Georgetown Basketball: 9 candidates to replace Patrick Ewing as head coach

Rick Pitino

We now proceed to the name at the top of nearly every person’s list for the Georgetown job. In desperate need of a resurrection of their basketball program, look no further than the man who’s done it all. Bring aboard the coach who has led “two” teams to national championships and also taken Big East rival Providence to the Final Four.

Pitino’s accomplishments speak for themselves, though we’ll try to detail them briefly. He’s coached at six different D1 schools, leading five of them to the NCAA Tournament. He’s led programs to seven Final Fours and a title apiece at both Kentucky and Louisville, though his time with the Cardinals was marred (and the title vacated) by recruiting scandals. He’s spent the last three seasons at Iona and has the best program in the MAAC, likely heading towards another NCAA Tournament next week.

Hiring Pitino would be an instant upgrade at Georgetown, plus it would take away a potential candidate if the St. John’s job opens in the coming days. He is already 70 years old, so it wouldn’t be a long-term hire, but he could certainly right the ship in the coming years before passing the torch to one of his assistants. He’s the high-profile home run hire that many Hoyas fans will want down in DC, the only question is if Pitino and the Hoyas brass both want this to happen.