Jim Boeheim: “Patrick Ewing Hire Was A Home Run For Georgetown”
Jim Boeheim appeared on ESPN’s Mike and Mike to talk about the National Championship game, plus Patrick Ewing taking the job at Georgetown.
Patrick Ewing will replace, John Thompson III, at the helm of the Georgetown Hoyas. The news conference is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
I’ve always loved former players either going back to their alma maters or going back into coaching. While players have put in all the blood, sweat, and tears into the game, there’s nothing more rewarding than giving back to the next generation of players making their way.
We’ll get into some more opinion in a moment, but first, lets get the Syracuse angle in. Head coach of the Syracuse basketball squad, Jim Boeheim, gave his thoughts on the new hire on ESPN’s Mike and Mike this morning, here’s the quote pulled, you can also listen to it yourself below.
"“This is a home run in a lot of ways. It’s tough to come back and start in college, it’s been tough for a lot of coaches. Although Patrick is a guy that can do it. I’m sure he’ll surround himself with a couple of guys with college experience. Georgetown is still Georgetown. They’ve got a tremendous name. Tremendous brand recognition. They’re in a great area, they’ve a great school, and I think he’ll do a great job. It’s a home run hire for Georgetown. Looking forward to seeing them next year when we play them. We’ve been playing St. Johns, not too well, with Chris Mullin on the sideline. The two greatest players in the history of the Big East in my mind and now back in the Big East coaching that’s pretty cool I think.”"
Now this is great for Patrick. He’s been biding his time as an assistant coach of varying levels since 2002. Just to lay the silverware on the table, here’s his coaching experience:
- 2002-2003 Washington Wizards Assistant
- 2003-2006 Houston Rockets Assistant
- 2007-2012 Orlando Magic Assistant
- 2013-2017 Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets Associate Head Coach
It took him over a decade to get a promotion in the business, after spending the preceding 17
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years as a player. My prevailing thought when I heard this news was simply, why did he never get his shot in the NBA?
I know there’s a limited amount of jobs in the NBA, but with his combination of experience, personality, and cache it seems puzzling. We discussed this notion on Bud and the Manchild on ESPN Radio in Syracuse this morning.
Another shocking factoid is despite the coaching carousel ride he’s been on almost the entire 21st century, none of those stops were in New York. A franchise that he spent the majority of his career (15 years) he couldn’t get an Assistant job?
Next: Syracuse Football: Was Amba Etta-Tawo Really A One-Year Wonder?
I’m not trying to suggest there’s something going on here that has been a turnoff, but it’s worth pointing out. In my opinion, he should’ve been a head coach at some point during his career so far in the NBA.
This is long overdue for the big man and I couldn’t be happier for him. Hopefully he can resurrect this program, the tool are certainly there for him to do so.