Opinion: When Will Patrick Ewing Accept Responsibility for Last Season?

Today's interview with John Fanta was much of the same from Ewing, who continues to look elsewhere when identifying what went wrong with last year's last-place team.

We don’t get to hear from Patrick Ewing much during the offseason, if at all. That’s why when we do get a rare chance to hear from the Georgetown head coach between the months of April and October, it makes each interview a big deal, no matter what is said.

If you listened to today’s 10:43-long interview with John Fanta, you would feel a bit like you were listening to a broken record, with the usual boilerplate responses that Ewing gave to Fanta’s questions. Frankly, there was not much new information gleaned from the interview— which is just how Georgetown prefers things.

Let’s go through some of the spots on our Ewing Interview Bingo Card that we filled during this interview:

• Blamed the talent level of the team for last year’s misery - Check.

• Referenced Drake’s “Started From the Bottom” lyrics - Check.

• Said he’s not a quitter - Check.

• Preached patience with this year’s squad due to “a lot of new faces” - Check.

• Said his team was “right in” most of the games last season. A season in which they lost 21 games in a row. - Check.

Ewing’s interview with Fanta was one big nothing burger, aside from one intriguing mention of incoming freshman guard Denver Anglin. But what’s concerning about today’s interview isn’t what Ewing said, it’s what he didn’t say.

Time and time again, as last season wore on, and now again today, Ewing has thrown his players under the bus in front of the media when asked about the 2021-22 team’s struggles. It’s not a good look for any college coach to criticize a group of 18-22 year-olds so publicly, but especially one who struggles with player retention like Ewing does.

Ewing has had ample opportunity in media sessions to take accountability for the results of last season and take the lion’s share of the blame for what went on last year. Instead, he has deflected almost every time, and made mention of anyone but himself when assessing what went wrong. The man cannot raise his hand and take the blame, as head of this program, for the failures of last season.

Who could forget Ewing publicly calling out freshman forward Jalin Billingsley (who has since transferred) in February and telling him to “man up”?

Hilltop Hoops @HilltopHoops_

Here are Patrick Ewing’s full postgame comments regarding freshman forward Jalin Billingsley tonight. “The big rolled and he just gave up…This is the crucial parts of the game. We can’t be doing that high school stuff. You got to man up. Everybody got to man up.”

Hilltop Hoops @HilltopHoops_

That's it for Patrick Ewing. He was very exasperated, understandably. Not sure I can remember him calling out a player so specifically in recent memory like he just did with Billingsley.

And now today, it’s the talent again that Ewing points to when asked about getting this team back to a competitive level.

Hilltop Hoops @HilltopHoops_

"It's my goal to get it back to the level that Coach Thompson had it when we were here. You can't do it without talent. Nothing against the guys that we had here. They tried their hardest."

John Fanta @John_Fanta

NEW: In an exclusive sit-down with Patrick Ewing, the Georgetown head coach tells me what the last year has been like for him, and what’s ahead for his Hoyas. “We were at a place where I never thought we would be. I’ve never lost that much in my life.” https://t.co/4Azehc3vON

Sure, talent was an issue last year. But we know that Georgetown and Ewing acknowledge that coaching was at fault too, at least to some degree, because they assembled a new coaching staff around Ewing for this season, with three new assistant coaches.

And yet, every time Patrick gets in front of a microphone, he only talks about the players on the team and how they weren’t up to par. There is seldom any mention of coaching.

Patrick Ewing’s reputation is as close to bulletproof as it gets at Georgetown. You need look no further than him keeping his job after going 0-20 in the Big East to know that he can do no wrong there. It’s for this reason that he should then be willing to be a shield for his players, and take the brunt of the criticism for his program’s failures, rather than re-direct it elsewhere. That’s what a good coach does. That’s what leadership is.

There is a lot to work on for the Hoyas this summer, and it’s not just on the court. Ewing needs to do a better job of being this team’s main spokesperson, and its go-to leader.

For better or for worse, he is the face of this program now. Part of that responsibility means sharing in your success with others, and taking the blame to protect those that are under you. He needs to take accountability for the part he played in last season’s debacle.

When Georgetown won the Big East Tournament two seasons ago, Georgetown was eager to heap all the credit in the world on Ewing for his team’s success. And certainly, a lot of that praise was deserved. But if Ewing is going to be there to receive the warm praise when his team succeeds, he needs to be there to own up for his own shortcomings when his team fails too. It can’t just be a one-way street.

Sure, the talent wasn’t good last year, but as Ewing likes to say, he is the “chef” putting together all the ingredients in the “gumbo”. The buck stops with him. He has no one to blame but himself for the lack of talent on last year’s team, a team— I might add— that featured the #16 overall freshman class last season.

It’s time for him to acknowledge that, and stop directing blame in the players’ direction. He is not doing himself, or his program, any favors by continuing to point the finger elsewhere.