NEW YORK – Patrick Ewing climbed the ladder – only a few steps required for the 7-footer – cut the last string and held it just high.
Georgetown is champion of the Great East again, with the greatest Hoya of all leading the way.
Ewing is taking Georgetown back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015 after eighth-seeded Hoyas completed a surprise run to a Big East crown on Saturday night with a stunning 73-48 defeat to No. 17 Creighton.
On the day’s 49th anniversary, Georgetown hired John Thompson, the late Hall of Fame coach who transformed the program into a national power and one of the most iconic brands in college basketball history. since 2007.
Was it fate? Destiny? Maybe Big John, who died in August at the age of 78, smiling down at Ewing and his Hoyas?
“I think so,” said Ewing.
His team won with a dominant performance at Madison Square Garden, which was reminiscent of Coach Ewing’s game days in Georgetown.
The Hoyas (13-12) ended the first half with a run of 23-2 that gave them 18 times at the break against Creighton (20-8) as second seed. Then they picked up early in the second half with a 16-3 sprint. Chudier Bile downed a 3-pointer – held the follow-through for a hit – with 14 minutes, 58 seconds to go, making it 52-21.
Ewing called it a huge step for a program struggling to reclaim former glory, starting this season and finishing last in the Great East.
“A lot of people got discredited. Speaked badly about us. We believed in ourselves. We worked hard. We fought hard,” he said.
Earlier this week, Ewing wondered aloud if they had forgotten him at MSG. He complained that security asked for his credentials while walking through the building where he played for the New York Knicks and that his No. 33 jersey was hanging from the rafters.
Ewing said this championship was “right up there” with his best moments at The Garden.
“Another chapter of my life,” he said.
Bile matched a season-high with 19 points and Jahvon Blair had 18 points and went 4-for-7 from the 3-point range for Georgetown. After missing 12 of their first 14 shots, the Hoyas finished 46.6% off the floor.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 17 points to lead Creighton, which is 0-3 in the Big East title games since participating in the conference for the 2013-14 season.
Georgetown fans, the few dozen who were in the largely empty building due to COVID-19 restrictions, chanted, “This is our house!” while the Hoyas prepared to receive the championship trophy. Ewing was wearing a T-shirt with Thompson’s picture on it, his old coach’s fist held high.
“Just to see how happy he is, it makes me happy,” Blair said of Ewing. “I’m just so happy for him.”
Ewing and Thompson combined for three Big East tournament championships, three Final Four appearances and a national title in 1984 during their time together in Georgetown.
Ewing aspired to become a head coach like his mentor. He spent 15 years as an assistant in the NBA and never got the chance to become a head coach – until his alma mater called.
“I’m here where a lot of people didn’t think I could [be]’,’ Said Ewing. “And I prove everyone wrong.”
58-year-old Ewing is in his fourth season with the Hoyas and until this week there hasn’t been much to get excited about. The only post-season tournament appearance was a one-game stay in the 2019 NIT. At the start of this tournament, Ewing’s record was 58-58 as head coach.
Now he is the first person in Big East history to be the most outstanding player of a Big East tournament champion and coach a team to a Big East tournament title.