Basketball legend Patrick Ewing ousted as Georgetown coach
“I will always be a Hoya,” Ewing said.
Patrick Ewing is no longer coaching the men’s basketball team at Georgetown University, as announced by the school earlier this week.
According to ESPN, Ewing, who led the Hoyas to a national championship in 1984 as a player, finished his six-year coaching tenure with a record of 75 wins and 109 defeats.
In a statement released Thursday announcing his departure, Ewing said it was “particularly meaningful” to coach his alma mater and wished the program “nothing but success” moving forward.
“I am very proud to be a graduate of Georgetown University,” Ewing stated, per the outlet. “And I am very grateful to President [John J.] DeGioa for giving me the opportunity to achieve my ambition to be a head basketball coach.”
“I will always be a Hoya,” he added.
After taking over the role in 2017, Ewing first coached Georgetown to a postseason berth in 2021 following a Big East tournament win, per ESPN.
In the two ensuing seasons, however, the team went 6-25 and 7-25 respectively in the regular season. Between 2021 and January of this year, the Hoyas went 0-29 in Big East play, marking the longest winless streak in conference history, the outlet reported.
Earning three All-American team selections as a player at Georgetown in the 1980s, Ewing helped turn the program into a national force to be reckoned with. He was additionally named National Player of the Year in 1985, per the report.
After being selected first overall in the 1985 NBA draft, Ewing played with the Knicks for most of his stellar NBA career, from 1985 to 2000. He also played a season apiece for the Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic before retiring in 2002, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame six years later.
“Patrick Ewing is the heart of Georgetown basketball,” DeGioa stated following Ewing’s departure as head coach. “I am deeply grateful to Coach Ewing for his vision, his determination, and for all that he has enabled Georgetown to achieve.”
He added: “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.”
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