we seemed to be getting a LOT of coverage lately -- all credit to Dana. Assuming again that Ron is fine with this:
Patrick Ewing put in the work, and is now earning the rewards as Georgetown’s coach
By Dana O'Neil Sep 23, 2019
14
Patrick Ewing was walking through an airport the other day when a fellow traveler recognized him. As you might imagine, this is not unusual. At 7-foot, Ewing is impossible to miss … and he’s also Patrick Ewing. Except on this occasion, there was a bit of a deviation from the usual script. As Ewing lumbered by, the person called out to him, “Hey, Coach!” This, Ewing thought, is a sign of progress.
Ewing has not played a competitive game of basketball since 2002, and he long ago stopped viewing himself as a basketball player. Lest he, at age 57, harbors any delusions that he could rekindle the glory days, his body offers a daily reminder that the chapter is officially closed. “And the gray hairs on my head,’’ he says with a laugh. Ewing’s adult life, in fact, is nearing a perfect split. He spent 17 years as an NBA player; he is moving into Year 16 as a coach.
He knows, however, that he has been alone in the perception of himself. People no more consider Ewing a coach than they do Gregg Popovich a player. (For what it’s worth: Pop was the leading scorer for the Air Force Academy in 1970). Ewing’s playing career is too legendary to allow room for an occupational switcheroo: Hall of Famer, gold medalist, 11-time All-Star, one of the top 50 NBA players of all time, transcendent college star and the first lottery pick in NBA Draft history. Even his boss, Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed, occasionally finds himself staring up at his employee and thinking, ‘Wow! You’re Patrick Ewing, man!”
But one airport patron at a time, Ewing is slowly flipping the page on his own biography. The reason is simple: Despite predictions to the contrary, Patrick Ewing is actually coaching.
“Step back, one-legged, what kind of shot is that? Have you ever shot that shot? Do you work on that shot? When?’’
Fox cameras and microphones caught Ewing yelling at his leading scorer, Marcus Derrickson, during a game in January 2018. The clip went semi-viral — 905,000 views, 14,000 Twitter likes — and amused both broadcasters and fans, all tickled by this crazy notion that Patrick Ewing was offering basketball instruction. Which is insulting, seeing how he was on the bench in the construct as the head basketball coach.
But with ineffective Chris Mullin prowling the St. John’s sideline at the same time and memories of Clyde Drexler’s crash and burn at Houston, not to mention Isiah Thomas’ disastrous two-year run at Florida International, no one set a very high bar when Ewing took over Georgetown in April 2017. Critics derided the school for trying to cash in on the nostalgia, and cynics questioned the bona fides that qualified Ewing for such a big job. “I think people make assumptions from afar, in terms of, ‘Well this type of hire didn’t work somewhere else and therefore it won’t work here,’’ Reed says. “That’s a lazy way of evaluating things. Why would you doubt how hard he’d work and how committed he is? This is not any job. This is personal for him.’’ As for his qualifications, the short answer is that in the second half of his adulthood, Ewing spent 14 years as an assistant working under excellent NBA tutors, including Doug Collins, Steve Clifford and the brothers Van Gundy. College basketball people might have questioned his qualifications; NBA people wondered why he couldn’t get a head job.
When Reed interviewed Ewing, he found a man who had done his homework. To anyone who knows Ewing well, that’s not a surprise. Nearly four decades ago, Mike Jarvis first met Ewing at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Boston. The newly transplanted Jamaican was just learning basketball, and Jarvis, still a P.E. teacher and not yet the high school’s head coach, was asked by middle school coach Steve Jenkins to work privately with Ewing to quench his insatiable appetite to get better. “Not once in all the years I worked with him did I ever have to yell at him to work harder, or not doing what he was asked to do,’’ Jarvis says. “If anything, I had to tell him to take it easy.’’ NBA coaches long have marveled at Ewing’s willingness to climb the ladder, never once trying to cash in on his name.
At the interview, Ewing was not only ready to answer questions Reed and others asked, but he also arrived with questions himself. He wanted to know about staffing — not just assistants, but trainers and strength coaches — and the university’s commitment to the program. Far from assuming he had the job because of his Georgetown pedigree, Ewing laid out his vision to ensure that the two sides were operating from the same place.
Echoing his athletic director’s sentiment, Ewing explains that people came at his attachment to the place the wrong way. For everyone who saw it as a crutch, Georgetown offering a life preserver for a guy who couldn’t get another job elsewhere, Ewing considered the job all the more of a challenge because the place matters to him. “I am Patrick Ewing. I am Georgetown,’’ he says. “It’s a part of my legacy. I played here. I went to school here. I’m proud of my accomplishments here, but I worked my ass off to learn this job. That’s why I’m here.’’
The nostalgia thing, it wears off in a hurry. Drexler lasted two seasons at his alma mater, and Mullin just four at his, the pair of Dream Team greats done in when the rubber hit the road and the coaching thing began to matter. Ewing is about to start Year 3, far too early to grade the hire. But there is no denying that the Hoyas are improving, and it is because of their coach, not just some law of attrition.
Ewing marvels at how much the game has changed since he played, noting how the NBA’s desire to increase scoring has trickled down to the college game. There’s more spacing and the freedom-of-movement rules are a far cry from his Big East era when bruising physicality won the day. “I would have loved it,’’ Ewing says with a laugh. “The (double-team) wouldn’t come, so I’d be out there balling.’’ But with the way the game is now played, Ewing has found a style to suit the Hoyas. He has recruited multi-tool players, guys such as high-flying Mac McClung and point guard James Akinjo, last year’s Big East Rookie of the Year, and let them go.
Last season, the Hoyas, playing Ewing’s pro-style offense, finished 25th in adjusted tempo, the best for the program in the 23 years KenPom.com has been tracking the stat. Their average possession length decreased by a full second, from 16.6 to 15.5, pushing them from 91st to 15th, and at 79.6 points per game, the Hoyas finished 36th in the nation in scoring. That’s a far cry from the more plodding Princeton offense run by John Thompson III, a system critics argued was too confining for today’s players.
The most critical stat: Georgetown finished 19-14 and 9-9 in the Big East, its best run since 2015. McClung, Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc were all named to the Big East all-freshman team, and Ewing re-anchored the inside with Omer Yurtseven, an N.C. State transfer and skilled big who should make up for the graduation of leading scorer Jessie Govan. Georgetown lost to Harvard in the first round of the NIT last year. It’s not out of the question to think NCAA Tournament bid this year.
“We have some expectations for this team,’’ Ewing says. “We don’t talk about them publicly. But they know what they are.’’ At this, he offers a bit of a villainous chuckle and the insinuation is clear: The coach has driven home the message.
More than anyone, Ewing understands how difficult it is for people to change their perception of him. He has lived in the fishbowl of Being Patrick Ewing for 57 years now. Total strangers consider him part of their lives, his past tied so intrinsically to their personal memories.
But a man can’t live on who he was, or at least this man can’t. “Because of how good I was, I’ll always be Patrick Ewing, the player,’’ Ewing says. “But this is my second life. I want to be as good a coach as I was a player.’’ Told that is a rather high bar to reach, Ewing doesn’t pause. “Yes, it is,’’ he says simply. “And I intend to reach it.’’
Patrick Ewing put in the work, and is now earning the rewards as Georgetown’s coach
By Dana O'Neil Sep 23, 2019
Patrick Ewing was walking through an airport the other day when a fellow traveler recognized him. As you might imagine, this is not unusual. At 7-foot, Ewing is impossible to miss … and he’s also Patrick Ewing. Except on this occasion, there was a bit of a deviation from the usual script. As Ewing lumbered by, the person called out to him, “Hey, Coach!” This, Ewing thought, is a sign of progress.
Ewing has not played a competitive game of basketball since 2002, and he long ago stopped viewing himself as a basketball player. Lest he, at age 57, harbors any delusions that he could rekindle the glory days, his body offers a daily reminder that the chapter is officially closed. “And the gray hairs on my head,’’ he says with a laugh. Ewing’s adult life, in fact, is nearing a perfect split. He spent 17 years as an NBA player; he is moving into Year 16 as a coach.
He knows, however, that he has been alone in the perception of himself. People no more consider Ewing a coach than they do Gregg Popovich a player. (For what it’s worth: Pop was the leading scorer for the Air Force Academy in 1970). Ewing’s playing career is too legendary to allow room for an occupational switcheroo: Hall of Famer, gold medalist, 11-time All-Star, one of the top 50 NBA players of all time, transcendent college star and the first lottery pick in NBA Draft history. Even his boss, Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed, occasionally finds himself staring up at his employee and thinking, ‘Wow! You’re Patrick Ewing, man!”
But one airport patron at a time, Ewing is slowly flipping the page on his own biography. The reason is simple: Despite predictions to the contrary, Patrick Ewing is actually coaching.
“Step back, one-legged, what kind of shot is that? Have you ever shot that shot? Do you work on that shot? When?’’
Fox cameras and microphones caught Ewing yelling at his leading scorer, Marcus Derrickson, during a game in January 2018. The clip went semi-viral — 905,000 views, 14,000 Twitter likes — and amused both broadcasters and fans, all tickled by this crazy notion that Patrick Ewing was offering basketball instruction. Which is insulting, seeing how he was on the bench in the construct as the head basketball coach.
But with ineffective Chris Mullin prowling the St. John’s sideline at the same time and memories of Clyde Drexler’s crash and burn at Houston, not to mention Isiah Thomas’ disastrous two-year run at Florida International, no one set a very high bar when Ewing took over Georgetown in April 2017. Critics derided the school for trying to cash in on the nostalgia, and cynics questioned the bona fides that qualified Ewing for such a big job. “I think people make assumptions from afar, in terms of, ‘Well this type of hire didn’t work somewhere else and therefore it won’t work here,’’ Reed says. “That’s a lazy way of evaluating things. Why would you doubt how hard he’d work and how committed he is? This is not any job. This is personal for him.’’ As for his qualifications, the short answer is that in the second half of his adulthood, Ewing spent 14 years as an assistant working under excellent NBA tutors, including Doug Collins, Steve Clifford and the brothers Van Gundy. College basketball people might have questioned his qualifications; NBA people wondered why he couldn’t get a head job.
When Reed interviewed Ewing, he found a man who had done his homework. To anyone who knows Ewing well, that’s not a surprise. Nearly four decades ago, Mike Jarvis first met Ewing at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Boston. The newly transplanted Jamaican was just learning basketball, and Jarvis, still a P.E. teacher and not yet the high school’s head coach, was asked by middle school coach Steve Jenkins to work privately with Ewing to quench his insatiable appetite to get better. “Not once in all the years I worked with him did I ever have to yell at him to work harder, or not doing what he was asked to do,’’ Jarvis says. “If anything, I had to tell him to take it easy.’’ NBA coaches long have marveled at Ewing’s willingness to climb the ladder, never once trying to cash in on his name.
At the interview, Ewing was not only ready to answer questions Reed and others asked, but he also arrived with questions himself. He wanted to know about staffing — not just assistants, but trainers and strength coaches — and the university’s commitment to the program. Far from assuming he had the job because of his Georgetown pedigree, Ewing laid out his vision to ensure that the two sides were operating from the same place.
Echoing his athletic director’s sentiment, Ewing explains that people came at his attachment to the place the wrong way. For everyone who saw it as a crutch, Georgetown offering a life preserver for a guy who couldn’t get another job elsewhere, Ewing considered the job all the more of a challenge because the place matters to him. “I am Patrick Ewing. I am Georgetown,’’ he says. “It’s a part of my legacy. I played here. I went to school here. I’m proud of my accomplishments here, but I worked my ass off to learn this job. That’s why I’m here.’’
The nostalgia thing, it wears off in a hurry. Drexler lasted two seasons at his alma mater, and Mullin just four at his, the pair of Dream Team greats done in when the rubber hit the road and the coaching thing began to matter. Ewing is about to start Year 3, far too early to grade the hire. But there is no denying that the Hoyas are improving, and it is because of their coach, not just some law of attrition.
Ewing marvels at how much the game has changed since he played, noting how the NBA’s desire to increase scoring has trickled down to the college game. There’s more spacing and the freedom-of-movement rules are a far cry from his Big East era when bruising physicality won the day. “I would have loved it,’’ Ewing says with a laugh. “The (double-team) wouldn’t come, so I’d be out there balling.’’ But with the way the game is now played, Ewing has found a style to suit the Hoyas. He has recruited multi-tool players, guys such as high-flying Mac McClung and point guard James Akinjo, last year’s Big East Rookie of the Year, and let them go.
Last season, the Hoyas, playing Ewing’s pro-style offense, finished 25th in adjusted tempo, the best for the program in the 23 years KenPom.com has been tracking the stat. Their average possession length decreased by a full second, from 16.6 to 15.5, pushing them from 91st to 15th, and at 79.6 points per game, the Hoyas finished 36th in the nation in scoring. That’s a far cry from the more plodding Princeton offense run by John Thompson III, a system critics argued was too confining for today’s players.
The most critical stat: Georgetown finished 19-14 and 9-9 in the Big East, its best run since 2015. McClung, Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc were all named to the Big East all-freshman team, and Ewing re-anchored the inside with Omer Yurtseven, an N.C. State transfer and skilled big who should make up for the graduation of leading scorer Jessie Govan. Georgetown lost to Harvard in the first round of the NIT last year. It’s not out of the question to think NCAA Tournament bid this year.
“We have some expectations for this team,’’ Ewing says. “We don’t talk about them publicly. But they know what they are.’’ At this, he offers a bit of a villainous chuckle and the insinuation is clear: The coach has driven home the message.
More than anyone, Ewing understands how difficult it is for people to change their perception of him. He has lived in the fishbowl of Being Patrick Ewing for 57 years now. Total strangers consider him part of their lives, his past tied so intrinsically to their personal memories.
But a man can’t live on who he was, or at least this man can’t. “Because of how good I was, I’ll always be Patrick Ewing, the player,’’ Ewing says. “But this is my second life. I want to be as good a coach as I was a player.’’ Told that is a rather high bar to reach, Ewing doesn’t pause. “Yes, it is,’’ he says simply. “And I intend to reach it.’’
