Ewing was quick to use his megaphone during the social unrest after the killing of George Floyd, and Georgetown is one of the schools whose uniforms bear words of protest.
Of course, winning helps raise the volume on the megaphone, and Thompson had an advantage that Ewing doesn’t — a player like Ewing. The Hoyas went into this season predicted to finish in last place in the Big East after the loss of three players. They had to rely on a team with eight new faces, including five freshmen. After a 3-8 start, they shut down in January because of coronavirus issues and went three weeks without playing a game.
When they returned, Ewing reconfigured the lineup and went with bigger players to beef up the defense and rebounding. The Hoyas finished by winning 10 of their last 14 games. Van Gundy, who says he records all of Georgetown’s games and watches them only after he knows the score (he is too nervous to watch live, he said), called Ewing’s adjustment one of the more “astute” tactical decisions he has seen this season, critical to the team’s recent success.
Colorado (22-8) presents a challenge, but whatever happens in the N.C.A.A. tournament, Georgetown has an intriguing future. Ewing has amassed an elite class of incoming freshmen, including Aminu Mohammed, a McDonald’s all-American forward, and Ryan Mutombo, the 6-foot-11 son of former Georgetown and N.B.A. star Dikembe Mutombo.
In a year when many doubted that Georgetown had the talent to compete, Ewing pushed his team from bottom to top, and along the way, his recognition as a coach has soared, even at Madison Square Garden.
“It allows people to see what those of us who have worked with him already knew,” Van Gundy said, “that the guy can coach basketball.”
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