Georgetown and Patrick Ewing Continue to Dance Around Ewing's Future
Patrick Ewing's postgame comments on Saturday night did nothing to quell speculation that Ewing could still be mulling stepping down after this season.
If you thought that Georgetown was going to do its part to clearly communicate to its fans what its intentions are for next season with Patrick Ewing, and put to rest all the speculation about his future, boy, were you wrong.
After receiving a statement of support from athletic director Lee Reed on Wednesday, and posting a tweet from his “own” account, Ewing was asked after Georgetown’s 97-75 loss to Xavier about the tweet. His response did nothing to put to rest questions about what his plans are for next season.
Between Ewing’s response tonight, his tweet on Friday, and Reed’s statement on Wednesday, something is not adding up when it comes to figuring out Patrick Ewing’s plans for next season. And Georgetown’s refusal to come out and definitively say that Ewing will be the head coach of next year’s team is not helping matters.
Is that on purpose? Are they leaving wiggle room for Ewing so that he has a way to exit stage left at the conclusion of this season?
Or is this just another example of PR incompetence by Georgetown Athletics?
It’s hard to say. But there has been enough ambiguity in several public statements now about Patrick Ewing’s future with the program that it feels more than just a coincidence that each statement has refused to directly say that Ewing will return as head coach next year.
Reed’s statement said in part, “In this ever evolving landscape of college athletics we are committed to Coach Ewing, and we are working with him to evaluate every aspect of the men’s basketball program and to make the necessary changes for him to put us back on the path to success for next year.”
Later, Reed adds, “This gives us confidence that he can strengthen our program moving forward.”
What this statements says: That Reed has confidence Ewing can fix things and get this program back on track next year, and that “necessary changes” will need to be made.
What this statement does not say: That Patrick Ewing will return as coach of Georgetown men’s basketball next season.
Of course, Lee Reed is not the one who makes the decision about if Patrick Ewing returns next season. That call falls upon the shoulder of university president Jack DeGioia and the Georgetown Board of Directors. Notably, DeGioia’s name is missing from this statement of support for Ewing.
Then there is Ewing’s tweet, which came shortly after a radio appearance by columnist and author John Feinstein, a longtime thorn in the side of Georgetown basketball, who said he had heard rumors that Ewing would retire soon.
Again, this statement does little to assure anyone that Ewing will be back next year.
What this statement says: That any announcement about Ewing’s future will come from the big man himself, or from the university, and that his plan is to be back next year.
What this statement does not say: That Patrick Ewing will be back as head coach of this team next season.
After receiving a vote of support from his athletic director, Ewing essentially has the green light to come back if he wants, provided that DeGioia and the Board are in agreement.
People with knowledge of the situation say that DeGioia is still in Ewing’s corner, and has told the Board that Ewing will be returning. If that’s the case, and Ewing has the public support of Reed and the private support of DeGioia, wouldn’t he come right out and say he will be coach of this team next year? He has said that he wants to return, so if he wants to return, and he has sign-off from university administration…why not just say you are coming back next season?
But yet, the university and Ewing are still leaving an off ramp for Ewing, and that off ramp appears to be retirement.
In every conversation I have had with people in and around the program, the belief is still that Ewing will be back. As was reported this week, Ronny Thompson has already been in contact with at least one coach about joining Ewing’s coaching staff next season.
But perhaps in this final week, Ewing decides to take that off ramp and opts to retire. Until the university says something to the contrary, the possibility of retirement is still open for Patrick Ewing. He basically said so himself tonight.
If he wasn’t considering retirement at all, why would he even say that any announcement about his retirement would come from himself or from the university?
The only certainty right now is that this final week of the season for Georgetown men’s basketball is going to be quite the stomach-churning roller coaster ride. The program could do a lot to put an end to the questions and speculation, but it continues to refuse to do so.
Soon enough, we’ll find out just why that is.