Patrick Ewing was able to smile Thursday afternoon. The Madison Square Garden security guards nearly changed that.
Shortly after eighth-seeded Georgetown upset No. 1 Villanova in the Big East Tournament, an exasperated Ewing volunteered his frustration.
“I thought this was my building and I feel terrible that I’m getting stopped, accosted, [asked] for passes, everybody in this building should know who the hell I am. And I’m getting stopped,” Ewing said following the Hoyas’ thrilling 72-71 victory. “I was, like, what the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden? I’m going to have to call [James] Dolan and say, ‘Geez, is my number in the rafters or what?’ ”
This isn’t the first time a Knicks great had issues with Garden security. Charles Oakley was arrested and removed from a Knicks game after a verbal altercation with Dolan in February 2017. He was then banned from the building, though that ban has since been lifted.
A few hours after Ewing’s comments, the Garden released a statement indicating Ewing and Dolan spoke about the matter.
“We all know, respect and appreciate what he means to The Garden and New York,” the statement read. “Good luck to him and his Hoyas in the Big East semifinals.”
It somewhat overshadowed a big day for Ewing’s program, which advanced to the Big East Tournament semifinals for the first since 2015, where it will meet No. 5 Seton Hall, a 77-69 overtime winner over fourth-seeded St. John’s.
Facing compromised Villanova — tri-Big East Player of the Year Collin Gillespie is out for the season with a knee injury and Justin Moore was clearly not himself playing on a bad ankle — Georgetown took advantage.
Freshman Dante Harris’ two free throws with 4.7 seconds left lifted the Hoyas (11-12), who trailed by 10 points midway through the second half. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had given Villanova (16-6) the lead with a free throw with 18.5 seconds to go. On the final possession, Harris got a switch, and Ewing could be heard yelling, “Drive him!” Harris got into the lane and drew the foul on Robinson-Earl.
Villanova called timeout. On the bench, Ewing, the Knicks great, told Harris it was no different from practice, when they run suicides and go to the line exhausted. The freshman capped his brilliant day at the charity stripe, finishing with 18 points, five assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
“He’s growing up. He was put in a position where we didn’t think he was going to be, being our starter, and there were some growing pains,” Ewing said. “But he’s stepped up and he’s been playing magnificent for us.”
Villanova clearly wasn’t itself, badly missing Gillespie and Moore lacked explosion and lift on his jump shot. Robinson-Earl and Jermaine Samuels carried the Wildcats, combining for 46 points and 13 rebounds. It wasn’t enough.
After losing stars Omer Yurtseven and Mac McClung, the Hoyas were picked to finish last in the conference and came in eighth. They closed by winning five of their last nine regular-season contests, blew out No. 9 Marquette on Wednesday night and rallied past Villanova on Thursday.
“I’m extremely proud. A lot of people had counted us out,” Ewing said. “We struggled in the early part of the year. We were the last school, the last Big East school, to get back on campus. So it took us some time to adjust.”
With the 11th-ranked recruiting class in the country coming in next year, the future finally seems bright for Georgetown nearing the end of Ewing’s fourth season coaching his alma mater. The present, a chance to reach the Big East Tournament final Saturday night, isn’t too bad either. Who knows, maybe even the Garden security guards will stop harassing the Hall of Famer.