NEW YORK – Patrick Ewing climbed the ladder – only a few steps needed for the 7-footer – cut the last rope and held the net high.
Georgetown is once again champion of the Big East, with the biggest Hoya of all taking the lead.
Ewing takes Georgetown back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after the eighth-seeded Hoyas completed a surprise run to a Big East crown on Saturday night with a stunning 73-48 series of no. 17 Creighton.
On the 49th anniversary of the day that Georgetown hired John Thompson, the late Hall of Fame coach, who transformed the program into a national force and one of the most iconic brands in the university’s basketball history, the Hoyas their record eighth Big East tournament title and first since 2007.
Was it fate? Destiny? Maybe Big John, who died in August at the age of 78, while Ewing and his Hoyas were smiling?
“I think so,” Ewing said.
His team won with a dominant performance in Madison Square Garden, reminiscent of Coach Ewing’s playing days in Georgetown.
The Hoyas (13-12) ended the first half on a run of 23-2, which led them to halftime 18 against second-seeded Creighton (20-8). Then they counted early in the second half with a 16-3 serve. Chudier Bile struck a three-pointer and held on to the follow-up with 14:58 left making it 52-21.
Ewing calls it a big step for a program that has struggled to regain old glory, and has begun this season to finish last in the Great East.
“A lot of people discredited. We spoke badly. We believed in ourselves. We worked hard. We fought hard,” he said.
Ewing wondered out loud earlier this week if they had forgotten him at MSG. He complained that security asked to see his credentials as he moved around the building where he played for the New York Knicks and his no. 33 jersey hanging on the beams.
Ewing said this championship was ‘right there’ with his biggest moments in The Garden.
“Another chapter of my life,” he said.
Bile equaled a season high with 19 points and Jahvon Blair had 18 and reached Georgetown 4-for-7 from three points. After missing 12 of their first 14 shots, the Hoyas fired 46.6% from the floor.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 17 points to lead Creighton, who have been 0-3 in the Big East title games since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season.
Georgetown fans, the few dozen who were built in the mostly empty building due to the COVID-19 restrictions, said, “This is our home!” while the Hoyas prepared to accept the championship trophy. Ewing wore a T-shirt with the image of Thompson on it, the fist of his old coach raised.
“Just to see how happy he is, it makes me happy,” Blair said of Ewing. “I’m just so happy for him.”
In 1984, Ewing and Thompson combined for three Big East tournaments, three Final Four appearances and a national title during their time together in Georgetown.
Ewing, like his mentor, aspired to be a head coach. He spent 15 years as an assistant in the NBA and never got a chance to be head coach – until his alma mater came to call.
“I’m here where a lot of people did not think I had the ability to be,” Ewing said. “And I’m proving everyone wrong.”
The 58-year-old Ewing is in his fourth season with the Hoyas, and until this week there was not much to be excited about. The only post-season tournament was a one-time 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 outstanding player at a Big East tournament champion and coach a team for a Big East tournament.