3 candidates to replace John Thompson III at Georgetown
March is always a time of year where the coaching carousal in college basketball is fully operational, and Thursday didn't disappoint after it was announced John Thompson III received his walking papers from Georgetown.
The head coaching vacancy with the Hoyas automatically becomes one of the most intriguing jobs currently on the open market with Thompson's exit. There are a number of head coaches out there that could prove a snug fit into the program depending on which direction administration wants to take.
Depending on what Georgetown will be looking for in the next leader of its basketball program, three names in particular stick out as potential fits for their own unique reasons.
Archie Miller
Archie Miller's evolution to coach a big-time program has become a matter of when rather than if thanks to his success at Dayton, so could the opening at Georgetown finally be the job to pry him away?
The 38-year-old proved he can win immediately after achieving instant success at Dayton when he took the job in 2011, something the Hoyas will be desperately seeking after two straight losing seasons. Miller would inject a youthfulness and energy into a program in dire need of revitalization, and has four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances on his resume, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2014.
Miller is in no way under any pressure to leave Dayton as the reigning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and it will be interesting to see whether or not he will feel the juice will be worth the squeeze in Washington D.C.
Tommy Amaker
Georgetown dipped into the Ivy League waters when it hired John Thompson III away from Princeton, and it could very well purge Harvard of its head coach this time around.
After taking over the Crimson in 2007, Amaker has shown he has what it takes to turn around a losing program in a hurry, turning an 8-22 first season into a 21-7 season just two years later, quickly followed up by four straight NCAA tournament appearances and two tournament victories to top it off.
Amaker already has 20 years of head coaching experience under his belt, and is familiar with the Big East from his four seasons as head coach of Seton Hall from 1997-2001.
Patrick Ewing
For a program that values history and ties as much as Georgetown, bringing back arguably the best player in program history initially would seem like a match made in heaven.
After his playing career ended in 2002, Patrick Ewing didn't waste any time getting into the coaching ranks, and the time could be right for the 54-year-old to take a head coaching job after 15 years as an assistant. Ewing already has an assistant position with the Charlotte Hornets, but the prospects of running his own program may give him something to consider.
Nostalgia begs Ewing to return to where it all began, but with the university having just fired the son of the most accomplished head coach in school history, the vision from up top may be to look away from the past and towards the future entirely.