Thirty-one games later, after the semifinal victory over Notre Dame, teammate Tyler Crawford said, “Honestly, Pat is everything – from our energy to doing little hustle plays, diving out of bounds, taking care of all the small things.”

Ewing did what he came to do, and he turned some heads along the way. Going into the always grueling NCAA tournament, teams feel more confident with a sold sixth man ready to come off the bench to spark the team. After a defining breakout performance over three games in the Big East Tournament, Ewing has established himself as just that.

At the Garden last weekend, Ewing came off the bench to post a total of nine rebounds, three blocks and 16 points, 15 of which were in the Hoyas’ closest game of the series, an 84-82 win over Notre Dame on Friday night.

If there were any doubts that Ewing did not belong where his father once played, Ewing silenced them with his game-changing performance against Notre Dame, earning his keep once and for all on the Hoyas’ court.

In the gritty semifinals battle against the Irish, Ewing took on the supporting role of the sixth man with ease. Playing for 28 minutes, and starting in place of junior center Roy Hibbert in the second half, Ewing energized the Hoyas offensively with six straight points at the beginning of the second half, giving Georgetown its first lead of the game, 50-49, at 18:14.

“We were playing well when he was in there, so we kept him in there,” Head Coach John Thompson III said after the game.

Ewing’s 15-point game total was a personal best for the season, and he topped it off with a solid all-around performance that saw two rebounds and two steals, and set up Green’s go-ahead shot.

“Pat just threw it down and I went into my move and they fouled me and I got the lucky roll,” Green said after the game.

Ewing transferred from Indiana last year and sat on the bench in a suit due to NCAA regulations. In his first season donning a Hoya jersey, Ewing’s impact on the team has been slow and steady, rather than immediate.

Ewing began to assert himself and grab people’s attention in the second half of the year against, ironically, Notre Dame on Jan. 6 at Verizon Center.

In that first meeting with the Irish, Ewing failed to score in 12 minutes of play, but did notch two rebounds, an assist and a block. His presence on the court was what people noticed, however, including Thompson, who said after the game, “He gives you energy, and he gives you emotion. That’s who he is. . He’s been playing pretty smart lately.”

It’s the same sentiment that Crawford echoed after the semifinal game. His energy, both on and off the court, is a key part of what makes Ewing a strong sixth man.

Another factor is his ability to turn on the heat when it matters. One does not have to look further than Friday’s game against Notre Dame, when Ewing’s star teammate could only notch six points and fouled out at the end of a close game, or the team’s first meeting with then No. 7-Pittsburg on Jan. 13, when Ewing scored his previous season-high of 12 points.

Ewing has developed into an integral part of Georgetown’s bench. He was a key part of the Hoyas’ Big East title run last week, and will play an indispensable role as a sixth man in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Teams usually don’t live or die by their sixth man, but those players can sometimes make a crucial difference, as Ewing demonstrated against Notre Dame.

At the Garden last week he might have worn the same number and used the same locker as his legendary father, but the place he earned on the court was all his own.