Patrick Ewing Is Out To Prove Big Men Can Coach
The Hoya Destroya and Georgetown both have plenty of doubters. By succeeding, Ewing would help to dispell a stereotype that has existed in the NBA since its inception.
Patrick Ewing has been an NBA assistant coach for 15 years.
After retiring in 2002, Ewing was hired by Doug Collins to be on the Washington Wizards’ staff.
Since then, Ewing has served on the staff of both Van Gundy brothers, first with Jeff in Houston from 2003–06 and then Stan in Orlando from 2007–12.
Ewing then moved on alongside fellow Van Gundy disciple Steve Clifford to Charlotte, serving as Associate Head Coach for the last five seasons.
When the Georgetown job opened up, Ewing’s name was brought up among the media channels because of his obvious ties to the college and Georgetown’s identity steeped in its tradition and aging basketball relevance.
But to see Ewing be rewarded with the job at his alma mater after being all but black-listed by the league for a head coaching position is bittersweet. It feels this should’ve happened long ago, and in the NBA rather than the remnants of the Big East.
The bias against big men in head coaching searches is well documented. The tallest current NBA head coach is Luke Walton, standing at 6'8" and a former small forward in the league.
The last traditional big man to land a head coaching gig in the association was Kevin McHale with the Houston Rockets before being fired in the middle of the season last year.
Looking at past and current coaching staffs around the NBA, it’s clear big men are filed away immediately as comrades and peers to the frontcourt players on the roster. A big body to play bumper cars with in practice and warm-ups, to guide through a post series and provide past experience and war stories.
Ewing said to Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal (now with FiveThirtyEight) in 2014:
“I do think we get a bit pigeonholed in terms of what all they think we can teach. But the truth is, we’re the last line of defense as rim protectors. So we have to see everything from back there, and know how the play is unfolding.”
Glancing at the recent history of coaching hires of former NBA players, one doesn’t have to go back far to find guards who haven’t let the ink dry on their retirement papers before signing on to become a head coach.
Derek Fisher and Jason Kidd both transitioned immediately to head coaching positions upon retiring from the NBA, with Fisher being relieved of his duties in the middle of the 2015–16 season. Kidd’s coaching rights were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks after two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets as he was seeking more power within an organization.
Both of these former players fit the “coach on the floor” mold that gave the organization a tidy mantle to stand on in hiring a rookie head coach.
Jalen Rose stated another valid point to Herring in the Wall Street Journal story as well:
“A guy like Shaq would look intimidating if he got in the face of one of his players. And he can’t help that, he’s just big. But if Kobe was coaching and yelling at the same time, people would call it ‘fiery.’ It wouldn’t look as bad.”
Perception goes a long way in making these decisions, as the head coach in most cases is the second-most recognizable face in an organization, behind the star player.
And yet, for all the reasons previously stated and offered up by all parties, it remains hard to believe that former guards in the league are consistently more qualified than big men. That the stigma has not been dispelled yet as the league gets bigger (and taller) than ever before runs counter to the progressive mindset the NBA is often praised for.
Even though nearly all head coaches in the league are on record with the mindset of “coaching is coaching”, that you’ll be treated by your ability and qualifications, the actions by front offices haven’t always reflected that.
Consistently during Ewing’s tenures with the Houston Rockets and then Orlando Magic, he was credited with mentoring ultra-talented big men Yao Ming and Dwight Howard.
It may have handicapped his head coaching viability rather than helping it, shoeing him into one coaching strength in the public eye.
Running down the list of legendary NBA big men, most have been praised and well publicized for mentoring promising bigs during the summer. Among the list includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and most notably Hakeem Olajuwon. Sometimes they’re even brought in as a special assistant coach (Abdul-Jabbar with the Lakers).
There is something to the peer-to-peer interaction, a human element to having someone in the trenches with you who has fought the same battles you have.
Marc Gasol said as much in an article with nba.com in 2012:
“Big men know there are different things you have to look at. Having a guy who really understands that — preferably a guy who has played there — it helps, particularly with the younger guys to make the transition easier. They’ve been through already what you’re going through.”
Going forward, I’ll be rooting for Ewing. Not only because of his affiliation with Charlotte or his dues paid as an assistant, but because it could help break through the glass ceiling that exists for former big men who want to coach in the NBA.
Plenty of questions remain: a head coach with no collegiate coaching experience, moving on from the worst season in the program’s recent history, an uncertain recruiting road ahead, to name a few.
But I’m naive enough to think Patrick Ewing in a 17-year-old’s living room pitching the Hoyas still has some sway.
Best of luck to Pat, I know plenty of size 18 shoes will be wishing the same.
