Patrick Ewing hired as new head coach of Georgetown men’s basketball

As first reported by ESPN 980 in Washington, D.C., the Georgetown Hoyas have hired former New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing as its new head coach on Monday.

Having spent the past three years as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets, Ewing will vacate the position immediately to join the Hoyas.

Ewing spent four seasons at Georgetown from 1981-1985 and developed into one of the program’s greatest products.

He currently ranks first on the school’s all-time list with 1,316 rebounds and 493 blocks and is second with 2,184 points. He led the Hoyas to a 1984 national championship and two other Final Four appearances in 1982 and 1985.

Selected first overall by the Knicks in 1985, Ewing helped transform the culture of the organization, which had made the postseason four times in the previous 10 seasons.

Beginning in 1987, Ewing and the Knicks made the playoffs 13-straight times and won a pair of Eastern Conference titles in 1994 and 1999.

The 54-year-old is the franchise’s leader in games played, field goals, total rebounds, steals, blocks and points.

Georgetown fired John Thompson III on March 23 after 13 seasons and two-straight years without an NCAA tournament berth.