Patrick Ewing on Getting Stopped By Security at MSG: 'I Thought This Was My Building'

On Thursday afternoon, Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing and his team picked up a upset victory over Villanova, the top seed in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

After the 72–71 victory, Ewing not only applauded the effort of his team, which moved to 11-12 on the season with the win, but also sounded off on the arena's security.

"I do want to say one thing, though. I thought this was my building,” Ewing said. “And I feel terrible that I’m getting stopped, accosted, asking for passes, everybody in this building should know who the hell I am. And I’m getting stopped. I can’t move around this building. I was like, ‘What the hell? Is this Madison Square Garden?’

“I’m going to have to call [Knicks owner James Dolan] and say, ‘Geez, is my number in the rafters or what?’”

On Thursday evening an MSG Entertainment spokesperson said in a statement that, “[Dolan] and Patrick have a long-standing relationship; they spoke this afternoon and reaffirmed that. We all know, respect and appreciate what he means to The Garden and New York. Good luck to him and his Hoyas in the Big East semi-finals.”

Prior to his coaching days, Ewing was, of course, one of the greatest Knicks in the history of the franchise, and he remains one of the most famous New York sports athletes ever.

His No. 33 jersey was raised to the rafters in 2003, with Ewing having retired from the NBA with the Knicks record for points (23,665), minutes (37,586), field goals (9,260), attempts (18,224)  rebounds (10,759), blocks (2,758), 40-point games (30) and All-Star selections (11), among other categories.

He'll look to continue making trips to Madison Square Garden through Saturday, the date of the Big East tournament final.

But first, the Hoyas will look to pick up another win on Friday in the Big East semis.