Patrick Ewing addresses future at Georgetown amid losing season

The Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas lost again on Sunday, this time by an 86-77 final to the No. 21 UConn Huskies, bringing the program’s record to 6-22, and the Hoyas have just two more regular-season opportunities to avoid a winless Big East campagin.

As the Hoyas continue to skid, speculation has surfaced regarding Ewing’s future at the helm of his alma mater; while pundits may say he’s unfit for the job, it certainly appears as though Georgetown is stuck with him for quite some time, unless the university fires him and accepts a substantial buyout. And that’s because shortly after Georgetown’s Cinderella run saw the Hoyas win the 2021 Big East crown and punch an unlikely ticket to the NCAA Tournament, Georgetown agreed to a contract extension with head coach Ewing.

Following Saturday’s loss, his 22nd of the season, Ewing was asked to address his future at the helm of Georgetown — and his answer was far from reassuring.

“Of course I want to be back here,” Ewing said, continuing, “but in this position, in this job, whatever happens will happen. I’m hoping I’ll be back and doing something that I love at a place that I love and getting us back to being the king of the hill.”

The terms, salary and duration of Ewing’s extension was not been made public, but it came at a difficult time for Georgetown. The Hoyas finished with a 13-13 regular-season record last season and went just 7-9 in conference play; however, Georgetown did what many thought was impossible, entering the Big East Tournament as a No. 8 seed, only to beat No. 9 Marquette, No. 1 Villanova, No. 5 Seton Hall and No. 2 Creighton. In winning the Big East Tournament, Georgetown clinched an NCAA Tournament berth, but the Hoyas were eliminated in the first round. Now, the university is stuck with an untimely extension for Ewing.

Georgetown is in dead last in the Big East this season. The Hoyas boast a 6-22 overall record, with wins over American, Siena, Longwood, UMBC, Syracuse and Howard, and they are 0-17 in conference play. Ewing, who is now in his fifth season at Georgetown, has only gone over .500 once in his tenure.

A Georgetown alumnus, Ewing was hired to succeed John Thompson heading into the 2017-18 season. He led the Hoyas to a 15-15 overall record, including a 5-13 conference record, and Georgetown hardly improved the following year, going 19-14 overall with a 9-9 conference record. Still, that 2018-19 season was Ewing’s best at Georgetown in terms of record; the Hoyas still did not make the tournament.

Ewing had not coached at the college level prior to his hiring. He spent two seasons with the Washington Wizards as an assistant coach in the early 2000s, then later spent five seasons with the Houston Rockets, again as an assistant. He held two more NBA stints, both as an assistant coach, leading up to 2017, coaching as an assistant for the Orlando Magic for six seasons, then serving as an assistant coach for the then-Charlotte Bobcats for five years, before being hired by Georgetown.