Mullin, Ewing renew rivalry on sidelines Tuesday

Pictured here at Big East media day in October, Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing meet for first time as head coaches Tuesday as St. John's hosts Georgetown, rekindling longtime rivalry that adds a new chapter. (Photo by Jason Schott/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Schott (@JESchott19)

NEW YORK -- The St. John's-Georgetown rivalry in the 1980s was defined by Chris Mullin leading the then-Redmen against Patrick Ewing's Hoyas, taking part in some legendary battles that brought the Big East to prominence.

Now in his third year at St. John's, Mullin, and Ewing, in his first at the helm of Georgetown, renew their rivalry as coaches of their alma maters for the first time Tuesday night when the Red Storm and Hoyas collide at Madison Square Garden (6:30 p.m., FS1).

“I think the current rivalry is healthy, and the history is long, deep rooted, and authentic,” Mullin said in his pregame availability on Monday. “That’s the nostalgia part of the rivalry. Patrick and I go way back, coming out of high school together, playing on two Olympic teams together, and competing against each other all the way through college, so our career timelines have been virtually the same. It’s been a long, winding relationship. It’s developed over time and it’s one that I cherish out of respect and admiration. That should add to the excitement.”

On whether he and Ewing stay in contact, Mullin said, “Of course we do. We’ve been in contact through pretty much our entire pro careers; especially after the 1992 Olympics, we became very close. When I was in the front office and working for different teams and Patrick was coaching for different teams, we would always get together whenever he came through. It’s been a long friendship. We texted back-and-forth during the holiday season and before he took the Georgetown job we spoke about it. We have that type of relationship where we respect each other and fully trust each other.”

For St. John's, this is a critical game because they have begun Big East play 0-4, and came into conference action with high expectations after starting non-conference play 10-2 and off a stronger than expected season last year. Georgetown is a young team who got off to a surprising start in non-conference play, going 10-1, and are 1-3 in Big East play.

"They have some very talented bigs," Mullin said of the Hoyas. "[Jessie] Govan is one of the best big men in the country, [Marcus] Derrickson is an inside-outside threat, their guards are attacking guards who want to physically attack the basket, and they have the old school Georgetown lengthy wings. Tough task, but should be fun.”

"We’ve struggled the first part of this conference season, but for the most part we’ve been solid," he admitted, addressing the slow start to Big East play for St. John's. "We’ve got to get back to that defense, guarding the ball, and the games we’ve been in are because we’ve played good defense. We have to get back to that. When we’ve done that, we’ve actually been good in the open court. That’s a key factor for us, and hopefully we will have some good energy tomorrow night, not only in our individual defense, but also our team defense.”

On the feeling of having “the enemy,” Georgetown, invade The Garden, Mullin feels it enhances not only the rivalry, but the growth of both teams overall.

“I think that’s all healthy," he said. "It’s what basketball and competing are all about. As long as there is respect, which there always has been. Competing with intense play, with the sole focus of winning is what we are teaching our teams.”

As Mullin and Ewing embark upon the latest tapestry in their joint legacies, the St. John's legend revealed some of the advice he gave his former adversary this past offseason, when Ewing was tabbed to replace John Thompson III on the Hilltop.

"There were a lot of similarities to us when we were each in that situation, but the big difference was the Patrick had coached, while I hadn’t," said Mullin. "The transition from where he was coming from compared to where I was coming from was very similar, so I was just really transparent and gave him my personal experience. I think that allowed him to make his decision.”

However, in the midst of rebuilding his alma mater, Mullin has kept an open mind throughout the process, and is not getting too caught up in the hoopla surrounding his battle of the wits with Ewing, focusing on the business end of the matchup.

“I can speak for myself and say, 100 percent, no," he said when asked if he ever thought he would be coaching in Queens. "This was not a plan. This was something that fell in place. It’s a new adventure and a new challenge. I’m enjoying it. You just never know. You always have to keep your options open because you never know where they might lead you. Right now we are just focused on tomorrow's game, but let me know tomorrow what Patrick says to this question."