It was a Monday night in April of 1984. Two of the premier big men in the world of college basketball were going head to head for the National Championship. It was the first time that Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon met on the court, starting a rivalry that would continue for over a decade into the NBA.
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In preparation of the 20th anniversary celebration of Georgetown’s National Championship on Saturday, we’re going through Five Things Every Hoya Fan Should Know about the 1984 team. We’ve already told you things #1 and #2; now we’re giving you the third thing you should know.

Too Close for Comfort

Georgetown’s 1984 NCAA tournament was almost cut short after one game. In their opening game of the tournament, Georgetown faced Southern Methodist led by Jon Koncak. The Mustangs played a very tight zone defense and used a very deliberate pace. In those days, there was no three-point line and no shot clock. SMU led the Hoyas at halftime 24-16. The Hoyas stormed out in the second half to take a six point lead, but the Mustangs tied the game in the final minute. The Hoyas’ senior co-captain and defensive specialist Gene Smith went to line for a one-and-one with the score knotted at 34. A defensive rebound would have given SMU a chance to hold for the final shot to upset the Hoyas. Smith was a 59% free throw shooter. Smith missed the front end, but in a remarkable yet characteristic display of his unparalleled combination of grace, athleticism, and determination, Patrick Ewing tipped in the rebound to put the Hoyas up by two. The Hoyas added a free throw seconds later, and an inconsequential last second basket for SMU made the final score 37-36.

• After our week of buildup, Patrick Ewing was finally inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, being by his former coach and mentor, John Thompson.
• The Big East has finally released their conference schedule for the upcoming season. The Hoyas will face a tough challenge right off the bat as they start the Big East season at Connecticut, home against Pittsburgh, and then away at Notre Dame. Once we get the final schedule with the remaining non-conference games from Mex, we’ll be sure to update our schedule page and give you links for your Google Calendars/Outlook/iCal/whatevers.

So Patrick Ewing is finally getting into the Hall of Fame tonight. If you want to see the ceremony, it will be displayed live on NBA TV and ESPN Classic tonight at 7:30 PM.

In honor of Pat’s big day, we’ve decided to have some fun with you all. Write a hoyku about Patrick Ewing and post it in the comments. Here’s ours, taken from Tony’s favorite Patrick memory.

The ref can’t reach it
The ball is stuck in the net
Patrick saves the day

Congratulation to Patrick and to whoever comes up with the best poem.

Do you all know Billy Crystal? I’ve always thought he was a pretty good comedian. He was great on Saturday Night Live, with his crazy characters like Fernando of “You Look Marvelous” fame, and Willie the masochistic security guard. Plus, his incredible Sammy Davis Jr. impression is one of the best ever. Of course he’s had lots of funny movies like City Slickers (and II), and Analyze This (and That). Plus he was the voice of Mike Wazowski in the hilarious Disney/Pixar movie Monsters Inc. But, of all of the very funny and wild things about Billy Crystal, the funniest and craziest thing of all is that he is a Los Angeles Clippers fan. That’s not a joke.
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For those of you who live or have lived in the nation’s capital, you know there is only one sports team that really affects the life of Washingtonians as a whole, the Washington Redskins. If the Wizards are good, some people rally around them, and everybody can see that Gilbert Arenas is a pretty cool guy. Alex Ovechkin is a national and international sensation, but the Caps barely register on the local sports landscape. There was incredible excitement when Washington finally landed a baseball team, but after building the new stadium, the team moved back to Montreal or something, at least that’s what I assumed since the TV ratings and attendance are at the bottom of Major League Baseball. D.C. United has won four league titles since 1996, but if you don’t know what Barra Brava means, than you also probably don’t know that there is a pro soccer team in DC either. Basically, DC is not a sports town, except maybe during football season.
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• On Friday, Patrick Ewing, Jr.was traded from the Houston Rockets to the New York Knicks for French international Frederic Weis. Patrick is the 16th man under contract with the Knicks, and with only 15 players per team, Pat will have to earn his spot on the roster. If he does make the team, though, big Pat has said that the Knicks should take #33 down from the rafters.
• Today is Coach John Thompson, Jr.’s birthday. Let’ see what happens if Smokin’ Al Koken forgets to wish him a Happy Birthday on his show this afternoon.
• Patrick Ewing will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this Thursday, and in honor of his accomplishment, we at Hoya Hoops will be paying tribute to Big Pat throughout the week. Be sure to check out what we have to offer.

• Yesterday afternoon, the Tombs defeated the Madness All-Stars in the Kenner League Championship with a final score of 81-65. Incoming freshman Jason Clark and Henry Sims were on the team along with returning sophomores Chris Wright and Nikita Mescheriakov. Greg Monroe was on the team earlier in the summer, but he had to return home after his summer classes finished. Over the course of the summer, Roy Hibbert also had a few appearances playing with the Tombs.
• Over at guhoyas.com, you can find the new Hoya roster with the players’ heights, weights, and numbers. Of note is that Nikita has switched from #10 to Rivers’ old number, #5, and Greg Monroe has taken 10. Also, transfer Julian Vaughn will be wearing Tyler Crawford’s old jersey, #22.
• With the Summer Olympics commencing this past weekend, there have been plenty of stories about past olympians. NBCOlympics.com profiled Patrick Ewing last week on his birthday, and GUHoyas.com ran a piece on Alonzo on Friday

Many Happy Returns of Patrick Ewing’s Birthday

The original Big Fella turns 46 today. Big Pat’s got a lot on his plate these days: he’s still an assistant Coach for the Orlando Magic, his son is looking to get picked up by an NBA team, and in a month or so he has to go all the way to Massachusetts to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. We’ll have a much nicer tribute to Patrick when we get closer to Hall of Fame weekend, but for now, just think back on your favorite Ewing-Georgetown moment and if you have a drink sometime today, lift your glass to Patrick Aloysius Ewing, Sr. And since it’s for him, lift your glass up a lot higher than usual.
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Patrick Ewing was recently selected to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on September 4-6, 2008 in Springfield, MA. We at Hoya Hoops will bring you more about the all-time greatest Hoya as we get closer to his induction. Congratulations Patrick.