Patrick Ewing to Immediately Leave Charlotte Hornets’ Coaching Staff, Join Georgetown
Patrick Ewing has accepted the head coaching job at Georgetown and will immediately leave the Charlotte Hornets’ coaching staff.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, “Patrick Ewing has a multi-year deal to become Georgetown’s coach. He will start immediately, leaving Charlotte’s staff now.” The news was first broken by @CasualHoya but Woj added more details about Ewing immediately departing the Charlotte Hornets before the season ends. This will end the Hall of Fame big man’s four-year run as the team’s associate head coach.
While it is a bit surprising that Ewing will leave right before the playoffs as Charlotte attempts to make a late push for the postseason, Steve Clifford reportedly has no problem with it. Woj tweeted that, “Charlotte’s Steve Clifford has been immense advocate for Ewing to take Hoya job, insisting he didn’t need to finish NBA season w/ Hornets.”
Patrick was linked to the Georgetown job right after his alma mater fired John Thompson III. Rumors were swirling and it only seemed like a matter of time before Ewing to Georgetown was official. The 54-year old now gets his first chance at being a head coach after over a decade of being an assistant at the NBA-level.
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This has been a long time coming for Patrick as he was bound to get a head coaching gig sooner rather than later. He already had interviews for vacancies in the NBA last summer with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings. He was probably going to be a target for a couple of teams this upcoming offseason as well. Even though this new job isn’t in the NBA, it is the perfect situation for Ewing.
He will return to his alma mater with an opportunity to build his own coaching staff and recruit players. Getting top assistants and recruits shouldn’t be a problem for Big Pat as he is one of the most respected names in coaching circles today. Stan Van Gundy and Steve Clifford are two highly regarded head coaches in the NBA that have given their vote of confidence to Ewing.
The move doesn’t mean much for the Hornets other than that they are losing a great assistant coach. Expect Stephen Silas to move into the top assistant role with Patrick now gone. It shouldn’t change too much of Coach Clifford’s staff and the daily operations of the team.
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Not only has Ewing been an important figure on Steve Clifford’s coaching staff but also with Charlotte as he has helped the team grow over the years. He has paid his dues as an assistant and now Patrick will get a shot to prove himself as a head coach in college basketball.