Ewing’s exit? Hapless Hoyas flown out of the Big East Tournament

NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Ewing walked alone Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, the site of his greatest moments as an NBA player and Georgetown coach, after suffering another loss in what may be his last game at the helm who had been Hoyas .

Last-seeded Georgetown (7-25) was eliminated 80-48 by sixth-seeded Villanova in the first round of the Big East tournament. School officials have given no indication of whether Ewing will return for a seventh season, but he fell to 75-109 as coach of the program, which he led to three Final Fours and a national title as a player.

“No thoughts about my future,” Ewing said. “The (last) two seasons have been tough. Disappointed with the results of these last two years. My future is in the hands of our President and our AD and Board.”

Athletic director Lee Reed declined to comment on Ewing’s status.

“My thoughts are with those kids right now,” Lee said outside the Georgetown locker room. “It’s been a long year.”

The garden will always be a home away from home for Ewing, with familiar faces and a warm welcome.

He played 15 seasons for the Knicks after being drafted first overall in 1985 and became one of their all-time greats. His No. 33 hangs on the rafters at MSG.

In the first half against Villanova, during a timeout, Ewing shared fist punches with Big East officials stationed next to Hoya’s bench, including assistant commissioner and former Knicks coach Stu Jackson.

He paced the touchline in his all-black tracksuit, shouting instructions to his players and sometimes looking incredulous when his team didn’t execute his offense smoothly or conceded another easy Villanova basket.

“It’s been a tough year. It wasn’t the year we thought we were going to have,” Ewing said. “We kept fighting. We didn’t give up and we’re disappointed that the season ended like this.”

During Ewing’s four years in uniform under coach John Thompson Jr., Georgetown went 121-23, won the 1984 NCAA title and made two other appearances in championship play. Ewing, who won the Big East Tournament 9-1 as a player, became the No. 1 overall pick after the NBA’s first draft lottery.

The story goes on

The undisputed high point of his tenure as Georgetown coach was two years ago at MSG. In a mostly empty arena due to the pandemic, Ewing led Georgetown on a surprise run to the Big East tournament title as the eighth seed.

The Hoyas were done in their first NCAA tournament appearance in six years, and this magical week in New York City proved to be more of an outlier than a turning point for the program.

Georgetown has won just 13 games over the past two seasons and managed a 29-game losing streak from the Big East that ended in January.

The regular season ended for Georgetown last Saturday with a 40-point loss at Creighton. Things weren’t much better in the garden.

The Hoyas fell back by double digits less than 10 minutes into the first half, trailing 21 at halftime and never being threatened in the second half.

“Obviously, Georgetown is one of the best programs in this league. I think he’s doing a great job,” said Villanova coach Kyle Neptune. “It’s just the wear and tear of the seasons, you never know how things are going to go. I wish you all the best.”

Earlier in the day at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim offered a series of cryptic answers when asked if he would be returning for another season.

A few hours later, the school announced that Boeheim was stepping down as coach after 47 years.

Ewing made his intentions clear.

“See, I’m proud to be a Georgetown Hoya. This institution has been great for me over the years,” Ewing said. “I would be honored to return here as a coach. That’s it.”

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