WASHINGTON — Less than 24 hours after Georgetown's season ended in the Big East Conference Tournament, the University announced it was parting ways with head men's basketball coach, Patrick Ewing.
After six seasons at the helm of Georgetown University's men's basketball program, Ewing has been relieved of his head coaching duties. This comes after another disappointing season for the Hoyas program, finishing last place in the Big East standings at 7 and 25 on the season.
This is the second consecutive year that Georgetown has finished last in the standings, after winning just two conference games in the past two seasons.
Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said, “Patrick Ewing is the heart of Georgetown basketball. I am deeply grateful to Coach Ewing for his vision, his determination, and for all that he has enabled Georgetown to achieve. Over these past six years, he was tireless in his dedication to his team and the young men he coached and we will forever be grateful to Patrick for his courage and his leadership in our Georgetown community.”
Ewing became head coach of the Hoyas after the 2017 season. He rose to Georgetown stardom as a player in the mid-1980s, winning the Hoyas their first and only National Championship in 1984. In 1985, he was the number one overall pick in the NBA draft, and spent 17 seasons in the league, 15 of them with the New York Knicks.
Ironically, Ewing's final game as Georgetown's head coach came at Madison Square Garden Wednesday against Villanova in the Big East Tournament; the same building where his Knicks #33 jersey hangs in the rafters.
Director for Intercollegiate Athletics at Georgetown, Lee Reed, saying, "It has been a privilege to work with Patrick over these past years and I deeply appreciate all of his hard work and efforts to support our student-athletes and the Men’s Basketball program. We are grateful to all those who have supported this program through this time. We will immediately launch a national search for our next coach and look forward to a bright future for Hoya basketball.”
After the University announced that Ewing was no longer its head coach, he released a statement saying, "I am very proud to be a graduate of Georgetown University, and I am very grateful to President DeGioia for giving me the opportunity to achieve my ambition to be a head basketball coach. It is particularly meaningful to me to be in charge of the basketball program at my alma mater. I wish the program nothing but success. I will always be a Hoya.”
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