NEW YORK – Patrick Ewing went up the stairs – just a few steps needed for the 7-foot walk – he fastened the last rope and held the net high.
Georgetown is again champion of the Big East, with the biggest Hoya of them all leading the way.
Ewing is taking Georgetown back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015, after eighth Hoyas completed an astonishing run for the Big East crown on Saturday night with an impressive 73-48 rout from No. 17 Creighton.
On the 49th anniversary of the day Georgetown hired John Thompson, the late Hall of Fame coach who transformed the program into a national powerhouse and one of the most iconic brands in college basketball history, the Hoyas won their eighth Big East tournament title and the first since 2007.
Was it fate? Destiny? Maybe Big John, who died in August at 78, smiling at Ewing and his Hoyas?
“I think so,” said Ewing.
His team won with a dominant performance inside Madison Square Garden, reminiscent of the now coach Ewing’s game days in Georgetown.
Hoyas (13-12) closed the first half with a series of 23-2 that put them 18 on the counterattack against Creighton (20-8). Then they recovered early in the second half with a 16-3 spurt. Chudier Bile dropped a 3-point basket – holding the follow-through for a hit – 14:58 to go until the end of the game, which increased to 52-21.
Ewing called this a big step for a show that has struggled to regain its former glory and started this season chosen to finish last in the Big East.
“A lot of people discredited it. They spoke badly of us. We believe in ourselves. We work a lot. We fight a lot,” he said.
Ewing wondered out loud earlier this week if they had forgotten about him at MSG. He complained that the security guard asked to see his credentials as he moved through the building where he starred for the New York Knicks and his shirt # 33 was hanging from the rafters.
Ewing said this championship was “up there” with its best moments at The Garden.
“Chapter different from my life,” he said.
Bile equaled a record of the season with 19 points and Jahvon Blair had 18 and went 4-to-7 out of the 3-point streak for Georgetown. After missing 12 of the first 14 shots, the Hoyas finished 46.6% of the ground.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 17 points to lead Creighton, who is 0-3 in the Big East title games since joining the 2013-14 season conference.
Georgetown fans, the few dozen who were in the building nearly empty because of COVID-19 restrictions, shouted, “This is our home!” while the Hoyas were preparing to receive the championship trophy. Ewing was carrying a T-shirt with the image of Thompson, his former coach’s fist raised.
“Just seeing how happy he is, I’m happy,” Blair said of Ewing. “I am so happy for him.”
Ewing and Thompson combined for three Big East tournament championships, three appearances in the Final Four and a national title in 1984, during their time together in Georgetown.
Ewing aspired to be a head coach as his mentor. He spent 15 years as an assistant in the NBA, never having a chance to be the head coach – until his alma mater called him.
“I’m here where a lot of people thought I didn’t have the ability to (be),” said Ewing. “And I am proving that everyone is wrong.”
Ewing, 58, is in his fourth season with the Hoyas, and until this week there was not much to look forward to. The only participation in the post-season tournament was the permanence of a game at NIT 2019. At the beginning 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 notable player in a Big East tournament champion and train a team for a Big East tournament title.