Jeff BorzelloESPN Writer2 minute read
Patrick Ewing will not return as the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball coach next season, the school announced Thursday night.
Ewing, one of the greatest college basketball players of all time at Georgetown, was the head coach of his alma mater for six years and finishes with a 75-109 record.
“I am very proud to graduate from Georgetown University,” Ewing said in a statement. “And I’m very grateful to President (John J.) DeGioa for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my ambition to be a basketball head coach. Being in charge of the program is especially important to me. my alma mater basketball club. I wish the program success. I will always be a Hoya.
Ewing had never been a head coach at any level before succeeding John Thompson III at Georgetown.
The Hoyas said they have already begun a nationwide search for “new leadership.”
Ewing coached the Hoyas to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 after winning the Big East Tournament title, but they’ve struggled a lot since. Georgetown went winless in the conference last season, finishing 6-25 overall. This season, the Hoyas went 7-25 overall and 2-18 in Big East play.
The Hoyas lost a Big East record 29 straight conference games that started during the 2021 regular season and ended in January.
Georgetown’s season ended Wednesday night with an 80-48 loss to Villanova in the first round of the Big East tournament.
“Patrick Ewing is the heart of Georgetown basketball,” DeGioa said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to Coach Ewing for his vision, his determination and for all that he has enabled Georgetown to achieve. Over the past six years, he has been tireless in his dedication to his team and the young men he has coached and we will continue I will be forever grateful to Patrick for his courage and leadership in our Georgetown community.”
Under head coach John Thompson, Ewing helped make Georgetown one of college basketball’s powerhouses in the 1980s. He was a three-time All-American during his time with the Hoyas, earning top honors national player of the year in 1985 and winning a national championship in 1984.
Ewing was the first pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, spending 15 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Knicks. He was named an NBA All-Star 11 times. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Before joining Georgetown as head coach in 2017, Ewing spent 14 seasons as an NBA assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards.