SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tom Thibodeau believes Knicks legend Patrick Ewing will “bounce again” from his firing Thursday at Georgetown.
Thibodeau was an assistant coach on the Knicks throughout Ewing’s closing seasons with the franchise as a participant, they usually labored carefully collectively as assistants beneath Jeff Van Gundy in Houston from 2004-07.
“It’s unlucky, however Patrick is, in my eyes, he’s an all-time nice, if not the best Knick of all time. And clearly working along with him, not solely is he a terrific coach, he’s a good higher individual. So it’s disappointing,” Thibodeau stated earlier than the Knicks’ 122-117 loss to the Kings. “I believed he had some nice moments there. I do know it was very significant to him.
“However Patrick will likely be effective. He’s, like I stated, I’ve labored with him, so I do know he’s a terrific coach. However he’s a terrific individual. He’s a pricey buddy. And so he’ll bounce again and good issues will likely be coming sooner or later for him.”
The 60-year-old Ewing was fired Thursday after the Hoyas posted a mixed report of 13-50 over the previous two seasons, together with 7-25 this 12 months.
In six years at his alma mater, the 11-time NBA All-Star middle completed with a report of 75-109.
“The factor about Patrick is as a coach the one factor you’ll be able to management is what you set into it. I understand how a lot he put into it,” Thibodeau stated. “Typically there’s issues that happen that you haven’t any management over. It doesn’t matter what occurs it doesn’t change his love for that college and what which means to him.
“The preliminary disappointment of not being there anymore, that’s regular human nature. However he’ll bounce again. I understand how strongly he feels concerning the college, how a lot appreciation he has for the time that he was there. And he’ll nonetheless be concerned with Georgetown. It’s a terrific college. He’ll transfer ahead. He’ll be effective.”
Thibodeau added that “the state of faculty basketball is in flux proper now,” citing the switch portal and NIL (Title, Picture, Likeness) compensation as “altering the dynamics of faculty basketball tremendously.”
“I believe you must take a look at, OK, clearly when you may have success, you don’t do this by your self both,” Thibodeau added. “You share in that after which when one thing doesn’t work, it’s not anybody explicit individual, you must share in that and say there’s a variety of components that go into this.”
