Tag: Patrick Ewing

Georgetown makes coaching hire, Micah Shrewsberry still at Penn State

Georgetown basketball coaching hire is great news for Penn State

It’s a nerve-wracking time for Penn State basketball fans right now.

Coming off the most successful season the program has had since 2011, it’s clear the fans out there are pleading with the administration to keep head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] in State College.

After legacy powerhouse Georgetown parted ways with their program legend [autotag]Patrick Ewing[/autotag] earlier this year, Shrewsberry’s name had been floated as a potential target.

Georgetown is an alluring job for many coaches. In addition to the history behind the great players and success of the program, it also is in a recruiting hotbed. The best DMV and Baltimore area recruits always have Georgetown at the top of their lists.

It looks like that was enough to lure Providence coach, Ed Cooley, into the Washington DC area. Despite being offered an extension to stay at Providence, Cooley has accepted the offer to become the head coach of Georgetown.

This is good news for Penn State fans. It’s one less competitor Penn State has to worry about when it comes to retaining Shrewsberry. Notre Dame is also reportedly targeting Shrewsberry to replace their coach Mike Brey, who stepped down following the end of this season.

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College basketball coaching carousel: Major programs with openings across the landscape

Breaking down the current job openings across college basketball and who could be on their way to fill them.

The annual NCAA Tournament is just a few days away from ‘Selection Sunday’ but that isn’t the only action going on across the college basketball landscape.

We are seeing plenty of openings for major programs. One program that has already filled their vacancy are the Syracuse Orange. On the same day it was announced that Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim would step down, the school announced that Adrian Autry would take over.

Another notable name could be returning to college basketball as LSU Wire reports that Will Wade is closing in on a deal with McNeese. He was fired by the Tigers after it was revealed that he was hit with five Level I violations.

Thus far we have seen a total of six major programs in college basketball with vacancies yet to be filled. College Sports Wire breaks each one down along with who is seen as the top candidate.

Patrick Ewing fired at Georgetown after six seasons

A new era is set to begin at Georgetown after the Hoyas part ways with Patrick Ewing.

Georgetown has parted ways with head coach and basketball legend Patrick Ewing it was announced on Thursday evening. The move comes one day after the Hoyas’ season came to an end yesterday in an 80-48 loss to Villanova.

The Hoyas, this season under Ewing, went 7-25, including 2-18 in conference play, marking a second-consecutive season in which they failed to win ten games. In 2021-22, the Hoyas went 6-25, including 0-19 in conference play.

It was only the second and third time since 1970 that the program failed to win ten games or more.

Ewing was originally hired by the program in 2017 – immediately leading them to a 15-15 record, including 5-13 in conference play in the 2017-2018 season; the Hoyas would improve in year two, going 19-14, including 9-9 in conference play and earned a birth in the National Invitational Tournament.

The 2019-2020 season is when things began going downhill for Hoyas, collecting a 15-17 record and 5-13 in conference play before the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.

The Hoyas during the 2020-21 season was an interesting one for the program as they went just 13-13, including 7-9 in conference play but would make a surprise run in the Big East Tournament – defeating the No.9, No.1, No.5, and No.2 seeds in the tournament that season after entering as the No.8 seed, earning an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, getting knocked out in the first round by Colorado.

While they would try to build off their Big East Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance, the Hoyas struggled in 2021-22 going 6-25 and 0-19, as mentioned before, following it up with another extremely disappointing season this past year.

Now with Ewing gone, Georgetown becomes a very intriguing open coaching job. It’s a historically strong program that is full of tradition and postseason success; while the roster will need some rework, the transfer portal could allow for a quick rebuild in the nation’s capital.

Patrick Ewing on Boston Celtics great Larry Bird’s trash talking

In the annals of NBA trash talkers, there have been few on the same level as Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird.

In the annals of NBA trash talkers, few have been on the level as Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird. And few knew the impact it had on the court like the peers of the Hick from French Lick did.

Bird could crush your ego not only with words but the game to back it up, telling you how bad a player you were, and where (and how) he was going to score on you. And being the hyper-competitive NBAer that he was, it extended to his life off the court as well, as fellow former Team USA member Patrick Ewing can attest to.

In an interview on the “Dan Patrick Show,” the former Knick legend shared how Bird’s trash talking affected his life.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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The top NBA performances by a rookie player on Christmas Day

From LeBron James to Wilt Chamberlain, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the best Christmas Day performances by first-year players.

The 2022-23 season marks the 75th edition of the NBA on Christmas Day with five games set to tip off on Sunday across ABC and ESPN in the United States.

LeBron James is poised to play in his 17th game on Christmas Day, which will surpass Kobe Bryant for the most appearances in history. James is also the all-time leader in points (422), field goals (150) and 3-pointers (28). He is tied with Dwyane Wade for the most wins with 10.

Players have put up some incredible performances over the years in the annual showcase. Several of the best to ever play own various career records on the holiday, including Bill Russell (rebounds), Oscar Robertson (assists), Shaquille O’Neal (blocks) and Russell Westbrook (steals).

Some have even had great efforts in their rookie seasons.

Rookie Wire sifted through the archives and took a look at some of the biggest performances by a rookie player on Christmas Day, several of which would go on to make the Hall of Fame.

8 NBA players who missed time as rookies, like Chet Holmgren, but still found success as pros

Multiple players came back to win Rookie of the Year.

Let’s face it: Injuries suck! There is no other way to put it except to say that they are the worst part of sports.

After he looked incredibly promising during his time at NBA 2K23 Summer League in Las Vegas, fans were excited to see Chet Holmgren suit up for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was one of the immediate favorites to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, though those bets were since voided.

It’s a bummer for Holmgren, who injured his foot while playing in a Pro-Am game. But it’s not all bad news. The Thunder are now well-positioned to land top draft prospect Victor Wembanyama. Plus, just because Holmgren is hurt now does not mean his career is ruined.

Rookie seasons are important for development. But there are several notable players who got hurt during their first year in the league but went on to have great success for the remainder of their careers.

These are all the Hall of Famers who also wore Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey ahead of its cross-NBA retirement

We thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.

The NBA will retire Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell’s No. 6 on all 30 teams to honor the late, great center. However, Russell is not the only Hall of Fame player who wore the number during their historic careers.

The global nature of Russell number retirement is, of course, as much related to him being the ultimate winner on the court with 11 titles, 13 All-Star appearances, five Most Valuable Player awards and more accolades than we can reasonably list here as to his work off the court using his platform to fight for the rights of others at great risk to himself.

And while players currently wearing the No. 6 jersey can do so until they switch to another or retire themselves, we thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.

Let’s take a look at them all.

Patrick Ewing was not pleased that security didn’t recognize him at Madison Square Garden

“I thought this was my building.”

When it comes to the New York Knicks, there probably isn’t a more recognizable figure than Patrick Ewing. His 15 seasons in New York are basically all Knicks fans have to hold onto these days.

So, you’d probably expect the red carpet to get rolled out for Ewing whenever he returns to Madison Square Garden.

Not exactly.

Ewing — currently Georgetown’s head men’s basketball coach — was back at MSG on Thursday for the Hoyas’ upset win over top-seeded Villanova in the Big East Tournament. But it wasn’t all smiles for the Knicks legend after the game.

He was taken aback at how often he was “accosted” by security and asked to show his credentials throughout the arena. Patrick Ewing. In. The Garden.

Ewing said:

“But I do wanna say one thing, though: I thought this was my building. And I feel terrible that I’m getting stopped, accosted, asking for passes. Everybody in this building should know who the hell I am. I’m getting stopped. I can’t move around this building. I was like, ‘What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?’ I’m gonna have to call Mr. Dolan and say, ‘Jeez, is my number in the rafters or what?'”

While the people working security at MSG are just doing their jobs during a pandemic (and Ewing was likely wearing a mask), it’s still reasonable for Ewing to expect the arena staff to know that the Georgetown head coach is The Patrick Ewing.

With Georgetown heading to Friday’s semifinal, I’m sure those postgame comments will put an end to the unwanted encounters with security.

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Research: LeBron has been the top player in more playoff series than anybody else in NBA history

We recently looked up playoff GameScore ratings from the indispensable Basketball-Reference, an advanced stat created by former Grizzlies front-office member John Hollinger which gives “a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game.” …

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We recently looked up playoff GameScore ratings from the indispensable Basketball-Reference, an advanced stat created by former Grizzlies front-office member John Hollinger which gives “a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game.”

According to GameScore, LeBron James has been the No. 1 player in more playoff series than anyone else, which speaks to the four-time league MVP’s sustained level of excellence and longevity. James has been the top statistical player 38 times out of the 45 playoff series he’s taken part in, per GameScore, good for a percentage of 84.4 percent.

Not to be outdone, however, Michael Jordan owns the best percentage of series in which he was the best player. Only twice out of the 37 playoff series he competed in was he not the top player, giving him a strong percentage of 94.6 percent.

James and Jordan finish as runaway No. 1 and No. 2 on our rankings here respectively, James with 38 playoff series as the No. 1 player per GameScore and Jordan with 35.

Other eye-opening entries on these rankings: Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Durant and Reggie Miller rank higher than you might expect based on how they are typically ranked in GOAT lists. Olajuwon was the No. 1 statistical player in 19 playoff series (as many as Shaquille O’Neal), Durant in 15 series (three more than Kobe Bryant) and Miller in 11 series (as many as Wade).

There is one important caveat to consider here: These numbers are only dating back to 1983-84. If not for that, legends like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would rank higher, and others like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would make the list, though they still wouldn’t beat LeBron or Jordan based on the number of series they played in.

For the full ranking of the Top 22 players with the most playoff series as the top player, just click through the gallery above.

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Patrick Ewing’s son gives encouraging update on NBA legend’s bout with coronavirus

Patrick Ewing is doing well days after announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Four days after Patrick Ewing announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for coronavirus and had been admitted to the hospital for treatment, the Georgetown head coach and Knicks legend is now home and recovering, according to his son Patrick Ewing Jr.

Ewing Jr., who followed in his father’s footsteps by playing ball at Georgetown and making a Final Four, announced on Twitter that the elder Ewing was doing fine after receiving treatment at the hospital and thanked the doctors and nurses who looked after him during his stay. He also thanked all of the fans who sent their regards after Ewing’s announcement.

Ewing is 57 and has been coaching Georgetown’s basketball team since 2017. The Hoyas have gone 49-46 under his watch.

Before taking over his alma mater, Ewing spent 15 years as an assistant coach in the NBA. Before that, he made 11 NBA All-Star teams and won two Olympic gold medals. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

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