{"id":400970,"date":"2014-08-26T11:50:27","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T16:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=400970"},"modified":"2022-09-17T12:27:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-17T17:27:40","slug":"patrick-ewing-talks-concepts-collab-cambridge-coaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/patrick-ewing-talks-concepts-collab-cambridge-coaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Ewing Talks Concepts Collab, Cambridge & Coaching"},"content":{"rendered":"
With the majority of his Hall of Fame career playing for the New York Knicks, many associate Patrick Ewing<\/strong> with New York City but he first gained national attention for his play during high school at Cambridge Rindge and Latin located in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ewing was back in Cambridge this past Saturday to celebrate the release of the CNCPTS x Ewing 33 Hi, a collaboration between the Harvard Square sneaker boutique, Concepts, and Ewing\u2019s own sneaker brand, Ewing Athletics.<\/p>\n With his friends and family in the store, Ewing shook hands and took pictures with hundreds of fans that were lining up down the block for a chance to not only cop the shoe but to meet one of Cambridge\u2019s greats. Ewing was proudly wearing the shoe, which paid tribute to his high school days at Rindge and Latin, and took some time in between the fanfare to chat with Snkrs Day about Ewing Athletics, Cambridge, the NBA and plenty more.<\/p>\n -Words and interview by Ananth Pandian<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Snkrs Day: I only got to Concepts an hour ago but you have been here for a little over two hours now, shaking hands and taking pictures. What does this type of fan support mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> It’s great to see. The people here in Cambridge and Boston have shown me a lot of support for a long time. This is where it all started for me, in terms of learning how to play the game. It is great that all of these fans came out to show love for not only me but also for the brand.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Yeah, let\u2019s talk about that. Concepts is showing love and respect to your old high school, Rindge and Latin, with this collaboration.<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Yeah, it definitely it is great. Even though when I played we had slightly different colors, this is the new color but it looks great. Concepts has done an outstanding job promoting it and getting the word out which brought out all of these people today. I love how they are supporting the brand.<\/p>\n Patrick Ewing in the CNCPTS x Ewing 33 Hi (photo by @cncpts on IG<\/a>)\n Snkrs Day: I noticed at Summer League you were wearing Ewings while coaching… <\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong>\u00a0[Smiles<\/em>] At Summer League, you don\u2019t have to wear a coat and tie while coaching so I was able to show the shoes off.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: How did the players react? Did they give you and the shoes a lot of love?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Oh yeah, a lot of them give me love. A number of them asked me how they can get some, so I sent out shoes to some of them while some of them bought them, themselves.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: So lets talk about Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Besides you, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came out of there. What makes people of that caliber come out of the school?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Yeah, we’ve had a good number of famous people come out of Rindge. We also have a good number of people who are in politics. I enjoyed growing up here. I have my family, friends I went to high school with and some friends I went to grade school with here with me today. I still keep my roots here and keep in touch with the folks here so that’s why they come out and support me and the brand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Snkrs Day: How have you seen Cambridge change since you were here growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Oh man, Cambridge has changed a lot. Harvard and MIT are going to meet in the middle as they keep expanding. The economy here keeps growing and it’s just a great city.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: I know a lot of Cambridge kids who mainly just stay in Cambridge and never really go into Boston, despite it being just across the river, because they can do so much here in Cambridge. Did you have a similar experience growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong>\u00a0[Laughs<\/em>] Nah, we went into Boston. We would go to the movies, go to parties, play ball. We ventured out.<\/p>\n Patrick Ewing coaches the Charlotte Hornets in a Ewing Guard “Hornets” PE\n Snkrs Day: Lets switch gears and talk about the team you coach, the Hornets. The team just changed their name going from the Bobcats and in a sense back to the Hornets. <\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> It was a great move. We have a lot of support in Charlotte and a lot of Hornets fans are waiting for the season to start. We are waiting and anticipating as well. I’m excited to see what we can do. We\u2019ve added some pieces to the team and with Al (Jefferson) and Kemba (Walker), hopefully we can gel together quickly and go far.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: You\u2019ve been known to work with big men but with a player like Al, who is a veteran that has moves pretty much down already, all those pump fakes and his footwork, how do you help him improve on his already established skill set?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Al has been outstanding to work with. He is an outstanding guy and an outstanding pupil. Like you said, he has his game but if I see little things that I think he needs to do, I tell him about it. He has been working on his game all summer long so he is ready and in shape for next season. His foot is feeling better and he is ready to lead us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Snkrs Day: You guys just added Lance Stephenson. What does he bring to the Hornets?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Toughness, defensive intensity. He is able to do a lot of things on the basketball court– not just score. He is able to rebound, defend and pass. He has the total package.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Are you excited to be working with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Very happy. He is a big key to our team.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Cody Zeller is entering his second season after a solid rookie year that showed promise. What steps are you expecting Cody to take this season?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> We expect a lot out of Cody. We expect him to keep on improving. He has a long way go, he just needs to keep working and striving to be the best that he can be.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: You have coached with both of the Van Gundys and now you are working with Steve Clifford, who is in a head coach role now. I know you guys have worked together before but what have you learned from him and how do you guys work together?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Steve started in New York with Jeff and we both worked together in Houston with Jeff. We both worked together with Stan in Orlando. We\u2019ve been working together for a long time now. So a lot of his philophiles are the same as mine. We are both from that Van Gundy and Pat Riley school so we stress defense, rebounding, stopping people and knowing how to properly score as a team so we can win big in this league.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: I actually lived in Charlotte for a little bit and enjoyed my time there. How do you like living there?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> I like it. It has grown a lot since back when we used to go play the Hornets there. I am enjoying it. We are improving and are winning which is making it fun.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: What are you hoping for the future of Ewing Athletics? More collaborations like this one with Concepts?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> Definitely more collaborations like this. Concepts is great. Ewing Athletics is doing well and people are loving the brand. We are hoping to keep it steadily growing.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Adidas rereleased the vintage Mutombo’s somewhat recently. Have you ever gotten on him for doing that after Ewing Athletics was relaunched?<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> I am older than him so he is probably just learning from his elders. Well, I am supposed to be older than him. No one truly knows how old he is. [Laughs<\/em>] But, I am just incredibly blessed to re-launch my brand and want to thank the public for all of their love for their warm reception of my shoes.<\/p>\n Snkrs Day: Recently, you did the Ice Bucket Challenge and you challenged New York Knicks owner James Dolan to do it. I\u2019m not too sure if he is going to do it but you must still have a great relationship with him to challenge him like that.<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Ewing:<\/strong> I am still very cordial with Mr. Dolan. I challenged Coach Thompson, my Georgetown coach, I challenged the Georgetown President, Jack DeGioa, and I also challenged Al Jefferson. I hope they do it. I did it. It was rough, I am still shivering from the cold. But I mean it was for a great cause and I was happy to do it and donate. Let\u2019s hope the folks I challenged, including Mr. Dolan, also do it and donate.<\/p>\n Ananth Pandian is a Free Born Man of the USA. His writing can be found at Hardwood Paroxysm and SLAM Magazine<\/a>. Follow him on Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n