The Patrick Ewing Coaching Era is Over. When Will Georgetown and Ewing Face Reality?
It's time for Georgetown and Patrick Ewing to come to an amicable split before Ewing permanently ruins the program that he helped build.
If John Thompson Jr. is considered the architect of Georgetown men’s basketball, then let’s call Patrick Ewing his lead builder, the one who took Georgetown to soaring new heights, and established Georgetown as one of the elite college basketball programs in the 80s and the 90s.
Those glory days must feel like another world away to the remaining fans of this Georgetown program who were around back then to witness the days of Ewing, Mourning, Iverson, Floyd, Williams and others who built Georgetown up to what it was known as for so long: one of the premier basketball schools in all of America.
Where Georgetown was once synonymous with winning, consistency, and proud traditions, it has now become defined by lackadaiscal play, frustrating program restarts each year that lead nowhere, and a lack of any identity like the one that defined the teams that Ewing played on from 1981-1984
The man responsible for the complete collapse of the once great tradition of Georgetown basketball is also the one that helped establish it as an elite program in the first place, which is what makes what is unfolding with Georgetown basketball such an unfortunate tragedy.
The latest act of this tragic play came on Wednesday morning, when Ewing’s Georgetown team blew a 16-point lead to American University (coached by former JT3 assistant Mike Brennan), losing by a final score of 74-70, Georgetown’s first time losing to the Eagles since 1982.
Like every soul-crushing defeat that has come with alarming frequency during the Ewing Era, Wednesday’s loss came as a result of shoddy three-point defense, inconsistent individual efforts on defense, sloppy turnovers, and a lack of any connected play on offense.
This season has brought a new twist though! Epic second half collapses. In its last four games alone, in which it has gone 1-3, Georgetown has been outscored by an average of 17 points in the second half alone.
The opponents these collapses have come against?
Northwestern, Loyola Marymount, La Salle, and American.
Wednesday’s loss to American was Georgetown’s first loss to a sub-300 KenPom opponent ever (2002-present), giving further credence to the notion that there is no such thing as rock bottom with this team under Ewing; it just keeps finding new ways to sink lower and lower.
If Patrick Ewing is planning on gracefully exiting stage left midseason to save the program that he helped built from further embarrassment under his watch, he gave no indication of any plans to step down during his postgame press conference on Wednesday.
Georgetown finds itself stuck with a head coach with a career record of 71-87 who can’t coach defense, won’t give opportunity to younger players (which exacerbates player turnover issues), doesn’t hold players accountable, and struggles with in-game coaching decisions.
There is plenty of evidence at this point to suggest that Ewing is not cut out to be the guy to lead this program back to prominence, as he stated was still his goal back in March 2022, when he was on his way to leading this team to an 0-20 record in the Big East.
Make no mistake about it, the Patrick Ewing Era at Georgetown is over. The only question now is when Ewing, Jack DeGioia, and the Board of Directors will acknowledge reality and work to find a solution that provides an amicable split for both sides that doesn’t alienate the program’s legendary former player for good, while allowing the school to get to work attempting to revive what is now a dead program.
But that’s the big question: What is it going to take to make a change at head coach?
When 0-20 in the Big East isn’t enough to fire your coach, all bets are off. And that’s the worrisome thing if you are a Georgetown fan simply wanting to see some mildly competent play out of the Hoyas every now and then.
Complicating things is the secret contract extension that Georgetown gave to Ewing after winning the Big East Tournament, the details of which can be found here. If the university wishes to part ways with Ewing after this season, it would owe him a buyout total of $11.25 million, a significant buyout number for any college head coach, but especially for someone with Ewing’s poor coaching record.
If neither Ewing nor the university does something, this is headed towards a bitter, messy ending, one that will likely stain Ewing’s pristine legacy at Georgetown to some degree.
It will be a sad, painful finish for a good man who put aside his NBA coaching ambitions to return to this program and try to bring it back to the heights that it reached when he was there as a player.
At this point, Ewing has lost a vast majority of the fan base. Students on campus largely don’t follow the team closely anymore. Donors that I am in contact with are furious, with many of them having already ceased donating until a change is made. This program is broken, and the fan base is following suit.
Is there really any way out of this, in Year 6?
Georgetown’s decision makers appear to think so, allowing Ewing to continue trying to get this program back to its winning ways. But as the embarrassing losses pile up, and the cries for change grow louder, it’s only a matter of time now until Patrick Ewing is on his way out, one way or another.
No one wanted to see it get to this point. This fan base was united at the beginning in supporting Ewing as head coach of this team. But the losses are only beginning to mount, six years in and counting, and the embarrassment is only growing for the few dedicated fans who still follow this team closely.
Time is up, Patrick. We appreciate all you have done for this program, but it’s time for a new voice. Whenever you decide to step aside, make sure to turn off the lights on your way out.
"A [departure] that will likely stain Ewing’s pristine legacy at Georgetown to some degree." Why do you continue to walk on eggshells with this guy? He is an incredibly selfish, arrogant, and incompetent person who has permanently damaged this program. It's high time we all call it what it is!