The basketball world is well aware of Louis Orr’s passing. A longtime head and assistant coach, Orr transcended over a week ago.
Click here for a statement from his family.
What’s lost on some is losing Orr’s impact on the team, as people. None is more impacted than head coach Pat Ewing.
Orr (64) and Ewing ad a 37 year friendship, one that started at the NBA’s New York Knicks, where Orr played and Ewing was drafted as the league’s first pick that season.
The two competed six seasons together in the Big Apple, and remained close afterward.
After Georgetown’s 102-89 loss to Xavier, Ewing was dispirited not just about the game, but as friend, confidant and co-worker, Ewing was clearly impacted by Orr’s passing, saying “It’s been difficult” and “I already knew Lou was fighting cancer. We’ve been very close. Been knowing him since my first year with the Knicks (NY’s NBA franchise)…We developed a great relationship and great bond”.
Continuing, Ewing shared “When his wife contacted me last night and told me he had passed – even though he wasn’t here we would talk everyday. He would watch the game and give me his insights on what he saw. So when i got the news, it brought me to tears, because even if we are not blood brothers, we are like brothers.
His friendship, the bond that we had, will certainly be missed. He’s a person that I can talk about (things), I can vent to him about the losing streak. I can talk to him about life, religion,…was a man that was steady in his faith. We talked about a lot of different things.
“So those things, will be missed this year, and missed going forward”.
Here’s hoping Ewing can find serenity in this time of loss and struggle.
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