Big East Basketball

Georgetown men's basketball coach Patrick Ewing said Friday his plan is to return to the team next season:

Any announcement about my future will come from me or Georgetown University. First and foremost, I am not a quitter. My plan is to be back next year coaching at my alma mater and bringing this program back to prominence.

— Patrick Ewing (@CoachEwing33) March 4, 2022

It comes after Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed released a statement Wednesday supporting Ewing as the coach.

"Coach Ewing's dedication as well as his success in last year's Big East tournament is a testament to his leadership," Reed said in the statement. "This gives us confidence that he can strengthen our program going forward."

It should end any speculation about changes at head coach despite the Hoyas struggling to a 6-23 record in 2021-22. The team is 0-18 in Big East play heading into Saturday's season finale at Xavier.

Ewing is in his fifth season with the program, accumulating a 68-82 record in this span. 

The lone bright spot during his tenure was last year's conference tournament, during which Georgetown won four games in four days to win the title after entering with a 9-12 record. The team suffered a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament against No. 5-seeded Colorado.

Despite the struggles, Ewing will seemingly get at least another year to turn things around.

The 59-year-old was one of the best players in school history, winning the Naismith award in 1984-85 while helping the team win the 1984 national championship. Georgetown went to the national title game three times in Ewing's four years with the program.   

Georgetown men's basketball coach Patrick Ewing received support from the athletics department Wednesday amid questions about his job status:

Georgetown has released a statement in support of Patrick Ewing. pic.twitter.com/RojvGdXdPc

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 2, 2022

"Coach Ewing's dedication as well as his success in last year's Big East Tournament is a testament to his leadership," athletic director Lee Reed said in the statement. "This gives us confidence that he can strengthen our program going forward."

The vote of confidence comes amid a miserable 6-22 season for the Hoyas, including an 0-17 mark in the Big East. Georgetown has two regular-season games remaining, but it hasn't won a game since beating Howard on Dec. 15.

Ewing is 68-81 overall in five years as Georgetown's head coach, with only one season better than .500. The Hoyas' lone NCAA tournament appearance under Ewing came last year after a shocking run to win the Big East tournament, securing the conference's automatic bid. 

Georgetown was 9-12 last year before winning four games in four days in the conference tournament. The squad proceeded to lose to Colorado by 23 in the first round in the NCAA tournament. 

Georgetown has two commits for the 2022 recruiting class, including 4-star guard Denver Anglin, but it will take a lot for the struggling program to turn things around.

Georgetown hired Ewing in 2017 even though he had no head coaching experience. He spent more than a decade as an assistant coach in the NBA.

The 59-year-old should get extra leeway as one of the best players in program history. The Basketball Hall of Famer led Georgetown to three Final Four appearances and one NCAA title, and he won the Naismith Award as the national player of the year in 1985.

The No. 1 pick of the 1985 NBA draft went on to earn 11 All-Star selections with the New York Knicks.

Despite his struggles as Georgetown's head coach, Ewing will seemingly get at least another year to prove himself.    

Making the NCAA tournament last season earned Georgetown men's basketball head coach Patrick Ewing a contract extension. 

Per FanDuel's Jon Rothstein, Ewing signed his new deal at some point after the tournament. 

Terms of the extension are unknown.

Ewing is currently in his fifth season as Hoyas head coach. He was hired by the program in April 2017 to replace John Thompson III. The 59-year-old has done a solid job of recruiting at the school. 

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, the Hoyas had the 16th-ranked recruiting class for the 2021-22 season with five commits, including 5-star standout Aminu Mohammed. 

Before returning to his alma mater, Ewing spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA with the Washington Wizards (2002-03), Houston Rockets (2003-07), Orlando Magic (2007-12) and Charlotte Hornets (2013-17). 

Ewing played for the Hoyas from 1981 to 1985. He won four consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards, was a three-time All-American, two-time Big East Player of the Year and was named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1984. 

Georgetown has a 68-79 record under Ewing. The program has had just one winning season (19-14 in 2018-19), but it made the NCAA tournament last season as an automatic qualifier after winning the Big East tournament. 

It was the Hoyas' first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2014-15. They were a No. 12 seed and lost to Colorado 96-73 in the round of 64. They also made the NIT in 2019 but lost to Harvard in the first round. 

Georgetown is in last place in the Big East this season with a 6-20 overall record (0-15 in conference play).     

Prior to Saturday's men's basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and Syracuse Orange at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Georgetown honored late former head coach John Thompson Jr.

In memory of Thompson, Georgetown changed the name of the court at Capital One Arena to John Thompson Jr. Court:

𝘼 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡.

Ahead of today's presentation of the John Thompson, Jr. Award, the @GeorgetownHoyas re-dedicated the @GeorgetownHoops floor for Big Coach. pic.twitter.com/Lwq5cT8PsZ

— BIG EAST Conference (@BIGEAST) December 11, 2021

Thompson, who died last year at the age of 78, was Georgetown's head coach for 27 seasons from 1972-99.

Thompson is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Under Thompson's leadership, the Hoyas went 596-239 and reached the NCAA tournament 20 times.

Georgetown made it to the national championship game three times in a four-year stretch from 1982-85, winning the national title in 1984.

Fittingly, the star player from that team, New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, was on hand for Saturday's game, as he has been Georgetown's head coach since the 2017-18 season.

Georgetown beat Syracuse 79-75 on Saturday, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit, to improve to 5-4 on the season.

Former St. John's assistant men's basketball coach Steve DeMeo filed a federal wrongful termination lawsuit against the school and Red Storm head coach Mike Anderson on Thursday.

DeMeo, who was fired in June, alleged his dismissal came after he informed Anderson he'd need time off because of further medical procedures related to a heart condition, a mitral valve prolapse, that previously required surgery to fix an irregular heartbeat.

"There were still procedures that needed to be done. I got the sense that when I told [Anderson] that, things went south," DeMeo told Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated. "He didn't want to accommodate me, it didn't sound like."

The longtime Division I assistant said he was fired "abruptly" after informing Anderson of the upcoming medical procedures during a performance review in May. He alleged the St. John's head coach replied, "Well, you have a job to do; you have to do it."

DeMeo, who's since been hired as an assistant at East Carolina, told Sweeney the situation made him "feel sick to my stomach," and he felt the lawsuit was his only option.

"I'm not a litigious person," he said. "There has been a lot of pressure on me just to move forward, but I feel like I have to do it, and they can't be allowed to treat people this way."

Neither the St. John's athletic department nor Anderson has commented on the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, DeMeo's lawsuit also detailed a rocky 2020-21 season for the Red Storm, which included multiple instances in which the players were prepared to boycott after Anderson threatened to kick Isaih Moore off the roster.

Moore was one of seven players who transferred following last season, and DeMeo's court filings said the program was forced to turn down an invitation to the postseason NIT because players "simply did not want to play for" Anderson anymore, per Sweeney.

"Mr. Anderson lost control of the team, and the players nearly revolted against him before the end of the season," the lawsuit stated. "Mr. DeMeo helped hold the team together."

Anderson, who's guided the Red Storm to a 33-26 record across two seasons, signed a six-year contract extension through the 2026-27 college basketball season in May.

"We are beyond thrilled with Coach Anderson's leadership and the trajectory on which he has put our program," athletic director Mike Cragg said. "I think I speak for everyone in the St. John's community when I say that we look forward to having both Coach and Marcheita as leading members of our Red Storm family for years to come."

St. John's tips off the new season Nov. 9 when it hosts Mississippi Valley State at Carnesecca Arena.

Butler University confirmed men's basketball player Carlos "Scooby" Johnson is no longer in enrolled at the school as he faces multiple charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault inside a school dormitory in February, according to David Woods of the Indianapolis Star. 

Woods reported a probable cause affidavit was filed Thursday in Marion County, Indiana—where the school is located. Butler said Johnson was charged with rape, attempted rape and sexual battery.

The 19-year-old did not play for the men's basketball program following knee surgery last August. 

Per a Butler statement:

The University takes these allegations very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct, violence, and harassment, per our Sexual Misconduct Policy, our top priority is the safety of our students and campus community, and the University provides support and resources to all students. 

Out of respect to the students’ federal privacy rights and the ongoing criminal process, the University is not at liberty to divulge additional information at this time.

Butler police were dispatched to a campus dorm at 2:07 a.m. local time on Feb. 4 to investigate a reported sexual assault with injury. Johnson was interviewed that night and was informed his room was now considered a crime scene. He was temporarily detained.

The woman involved was transported to a local hospital for a forensic exam, which found injuries to her genitals. Blood collected from Johnson's undergarments later matched a sample from the woman. 

Johnson is no longer listed on the Butler roster. The 2020 Mr. Basketball winner in Michigan was a 3-star recruit, according to the 247 Sports Composite.  

TyTy Washington is one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the 2021 recruiting cycle, but there was a time he was headed to Creighton.

He told Kyle Tucker of The Athletic he decommitted from the Bluejays because of Greg McDermott's "I need everyone to stay on the plantation" comment that led to a suspension for the head coach.

"It was definitely the controversy," he said. "I really wanted to attend Creighton. It felt like the situation and the plan Coach McDermott had for me was really good. So it was kind of heartbreaking once I found out what he said. I just felt like the day and age we're living in—a police officer just killed another young black man for no reason—him saying something like that, it's just not right."

It was certainly a major loss for Creighton.

Washington is a 4-star prospect and the No. 30 overall player and No. 3 point guard in his class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Tucker noted he averaged 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds while helping lead AZ Compass Prep to a 30-2 record. He can shoot from the outside, attack the rim in half-court sets, get out in transition, rebound from the backcourt and facilitate for his teammates when defenders collapse on him.

That skill set has attracted the attention of Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

"Man, it's super cool," Washington said of the interest from Calipari. "I'm not going to lie, the first few times he called, I screen-shot his name because I couldn't believe it. I'd be like, 'Bro, you're never going to guess who is calling me.' My friends think I'm lying. So I had to show them."

Kentucky is accustomed to landing prospects like Washington and will look to bounce back from its 9-16 record in 2020-21 by winning on the recruiting trail.

After his team's disappointing early exit in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Texas head coach Shaka Smart is moving on as the new head coach of Marquette, the school announced.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported the news.

Marquette had an opening at head coach after firing Steve Wojciechowski on March 19 coming off a 13-14 record this season. 

The Golden Eagles have made just two tournament appearances since the 2013-14 season. 

For Smart's Longhorns, expectations were high going into the tournament. They were a No. 3 seed in the East Region, their highest seeding since the 2007-08 season. 

Texas' hopes were quickly dashed when it was upset 53-52 by No. 14 seed Abilene Christian in the round of 64. It marked Smart's fifth consecutive tournament loss dating back to his final two years at VCU. 

Following the loss to Abilene Christian, Smart's future with the Longhorns was up in the air. He still had two years remaining on his contract after signing an extension in August 2016.

Smart is 272-142 in 12 seasons as a head coach between VCU and Texas. He led the Rams to the Final Four in the 2011 tournament. 

Villanova has no time for Cinderella.

While many tabbed the No. 5 Wildcats as an upset candidate with Collin Gillespie sidelined by injury, they handled the No. 12 Winthrop Eagles 73-63 in Friday's first round of the 2021 NCAA men's tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore led the way for the victors in Gillespie's absence.

A solid showing from D.J. Burns Jr. and Chandler Vaudrin was not enough for the Eagles, who have not won a game in the Big Dance since the 2006-07 season.

        

Notable Player Stats

• Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, F, NOVA: 22 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, 3 BLK
• Justin Moore, G, NOVA: 15 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST
• Jermaine Samuels, F, NOVA: 11 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST
• D.J. Burns Jr., WIN: 12 PTS, 4 REB
• Chandler Vaudrin, G, WIN: 9 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST

            

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Leads Balanced, Methodical Effort for Wildcats

The Wildcats needed a spark with Gillespie sidelined, and they got it when Moore took the floor.

There was a time when his status was up in the air following an ankle injury near the end of the regular season, but he was healthy and ready to go Friday as the only player on either team in double figures by halftime.

Villanova needed that other scorer to emerge in the first half since Jermaine Samuels, who poured in a combined 41 points the previous two games without Gillespie, was quiet in the early going and unable to create the typical mismatches he usually does as someone who can hit from deep, cut into the basket and battle for boards.

This footwork by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 👀 https://t.co/HHvYEl4xm9

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2021

.@J_Swizz23 finds @JCREarl for the slam! #LetsMarchNova

pic.twitter.com/fbkm4Q44AC

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 20, 2021

Access denied ❌ @jbrandonslater#LetsMarchNova

pic.twitter.com/RMpvc0c6ad

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 20, 2021

While Samuels wasn't the go-to option that he was in previous games without Gillespie, Winthrop had no answer for Robinson-Earl.

The sophomore did a little bit of everything by protecting the rim, controlling the glass, scoring in the lane and facilitating when defenders collapsed on him. It was a pick-your-poison situation, though, because he scored on the blocks multiple times when additional defenders didn't provide much-needed help.

Robinson-Earl was the anchor, but Villanova's committee approach also saw Bryan Antoine and Cole Swider provide outside shooting from the bench and Caleb Daniels hit multiple three-pointers as a third scorer.

Samuels also got involved as the game progressed and the Wildcats found the balanced attack with a primary option leading the way in Robinson-Earl that they will need to survive and advance without Gillespie.

           

Winthrop's Upset Effort Stalls with Offense in Second Half

The 23-1 record entering the tournament stood out, but it was fair to question Winthrop heading into Friday's contest.

After all, it didn't play a single major conference team during the regular season and was just 119th in the country in KenPom.com's offensive rankings. Keeping up with the Wildcats, who were No. 9 in those rankings, was quite the task.

The Eagles looked up to that task from the start with balanced scoring, a willingness to push the ball in transition and a notable ability to protect the ball against Villanova's perimeter defenders. Winthrop had just three turnovers by halftime while avoiding some of the mistakes that have cost other underdogs.

Threw a DIME while running out of bounds 👀

Winthrop has its eyes on an upset vs. Villanova: https://t.co/ahtExMCyx4 https://t.co/GsZgbd3iFc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2021

America, meet 𝘼𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨 🎸 pic.twitter.com/uahevnR8YA

— Winthrop Basketball (@Winthrop_MBB) March 20, 2021

14:12 (1H) | D.J. 💪

Rock Hill's own is on the board!

Winthrop 6-16 Nova #ROCKtheHILL pic.twitter.com/OzmZvAi19i

— Winthrop Basketball (@Winthrop_MBB) March 20, 2021

Burns Jr. was also a force down low and either scored himself on the blocks or drew additional defenders to open up looks for his teammates.

His presence helped keep the Eagles within striking distance as they looked to set up a thrilling finish, but things changed when he picked up his fourth foul with around nine minutes remaining.

The offense stalled, Vaudrin started forcing the issue at times and the Big South representative fell behind by double digits for the first time all game. It also didn't help that Burns fouled out shortly after he returned to the game, forcing Winthrop to go small.

The result was just 30 points in the second half as the Eagles saw their impressive season come to an end.

        

What's Next?

The Wildcats will face the No. 13 North Texas Mean Green in Sunday's second-round clash in the South Region.