NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - GEORGETOWN VS COLORADO

March 20, 2021

Patrick Ewing

Georgetown Hoyas

Hinkle Fieldhouse

Postgame Media Conference

Colorado 96, Georgetown 73

PATRICK EWING: Disappointed with the outcome. We've had a very good run. We picked the first game of the NCAA Tournament to not play our best game, and I'm disappointed about that.

Q. Obviously a disappointing performance today but still a great season overall. What do you have to say about this Georgetown team and your guys overall?

PATRICK EWING: Overall I'm very proud of our guys. Considering where they had us ranked, considering the obstacles that we had to overcome to get to this point. Naturally I'm disappointed in the outcome, I'm disappointed that we didn't play our best game, but I also have to take my hat off to Colorado. They played an outstanding game. They did what they do best: They shot the ball extremely well from the three, they were able to get some pick-and-roll -- hitting the roll man. So I take my hat off to them. Coach did an outstanding job.

Q. You spoke a little bit about it as far as how proud you are of the guys, especially with what has happened through this year of the pandemic and everything. Do you feel like because of this year and what you saw from your team that that mystique from the Georgetown of the past is coming back?

PATRICK EWING: You know, I think we're still -- our book is still being written. We have accomplished a lot this year. A lot of people didn't think that we were going to be here. We did an outstanding job of winning the Big East Tournament to give ourselves an opportunity to be here. Like I said before, disappointed in the fact that we didn't play our best game, but our future is bright.

We still have a lot of work that we have to do, but I believe in my team. I believe in my university, and I think that we'll be back next year.

Q. What do you tell the players after a game like this and after the season, of course?

PATRICK EWING: First of all, I'd like to applaud them for getting us here, but then I also got to talk to them about the fact that we didn't bring our "A" game. In order to beat a team like Colorado, you have to be able to bring your "A" game, and today was not our "A" game.

Q. Talk about your team's defensive effort on the perimeter. There were a lot of guys overstuffed and lost on some pick-and-pops.

PATRICK EWING: Like I said, we didn't bring our "A" game, both offensively and defensively. The things that we were doing great in the Big East Tournament we didn't do well today. Part of it was they're a very good team, but they're no different than any other teams that we had to play in the Big East. We just did not get the job done today.

Q. As a player you represented Georgetown in the 1980s. Can you describe a different perspective playing versus coaching in the March Madness?

PATRICK EWING: The only difference is back then I was the one getting it done on the floor. As a coach you've got to be the one putting them -- trying to put them in the right position to get the job done. Back then, Coach Thompson was the one that -- he was drawing up the plays and getting us into position to be successful, and now it's come full circle, now I'm the one that's trying to get it done.

Q. Looking back at that first half, the free-throw shooting for your team, did that kind of allow Colorado to build a bigger lead than maybe you would have wanted?

PATRICK EWING: Yes, it did. I think in the first half we missed like 11 free throws and also front end of one-and-ones. That's 11 points we gave away. The lead wouldn't have been as significant, and then you're trying to dig yourself out of that large of a hole, it just made it tough.

Q. I know it's been a successful season for you guys and you've talked about making steps along the way. Obviously the season just ended, but have you had a chance or do you plan to talk to seniors given the possibility they have to return?

PATRICK EWING: Right now I haven't even thought about that. This game is fresh on my mind, the disappointment of this game. I need to take a couple of days to exhale and then I'll think about that later.

Q. McKinley Wright, was that the best point guard performance that you've experienced this year?

PATRICK EWING: He's a very good player. I'm not sure if it's the best performance I've seen. We've had some guys in our conference that have done extremely well, also, but he's a very talented young man. You have to take your hat off to him. He plays the right way. He did everything positive for their team both offensively and defensively. He facilitated and also was able to get his shots and make them.

Q. You said a couple times that the team didn't bring their "A" game and that you were disappointed in that. Can you pinpoint as to why that happened?

PATRICK EWING: You know, if I could, we would have done a much better job. We just didn't get it done both offensively and defensively. We struggled to score. We struggled to get stops when we needed to, tried to trap a little bit, tried to get the blood flowing a little bit, and that worked a little bit in the second half, but the lead was just that big that we couldn't overcome it.

Q. I know you talked about being disappointed in the game. I wanted to ask you, being that this is your first time coaching in the tournament, did you learn something as far as not just from your team but just as far as experience coaching in this magnitude?

PATRICK EWING: Well, I mean, every day of life you should learn. This is no different. I think this experience today is going to help me in years to come. It's also going to help my team. I'd rather be here in this tournament playing for the National Championship than be home watching it.

But I think that definitely there is some learning experience. I think this learning -- this experience is going to help me in the long run, but right now it's hard to -- it's a hard pill to swallow.

Q. Your team got four games canceled during the year. How did you guys overcome that adversity? You had four games canceled in January, excuse me.

PATRICK EWING: You know, just like everyone else in America, we had to pause. I think that we tried to keep them locked in, keep them connected, talking to them every day. Once we got out of the COVID pause, we were able to hit the ground running, and I think that the way that we were going at that time, we were struggling. We weren't playing our best ball, and then after the pause I think that's when we started playing our best ball. We came together. We were a more cohesive team, and that helped us. I think the pause definitely helped us.