Patrick Ewing’s exit? Hapless Hoyas blown out of Big East Tournament

NEW YORK (AP)— Patrick Ewing walked off the court alone Wednesday night atMadison Square Garden, the site of his greatest moments as both anNBA player and Georgetown’s coach, after another blow out loss thatmight have been his final game leading the Hoyas.

Last-placeGeorgetown (7-25) was eliminated by sixth-seeded Villanova 80-48 inthe first round of the Big East Tournament. School officials havegiven no indication of whether Ewing will be back for a seventhseason, but he fell to 75-109 as coach of the program he lead tothree Final Fours and a national title as player.

“No thoughtsabout my future,” Ewing said. “The (last) two season’s been rough.Disappointed in the outcomes of these last two years. My future’sin the hands of our president and our AD and the board of thedirectors.”

Athleticdirector Lee Reed declined to comment on Ewing’s status.

“My thoughtsare with those kids right now,” Lee said outside of the Georgetownlocker room. “It’s been a long year.”

The Gardenwill always be a second home to Ewing, with a familiar faces andwarm welcomes.

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

In the firsthalf against Villanova, Ewing shared fist bumps during a timeoutwith Big East officials stationed next to Hoyas’ bench, includingassociate commissioner and former Knicks coach Stu Jackson.

He paced thesideline in his all-black sweat suit, shouting directions to hisplayers and looking incredulous at times when his team failed tosmoothly execute its offense or allowed yet another easy Villanovabasket.

“It was arough year. It was not the year we thought we would have had,”Ewing said. ”We kept fighting. We didn’t give up, and we’redisappointed the season ended the way that it did.”

DuringEwing’s four years in uniform under coach John Thompson Jr.,Georgetown went 121-23, won the 1984 NCAA title and appeared in thechampionship game two other times. Ewing, who went 9-1 in the BigEast Tournament as a player, went on to become the No. 1 overallpick following the NBA’s first draft lottery.

Theunquestioned high point of his tenure as Georgetown coach came atMSG two seasons ago. In a mostly empty arena because of thepandemic, Ewing led Georgetown on a surprising run to the Big EastTournament title as the eighth seed.

The Hoyaswere one-and-done in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in sixyears, and that magical week in New York City turned out to be anoutlier rather than a turning point for the program.

Georgetownwon just 13 games over the last two seasons, and he presided over a29-game Big East losing streak that ended in January.

Theregular-season ended for Georgetown last Saturday with a 40-pointloss at Creighton. Things didn’t go much better at the Garden.

The Hoyasfell behind by double-digits less than 10 minutes into the firsthalf, were down 21 at halftime and never threatened in the secondhalf.

“Obviously,Georgetown is one of the premier programs in this league. I thinkhe does a great job,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “It’s justthe wear and tear of seasons, you never know how things are goingto go. I wish them the best.”

Earlier inthe day, at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro,North Carolina, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim gave a series of crypticanswers when asked about whether he would return for anotherseason.

A few hourslater,the school announced Boeheim wasstepping downafter 47 years as coach.

Ewing madehis intentions clear.

“Look, I amproud of being a Georgetown Hoya. This institution has been greatto me over the years,” Ewing said. “I’d be honored to come back asthe coach here. That’s it.”