When Patrick Ewing was hired as head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, the hope was the school’s all-time leading scorer could bring the program back to prominence. However, after four middling years that saw one stunning run to a Big East Tournament title followed by a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament, the Hoyas have been one of the worst teams in high-major basketball, compiling a 13-51 record over the past two seasons — including a 2-37 record in Big East play.
After Georgetown was bounced from the Big East Tournament on Thursday by Villanova in an 80-48 loss at Madison Square Garden, the school made official what many anticipated, as Ewing was let go.
Breaking: Patrick Ewing is out as men’s basketball coach at Georgetown after six seasons, the school announced Thursday. pic.twitter.com/jmBcqpTWrE
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2023
In his six seasons at the helm, Georgetown went 75-109, but the downward trajectory over the past two years was impossible to ignore. Whoever steps in to follow Ewing will come into a unique opportunity to build back a program with a rich legacy that has seemingly hit rock bottom, but what Georgetown’s ceiling is in this era of college basketball is likely much lower than what it once was. Still, fans of the Hoyas expect to be competitive in the Big East at the very least, and that wasn’t happening over the past two years, leading to a Georgetown legend’s ouster.