Sometimes you can’t go home again.
Georgetown — and Knicks — legend Patrick Ewing was fired as the Hoyas head coach Thursday, a day after their season ended with a lopsided loss to Villanova in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
“I am very proud to be a graduate of Georgetown University,” Ewing, who starred on the Hoyas from 1981-85, said in a statement.
“And I am very grateful to President [John] DeGioia for giving me the opportunity to achieve my ambition to be a head basketball coach. It is particularly meaningful to me to be in charge of the basketball program at my alma mater.
“I wish the program nothing but success. I will always be a Hoya.”
The news does not come as a surprise.
The Hoyas were 7-25 this season and 6-25 last year; Ewing finishes his six-year tenure at Georgetown with an aggregate record of 75-109.
The bright spot of Ewing’s tenure was the 2020-21 season, when the Hoyas won the Big East Tournament and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
Ewing was praised on the way out by DeGioia.
“Patrick Ewing is the heart of Georgetown basketball. I am deeply grateful to Coach Ewing for his vision, his determination, and for all that he has enabled Georgetown to achieve,” DeGioia said.
“Over these past six years, he was tireless in his dedication to his team and the young men he coached and we will forever be grateful to Patrick for his courage and his leadership in our Georgetown community.”
Athletic director Lee Reed also called it a “privilege” to work with Ewing.
“We are grateful for all those who have supported this program through this time,” Reed said.
“We will immediately launch a national search for our next coach and look forward to a bright future for Hoya basketball.”
Ewing starred on the Knicks from 1985-2000 — making the All-Star Game 11 times and leading the team to the 1994 NBA Finals — before concluding his NBA career with one season apiece with the Supersonics and Magic.
