As one of the best products of the Georgetown Hoyas basketball program ever, former New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing hopes that he will be able to give back to his alma mater by helping guide the Hoyas back into being a powerhouse they used to be during his time in college.

It’s going to be easier said than done. Ewing is coming off his first year as head coach of the program, which finished with just a 15-15 overall record and a 5-13 slate in the Big East.

Ewing is far from being on the same level as the legendary John Thompson, who coached the program from 1972-1999, but he’s trying to teach his players today of at least one priceless lesson that Thompson taught him and his teammates in the 1980s: basketball is not everything.

In an interview with Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s Real Sports last year, Patrick Ewing told a story about a deflated ball that, to this day, serves as a reminder that getting a quality education is more important than playing hoops.

“There's a ball– deflated ball. We still keep it in the office. And– you know– one of the things he always told us, at some point the ball is gonna stop bouncing. So you know, you gotta have a backup plan. A Georgetown degree is a, is a powerful degree.”

Before he was taken by the Knicks as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, Ewing, under the mentorship of Thompson, won Georgetown’s first and still only national championship in school history.