Georgetown Hires Ewing as Head Coach

[Eric15]

Much of what you say is true, but immaterial.

He was the greatest GU player. Interesting, but how that qualifies him to be a head coach isn't at all clear.
He was an NBA Hall of Famer. (See above comment)

He is acceptable to JT Jr. That's why he got the job. That, and everyone else on their list turned them down.

Most people --- including coaches --- in the DMV are not Georgetown fans. The DeMatha people and the Morgan Wooten coaching tree --- openly dislike Georgetown. When Patrick comes a'callin, they'll see Big John's shadow in the background.

If you read HoyaTalk, the GU fan board, you'll see as many of their fans are against this hire as are for it. Ewing's announcement doesn't seem to be "energizing" them too much.

This is just more of the same. The Georgetown history is as follows:

JT Jr
Craig Esherick, JT Jr's assistant and a place holder for JTIII appointed by JT Jr.
JT Jr's son - JT III
Patrick Ewing - an approved JT Jr candidate.

This is more like the succession plan for North Korea than it is a college basketball program.

Townie is it possible that you're taking this "John Thompson is the Illuminati" perspective a bit too far?

 

[Ward]

Much of what you say is true, but immaterial.

He was the greatest GU player. Interesting, but how that qualifies him to be a head coach isn't at all clear.
He was an NBA Hall of Famer. (See above comment)

He is acceptable to JT Jr. That's why he got the job. That, and everyone else on their list turned them down.

Most people --- including coaches --- in the DMV are not Georgetown fans. The DeMatha people and the Morgan Wooten coaching tree --- openly dislike Georgetown. When Patrick comes a'callin, they'll see Big John's shadow in the background.

If you read HoyaTalk, the GU fan board, you'll see as many of their fans are against this hire as are for it. Ewing's announcement doesn't seem to be "energizing" them too much.

This is just more of the same. The Georgetown history is as follows:

JT Jr
Craig Esherick, JT Jr's assistant and a place holder for JTIII appointed by JT Jr.
JT Jr's son - JT III
Patrick Ewing - an approved JT Jr candidate.

This is more like the succession plan for North Korea than it is a college basketball program.

Those are all valid points and makes sense - though I'll say while I don't think being a great player is a necessity for being a good coach I do think it can be a useful asset and factor.

Who he's able to build out with his staff will be a big factor into his success. If he can get a guy or two with strong ties to the DMV grassroots scene those ill will feelings can be repaired. It only takes a class or two or season or two of success to shift the perception of a program for recruits.

The piece I keep coming back to is who would have been a better hire that was also a realistic candidate showing interest?

 

[Townie72]

Those are all valid points and makes sense - though I'll say while I don't think being a great player is a necessity for being a good coach I do think it can be a useful asset and factor.

Who he's able to build out with his staff will be a big factor into his success. If he can get a guy or two with strong ties to the DMV grassroots scene those ill will feelings can be repaired. It only takes a class or two or season or two of success to shift the perception of a program for recruits.

The piece I keep coming back to is who would have been a better hire that was also a realistic candidate showing interest?

You are right. He was the only candidate everyone could agree on. But, that's the problem.

To repair this 40 year old rupture with local coaching establishment will take Big John reaching out, admitting some culpability, and then the other side has to accept that. There's a whole lot of changing that will have to be done. And for what? The DMV people would prefer to see Maryland successful. And Big John' sense that he was wronged will never dissipate.

I'm not saying Ewing will not or cannot succeed.

What I am saying is that GU totally botched the firing of JT III as they obviously had no plan on who to replace him with.

They botched the search process. You don't need a Search committee and a consultant (Korn Ferry) to hire Patrick Ewing. That could have been done with a phone call from Big John.

 

[Townie72]

Townie is it possible that you're taking this "John Thompson is the Illuminati" perspective a bit too far?

Nope.

It's why GU wasn't able to get any of the successful college coaches to even interview.

It's why Ewing was selected.

Like I said:
Craig Esherick - Big John's assistant put in to hold a seat for JT III
JT III
Patrick Ewing

What's the glue that holds these three pieces together?

 

[Waltdods]

Townie is it possible that you're taking this "John Thompson is the Illuminati" perspective a bit too far?

Right, just two months ago Townie was insisting, based on exactly the same evidence he's now citing, that Georgetown would never fire JT3. Somewhere, in a post I'm too lazy to dig up, I suggested he reconsider his confidence in his own omniscience if that proved incorrect. That does not seem to have happened.

Thompson obviously has some very real power at Georgetown, just as JB does at Syracuse. In both cases, this imposes a significant constraint on the school. There's no need to make this any more complicated than that. Thompson was pushed out of his head coaching job, and the school just fired his son. We shouldn't overstate his occult powers here.

On balance, I think the right take here is that Ewing is a perfectly fine hire. If you actually took out his name, and you had a 15-year highly regarded NBA assistant who has been a finalist for an NBA head coaching job, that would look like a perfectly decent hire for Georgetown, maybe even a somewhat out-of-the-box and compelling one. I'm not sure the other realistic options were any better - there was a list of people who were never going to leave their existing job (Brey, Shaka, Chris Mack), a retread who Georgetown doesn't seem to have actually had any interest in (Crean), and then a handful of mostly unproven mid- and low-major coaches (of which Hurley was probably the most compelling). Now, if Georgetown had moved faster and been in a position to make a run at a Kevin Keatts, or even an Archie Miller, that may have been a somewhat different analysis. That was really where the failure was at, and that probably is attributable in part to the sensitivities surrounding the Thompsons. But again, this is not that different than the Boeheim related sensitivities that continue to complicate succession planning at SU. It's hard to deal with a living legend.

 

[Townie72]

Right, just two months ago Townie was insisting, based on exactly the same evidence he's now citing, that Georgetown would never fire JT3. Somewhere, in a post I'm too lazy to dig up, I suggested he reconsider his confidence in his own omniscience if that proved incorrect. That does not seem to have happened.

Thompson obviously has some very real power at Georgetown, just as JB does at Syracuse. In both cases, this imposes a significant constraint on the school. There's no need to make this any more complicated than that. Thompson was pushed out of his head coaching job, and the school just fired his son. We shouldn't overstate his occult powers here.

On balance, I think the right take here is that Ewing is a perfectly fine hire. If you actually took out his name, and you had a 15-year highly regarded NBA assistant who has been a finalist for an NBA head coaching job, that would look like a perfectly decent hire for Georgetown, maybe even a somewhat out-of-the-box and compelling one. I'm not sure the other realistic options were any better - there was a list of people who were never going to leave their existing job (Brey, Shaka, Chris Mack), a retread who Georgetown doesn't seem to have actually had any interest in (Crean), and then a handful of mostly unproven mid- and low-major coaches (of which Hurley was probably the most compelling). Now, if Georgetown had moved faster and been in a position to make a run at a Kevin Keatts, or even an Archie Miller, that may have been a somewhat different analysis. That was really where the failure was at, and that probably is attributable in part to the sensitivities surrounding the Thompsons. But again, this is not that different than the Boeheim related sensitivities that continue to complicate succession planning at SU. It's hard to deal with a living legend.

You are right. I considered it impossible to fire JT III. And I wasn't alone. Looking at what actually happened in the firing, the search process and the hiring, you can see why so many felt this would never happen. They ended up with someone far less qualified than the person they fired.

The good news is that Georgetown and Syracuse are very different places. Georgetown is run by Jesuit priests and Jack DeGoia, the president, who thinks he's a Jesuit. The priests believe the school has a social mission and they all have long memories. Compared to GU, SU changes leadership like they change shirts.

Syracuse would have sent JT Jr packing like they did Ben Schwartzwalder.

Seriously, what other school has their ex-coach in the athletic facility with an office drawing a salary for 20+ years?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He was a Mormon and didn't seem like a hypocrite so yeah, probably not.

But funny clip!

Majerus - definitely not Mormon.

 

[NYCSUGrad]

Majerus - definitely not Mormon.

Yeah, Wikipedia says a Roman Catholic was where his funeral was.

 

[orangenirvana]

 

[DoctorBombay]

All good points by Williams, but I think he underestimates the work ethic of Patrick Ewing.
This hire feels the same to me as the SJU hire of Chris Mullin. It's reaching back into the past & trying to revive the mojo of yesteryear. Ewing is much more qualified than mullin so that's a plus, but who knows if he can relate to today's kids and parents to be able to recruit successfully.
Anyway, I loved "Knick Ewing", and loathed "Hoya Ewing", but despite that I wish him the best. That being said, as always...Georgetown still SUCKS!

 

[Delmar]

Jesus. Short memory much? He is a hall of fame player who by all accounts should have gotten a head job already.

And Hopkins sound familiar?

He may be a hall of fame player, but a 16 year old doesn't know him from George Mikan. I don't know that it is the advantage you make it out to be.

All the same, I won't be surprised if Ewing does well. He certainly has prepared himself for this moment.

 

[jordoo]

Secures Stewart to GU, as if it was needed.

Possibly not. I heard Ewing is paying his tuition at his prepschool. If that is the case he may not be able to recruit him since it would be an impermissible benefit.

 

[Col. Bleep]

May he have a long and unsuccessful tenure.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

He may be a hall of fame player, but a 16 year old doesn't know him from George Mikan. I don't know that it is the advantage you make it out to be.

All the same, I won't be surprised if Ewing does well. He certainly has prepared himself for this moment.

But all of their dads and coaches and relatives most certainly do know exactly who he is.

 

[orangenirvana]

All good points by Williams, but I think he underestimates the work ethic of Patrick Ewing.
This hire feels the same to me as the SJU hire of Chris Mullin. It's reaching back into the past & trying to revive the mojo of yesteryear. Ewing is much more qualified than mullin so that's a plus, but who knows if he can relate to today's kids and parents to be able to recruit successfully.
Anyway, I loved "Knick Ewing", and loathed "Hoya Ewing", but despite that I wish him the best. That being said, as always...Georgetown still SUCKS!

I thought the Mullin hire was absurd and he's actually exceeded my expectations even though he's had nothing but losing seasons so far. Any comparison to that hire isn't a positive thing.

It would be like the Buffalo Bills hiring Jim Kelly to be head coach because he happened to be a Hall of Fame player for the Bills back when they were good.

Ewing is obviously intelligent enough. But at least one thing Mullin has on Ewing is energy. You need great energy and an unnatural drive to be a quality college basketball HC (these days especially). I don't see Ewing having that. He's incredibly boring to listen to and from what I've read doesn't sound like he was all that motivated in moving up the coaching ladder.

 

[cuse10]

Ewing said his contract has a nepotism clause that forbids him from hiring his son. The jokes write themselves.

 

[Newhouser]

Its possible, but f your a top big man and Coach K, Pitino, Boeheim are recruiting you, why would you go to Gtown? To an unproven coach?

I don't think Patrick Ewing is fearing JB on the recruiting trail or SU in general. Coach K and Duke and Pitino and Louisville, maybe, but I don't think g-town faithful see us as out of their league status wise or recent success wise (Final Four run or not).