Two Solid Columns About Duke And Georgetown
Excellent work in both cases
Two more columns about the Duke-Georgetown game that are worth your while: first, Adam Zagoria writing in the New York Times about Duke’s balance, defense and potential. He picks up on a lot of the themes we see developing.
And in the Washington Post, Barry Svrluga has a thoughtful piece up on the Hoyas that’s worth reading too.
We’ll admit that we were skeptical about Patrick Ewing as coach. It’s not that he's not capable; he was a long-time NBA assistant and he was willing to learn by doing the dirty work. He clearly wants to coach. It’s not just a passing fancy like it is with a lot of NBA guys who don't know or remember how different it is to coach in college.
We just kind of lumped him in with other guys who were sort of passing through. He’s not. He really wants it.
And he’s just starting his third year. Unlike Danny Manning’s Wake program, Ewing’s Hoyas are developing an identity. They attack for one. They’re very aggressive. They’re also smart and shoot well and have a positive arrogance.
In some ways, he may be a better coach already than his old Georgetown coach John Thompson and there’s no question that he understands the value of PR and positive coverage in a way that Thompson either never cared about or openly disdained.
Certainly his offense is more coherent too. We loved how his team played in New York and success will beget success. Watch and see.
Anyway, read both. We look forward to seeing Georgetown back near the top of the game - and just wait until he gets a physically dominant center. He’ll know what to teach him like no one else.