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Georgetown v DePaul

Source: Michael Reaves / Getty

How the mighty have fallen. Once a perennial college basketball powerhouse that won eight Big East titles and a national championship, Georgetown now owns a regrettable conference record by losing their 25th game in a row. Georgetown set the record Wednesday night, losing to Villanova 73-57 in a game played at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

The Hoyas have struggled under the tenure of coach Patrick Ewing, a Georgetown alum who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the New York Knicks. In his six years as coach, he’s compiled a record of 73-95. In Big East play, his record is an even more woeful 26-68.

“We recognize this is a challenging and frustrating time for the men’s basketball team and our fans,” Georgetown’s athletic director Lee Reed said in an email to the Associated Press. “Coach Ewing understands that it is imperative to get the program back on track, and no one is more committed than he is to making that happen.”

Ewing Took His First Head Coach Position At Georgetown

Ewing had never been a head coach on any level before Georgetown hired him in 2017. Nevertheless, he was signed to a six-year contract which is fully guaranteed until 2026.

Georgetown won a national championship in 1984 and sent Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson, and Dikembe Mutombo to the NBA, all of whom are now in the Hall of Fame.

Ewing had big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively. Hall of Fame coach John Thompson, who died in 2020, led Georgetown for 27 years. He was one of college basketball’s most respected coaches and the first Black head coach to lead a team to the national championship.

His son, Ronny Thompson, Jr., coached the team from 1998 – 2003 and has reportedly remained behind the scenes in an unofficial capacity during the Ewing regime.

The team is far from its past glory days as Capital One Arena recorded just 7,203 fans for a venue with a capacity of 20,356. Despite his guaranteed contract, Ewing would appear to be at risk of replacement.

When asked about his status, at Wednesday’s post-game press conference which was attended by Georgetown’s president Jack DeGioia, Ewing responded by saying he was in it for the long run.

“I’m here to talk about the game. My future is my future. I’ll be the head coach at Georgetown until the president or the board decides for me to move on… You know, a friend of mine sent me a quote today: ‘It’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get up.’ We got knocked down, so all we’re going to do is keep on getting up.”