On March 13, 2021, Patrick Ewing (C’85) became the first person to win the BIG EAST Tournament as both a player and head coach. Having won three titles as a player (1982, 1984, 1985), Ewing led the eighth-seeded Hoyas to the BIG EAST Tournament title defeating #9 Marquette, #1 Villanova, #4 Seton Hall and #2 Creighton along the way. It was the 49th anniversary of the day that Hall of Fame Coach John Thompson Jr. was hired at Georgetown.
In 2021, Georgetown returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after earning the automatic berth upon winning the BIG EAST Tournament. In four seasons the Hoyas have picked up two major awards from the league. Ewing’s teams have made the postseason (2021 NCAA Tournament, 2019 National Invitation Tournament) in two of the three years a postseason was available. In his first four years, Ewing has led the Hoyas to eight wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including a trio during the 2020-21 campaign.
Ewing returned to the Hilltop on April 3, 2017 as its new head men’s basketball coach. Ewing came back to Georgetown after spending the previous 15 years as an assistant coach in the NBA. He served as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards (2002-03), Houston Rockets (2003-06) and Orlando Magic (2007-12) and as the associate head coach for the Charlotte Hornets (2013-17).
Ewing is recognized as the greatest men’s basketball player to ever don the Blue & Gray. He was selected as one of the top 50 players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Ewing was a three-time consensus First Team All-American (1983, 1984, 1985) on the Hilltop, leading the Hoyas to three NCAA Championship Game appearances and the 1984 National Championship title. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1984 NCAA Championships. His play propelled Georgetown into one of the most respected basketball programs in the country.
During his illustrious career, Ewing had the opportunity to play for, and coach, alongside some of the great coaches in basketball, including Pat Riley (New York Knicks), Jeff Van Gundy (Knicks, Houston Rockets), Stan Van Gundy (Orlando Magic), Tom Thibodeau (Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves) and Steve Clifford (Charlotte).
He was the first pick in the 1985 NBA Draft and went on to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1986 with the New York Knicks after averaging 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Ewing scored 24,815 points during his 17-year NBA career to go along with 11,607 rebounds. Ewing spent 15 years with the Knicks and made 10-consecutive NBA All-Star appearances. Ewing averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.45 blocks in 1,183 career games and was a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team. He remains the New York Knicks’ all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocked shots, steals and field goals made.
He still stands second all-time in scoring at Georgetown, averaging 15.3 points in 143 games. He is one of only four players in program history to score at least 2,000 points (2,184). Ewing is the all-time leader in total rebounds (1,316), blocked shots (493) and games played (143).
