Ewing thanked the students and took a sip from his long-needed water bottle as he crossed the court toward a TV interview. he was in the desert he’s not out of it yet.
“I know I don’t usually start with a statement,” Ewing said at the post-match press conference.
Ann 81-76 A victory over DePaul in front of just 3,724 supporters with a choice of seats would not change the trajectory of the program. This was an ointment and was temporary. With this win, the Hoyas’ Big East ended his streak of 29 games. That lifted their record to 6-15 overall and 1-9 in the conference, but it’s still embarrassing.
Back in time — pick a number — 10 years. 20 years. Ewing has been the center of Georgetown for 40 years. Those records would have been unimaginable. Even after DePaul wins, they are unacceptable. Georgetown men’s basketball was once a national brand and a national power. Nothing like that at the moment.
“We never stopped believing,” said Ewing. That is wonderful. “Sometimes you have to uncork it, remove the seal, etc. I broke the seal tonight. I have 10 more games to go, so I can get back to hunting in no time.”
There’s rarely reason to be optimistic on a Tuesday night. But that doesn’t change the reality of the situation. In his four years in which he became one of the greatest players in the history of the college game, Ewing lost his 23 games. totalThe Blue Demons allowed 41 foul shots for the Hoyas, 11 of 19 from the line itself, which helped Georgetown gain attention for the 29th straight time in the conference.
“Coach Ewing, he kept the message going, just stay in the fight,” said junior forward Acok Acok, who moved from Connecticut. “I keep believing. … Proud, and proud to wear the Georgetown jersey. These are some of the things that matter in our program.”
However, losing is something that everyone learns. Ewing isn’t the first season trying to revive his alma mater. He is the 6th generation. In his 38 seasons from forming the Big East to recruiting Ewing, Georgetown had his four losing record. His coaching changed in 3 of his seasons. Four of his five teams in Ewing’s first at Georgetown finished below . It takes a miracle to keep these Hoyas from being his 5/6.
“I’ve won pretty much every place I’ve ever been,” Ewing said. “So losing is not what I’m used to. But… it’s all about getting up. When you get knocked down, you can’t sit still. You have to keep getting up. I kept getting up every day. My The team kept getting up every day and kept fighting.”
How many more days? A change is required here. Ewing won’t quit because that’s just not his way. Georgetown won’t kick him out mid-season because that’s not how the school works. This is sensitive because we set the Those expectations may no longer be reasonable. But what happened under Ewing isn’t enough for him to stay in his job.
You see, Georgetown has its limits.Playing in an NBA arena that is particularly inaccessible from campus and lacking parking, spaces and public transportation, McDonough is impractical to expand his arena upon campus. So in Cap One, most of the time the glass looks half empty. Duke, a private school with approximately 6,500 undergraduate students, has a 9,314-seat on-campus arena. Georgetown, a private school with approximately 7,500 undergraduate students, has a 20,356-seat off-campus arena. Every coach has challenges when it comes to creating excitement on game day.
But this is not about atmosphere or attendance. It’s not about transferring out of the program. Because that’s all schools these days. It’s not about coordinating halftime or executing attacks or principles of defense. It’s not about changing assistants. Ewing did it After a dismal 6-25 conclusion last season.
It’s about the results, and the results are too obvious to require any changes. Ewing’s record is now 74-99 (.428), his first 99 in five and a half seasons. It took the first 13 seasons of the Big East’s existence for John Thompson Jr.’s team to lose 99 games.
But recently put it together. In his last eight years of John Thompson III’s tenure, the Hoyas lost a total of 100 games. It ended with the first losing streak since 1971-72, Jack McGee’s last season as coach, and Big John’s first campaign in 1972-73.
John DeJoia, president of the same university, and Lee Reed, who is also the sports director of the same university, said this would be the end of JTIII’s 13-year tenure (including eight NCAA Tournament appearances and one Final Four). I figured enough… The current coach will probably only be in one tournament in his six seasons (that’s unlikely).
It’s all too bad. I’m really sad. Ewing clearly still cares. At some point earlier on Tuesday, he delayed his trip to the huddle during a timeout so he could coach center Qudus Wahab one-on-one. and accepted former antagonist Dave Corzine as an NBA center, who is now a radio analyst for DePaul. he was relieved
A few weeks ago, I can’t remember exactly when, Ewing walked into his office and found a note on his desk that he called “Dear Friend.” It says, “Block the noise, [blanking] win. “
Ewing is blocking out noise.Tuesday he [blanking] win. But he hasn’t had enough of them.There’s no real indication that what happened against DePaul at St. John’s on Sunday will be repeated in the final 10 games of the regular season, or beyond. .
Georgetown needs change. Patrick Ewing needs change. Only then can everyone involved in the program determine reasonable expectations for Hoyas in the 2020s. It’s up for debate and debate. What’s wrong: His 29-game losing streak for the Big East cannot exist under any coach in this program. Ewing had a chance and not only didn’t turn the program around, he let it go even further. The most important question now is not whether he should stay or leave. Who is it next?
