be agreed upon if a change is made at head coach would be pricier than if Ewing just had the one year left on his original deal.
That brings the conversation to Patrick Ewing, and what he plans to do at season’s end. In conversations with multiple people connected to Ewing, the widespread belief, at this current point in time, is that Ewing will not step down. He doesn’t fashion himself as a quitter, and he also wants to earn the money that he is still owed in his deal.
That puts Georgetown between a rock and a hard place if the administration decides it is time to move on.
If Ewing maintains his stance, you will have a coach who so far has shown no signs of being willing to step down, and a university administration that is— understandably— extremely reluctant, if not unwilling, to force out one of the main architects of its storied men’s basketball program, especially after it just gave him a short-term contract extension less than one year ago.
How does Georgetown make this impossible choice? It is going to be a fascinating— or excruciating, depending on your perspective— process to watch unfold over the next six or so weeks.
Will either party want to continue this relationship if this team does indeed go 0-19 in Big East play, or even 1-18? The embarrassment that would come to the university’s brand, and Ewing’s name, would be heavy, and that may be enough to make the two sides find a way to come to an amicable split this offseason. No one wants to see it get to this point, but it is time to consider that this scenario could become reality.
And then there’s the donors. In conversations with multiple program donors, there are increasing levels of angst within the group about the program’s direction, with multiple donors writing letters or making phone calls to the university administration and athletic department in the last week to express their displeasure.
Ewing can want to keep his job all he wants, but if enough donors threaten to pull their financial support of the team (which has been on the decline anyways), or offer to foot the bill of a potential buyout agreement with Ewing, that will be enough to lead to a coaching change.
At this point, however, there appears to be reluctance among some donors to cover the cost of another mistake by the university, after Georgetown had to pay John Thompson III the remainder of his salary after the school cut ties with him back in 2017.
But, again, that reluctance could evaporate if this ugly season reaches the absolute lowest depths it can go. And that certainly appears possible right now.
Georgetown is living out the worst possible scenario that anyone could have envisioned when Patrick Ewing was hired. As the 11-game losing streak rolls on, and a historically bad season continues, one can only hope that all parties involved can come up with a sensible solution, and soon.