Patrick Ewing is heading back to the bench.
After spending the past few seasons around the Knicks as an advisor and ambassador, Ewing has taken an assistant coaching job with the Washington Wizards. It’s another turn in a basketball life that has stayed tied to New York for decades, but this move gets him back into the role he still wanted: coach.
Ewing’s connection to the Knicks has always been obvious. He spent well over a decade as the face of the franchise, and that bond is why he remained around the organization in a support role in recent years. Still, the coaching pull never really went away, and now he’s making that jump with Washington.
The Wizards have been adding pieces around Brian Keefe, and Ewing gives that staff both name recognition and real NBA credibility. He brings the perspective of a former star and the kind of experience that can resonate in a locker room.
That matters for a roster with a mix of established talent and young upside. Ewing can be a mentor for players such as AJ Dybansta, while also working with the bigger frontcourt pieces like Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis, and Deandre Ayton.
Washington also brought in former Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford, giving Keefe even more experience on the sideline. With that kind of staff, the Wizards are clearly leaning into a more seasoned coaching group.
And with players like Davis and Trae Young on the roster, the Wizards have veterans who can help them in the regular season, while Dybantsa and Sarr give the team a younger core to build around for what comes next.
In Other News...
PFF Just Put KJ Duff Among College Footballs Elite Again
KJ Duff keeps showing up on the kind of lists that usually reserve space for the sports most established playmakers. Pro Football Focus placed the Rutgers wide receiver at No. 27 heading into the next season, a nod to the breakout year that made him one of the Big Tens most dangerous targets and Rutgers first 1,000-yard receiver since Leonte Carroo in 2014.
Duffs value goes beyond the box score, too, with his contested-catch ability giving the Scarlet Knights a reliable answer when plays break down. The bigger question now is who will be throwing him the ball, because Rutgers is still sorting out its quarterback competition and the winner will inherit a clear No. 1 target with preseason All-American buzz already attached. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Pikiell Sees A Different Rutgers Backcourt Taking Shape
Rutgers is heading into the season with a backcourt that looks a lot more established than it did a year ago, and Steve Pikiell is leaning into that shift. Lino Mark, Tariq Francis and Kaden Powers are all back, giving the Scarlet Knights a trio of guards who have already logged meaningful Big Ten minutes and, in Pikiells view, grown into the kind of players the program can build around. Marks development as a more polished, sturdier option, Francis scoring punch and Powers expanded role all point to a group that should feel less like a work in progress and more like a real foundation.
There is still some roster business left to sort out, though, and that keeps the full picture from coming into focus just yet. Rutgers is still waiting on the status of guard Luis Duarte, while the staff also wants to add two more frontcourt players before the offseason is over. So even as the backcourt takes shape, the final version of this team still depends on how the rest of the roster fills in around it. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Golf Just Got Another Huge Chris Gotterup Moment
Chris Gotterup keeps giving Rutgers golf another reason to brag, and this latest one came at the John Deere Classic. The former Scarlet Knight closed with a bogey-free 9-under 62 at TPC Deere Run, finishing at 20-under par and adding another PGA TOUR title to a rsum that keeps growing fast.
For Rutgers fans, the appeal goes beyond one hot week. Gotterup left New Brunswick as one of the most decorated players in program history, and this win only sharpens the sense that his game still has room to climb. The John Deere also carries extra meaning in his pro story, which makes this latest breakthrough feel less like a surprise and more like another checkpoint in a career that is starting to stack up big moments. [Read more 🡒]