Alyssa Ewing James is following in the footsteps of her famous uncle.
Which means after her playing career, she has become a college basketball coach. Nowadays, Patrick Ewing is the Georgetown University men’s basketball coach.
Alyssa started working this season an assistant for the St. Francis College women’s hoop squad.
As noted in a recent article in The Tablet, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, she spent one season at Caldwell (New Jersey) University, playing under Linda Cimino. Then, James transferred to Binghamton University in New York, where Cimino was hired to coach.
Playing three years for the America East Conference school, James, a forward, had significant achievements, including all-conference honors in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. What’s more, she was the America East Defensive Player of the Year recipient three times. She became the conference’s all-time leader in blocked shots (270).
Now, Alyssa Ewing James is working under Cimino, who is in her second season at the helm for St. Francis College.
“It’s been a different experience seeing the game from this side of the court,” James told The Tablet. “I’m definitely still learning, but I’m just happy to have all these great coaches that we have here at St. Francis.”
Insights about Patrick Ewing
The Tablet article noted that James “was too young to remember seeing her uncle star for the Knicks, (but) of course has heard the stories and seen the highlight reels from his Hall of Fame career.”
“The thing about him (Ewing) that pushed me to be the basketball player that I was had to be his work ethic,” James told the newspaper. “Hearing the stories of how he worked hard every summer with other players to get better and improve made me want to be a better player, a better teammate and a better captain.”
James sought advice from her uncle before agreeing to work on Cimino’s staff, The Tablet reported.
“He said, ‘If this is what you want to do and you love the game, you’ll be ready to help the girls overcome any obstacles, and that’s all that matters,’ ” James was quoted as saying.
