Patrick Ewing could do something that few college basketball coaches ever have: Lose 18 straight games and keep his job.
Georgetown University athletic director Lee Reed released a statement of support on Tuesday for the Hoyas’ men’s basketball coach amid the team’s record 18-game losing streak.
“As a university with high statements and expectations for both academic and athletic excellence, we all share the disappointment of a difficult season,” Reed said in the statement. “In this ever evolving landscape of college athletics we are committed to Coach Ewing, and we are working with him to evaluate every aspect of the men’s basketball program and to make the necessary changes for him to put us back on the path to success for next year.
“Coach Ewing’s dedication as well as his success in last year’s Big East Tournament is a testament to his leadership. This gives us confidence that he can strengthen our program going forward. I wish to thank all of our supporters and season ticket holders for their ongoing commitment and express my appreciation to the members of our team for their hard work.”
Georgetown has released a statement in support of Patrick Ewing. pic.twitter.com/RojvGdXdPc
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 2, 2022
Under Ewing, who replaced John Thompson III in 2017, the Hoyas are 68-81 with only one winning season. Georgetown (6-22) is winless in Big East play this year and has clinched its first last-place finish since the league began in 1979-80.
This season is only the second time in program history the Hoyas have lost 20-plus games, and the team is two losses away from breaking the school’s single-season loss record of 23 set in 1971-72. The struggles are far from the success Georgetown saw when Ewing was a player for the school in the 1980s, when the star big man led the Hoyas to a national championship in 1984.
After Georgetown’s most recent loss, an 86-77 defeat to UConn on Sunday, Ewing was asked about his job security.
“Of course, I want to be back here,” he said. “But in this position and this job, whatever happens will happen. I’m hoping that I’ll be back and doing something that I love at a place that I love and getting us back to being the king of the hill.”
“Of course, we’re all disappointed in the fact that we have such a huge losing streak,” Ewing added. “This is something that I’m not accustomed to. Even in the NBA when we had poor teams, I don’t think we’ve lost this many in a row, but we have to keep fighting. We have to keep pushing.”
The disastrous campaign has come after the team’s remarkable run in the Big East Tournament last year, which saw the Hoyas go from being a below .500 No. 8 seed to winning four straight games and earning their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015.
The late-season heroics last year from Ewing’s squad earned the coach a contract extension, which was reported by FanDuel’s Jon Rothstein in February. The extension of Ewing’s contract, which was originally for six seasons with a base salary of $2.6 million per year, could be a factor in the school standing by Ewing, who had been considered by many to be on the chopping block due to the team’s poor performance.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.