Charlotte Hornets: Patrick Ewing to his Alma Mater?

The Charlotte Hornets have some popular guys with the title of assistant coach.

With the Charlotte Hornets pulling out all of the stops and still falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers, perhaps it is not a bad idea to have a fall back option in place if you on the coaching staff. According to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, assistant coach Patrick Ewing may indeed have a golden parachute to deploy or perhaps just another career building move to take.

Wojnarowski has reported that the Georgetown University is looking at Ewing as a potential fit to their coaching vacancy. The Hoyas just fired John Thompson III after thirteen seasons. During his time, Thompson had some success with the program but had become the victim of diminishing returns as the Big East lost some of its recruiting luster.

Ewing, of course, was a Georgetown star on teams coached by Thompson’s father. The center was the centerpiece of three runs to the championship game. The Hoyas won only one of those in 1984. The other two were lost to North Carolina and Villanova. Ewing went on to a Hall of Fame pro career. He has been an assistant coach at the professional level for the last fifteen years.

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Succeeding Thompson would be a little awkward for Ewing given the close relationship he has with Thompson’s father. It also might be a bit awkward because Ewing’s son Patrick Ewing, Jr, played for Thompson and was an assistant coach when Thompson was fired. Keeping his son on the bench might be a little weird for the school that just fired him.

If Ewing was to get the job, there would be additional challenges for him. First, he would have to learn to recruit. At least in this department he would have some name recognition to go off of. Second, he would have to choose a style of play. Thompson ran a modified Princeton offense and Ewing would likely be more comfortable in a more pro-style system.

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Finally, Ewing has to decide if this is what he wants to do. He wants to coach at an NBA level. Would collegiate success help or hinder this? He was reported to be real close to getting the Sacramento Kings job last year, and maybe staying connected to the NBA game would be a better idea.