Am I the only one who is excited by this interview between John Fanta of Big East Shootaround and Patrick Ewing? The Fox Sports-based web show met with Coach Ewing at the Thompson Intercollegiate Athletic Center to discuss a variety of preseason matters including pace of play, conditioning, Ewing as a coach, and…patience… (starts at 7:35).

While I implore you to watch the video in its entirety and subscribe to Big East Shootaround, here are some interesting quotes from the (automated) YouTube transcript.

John Fanta: …you talked about it when you were introduced and then some interviews over the summer and said I'm going to do things my way what is the Patrick Ewing way?

Patrick Ewing: The way that I've been taught after being spending 14 years in the NBA various coaching being prepared running style and pushing the pace trapping that that's just my focus for right now

JF: Your players told me yesterday they've been running harder than they ever have before, your conditioning program's been tough but how much do you think that that style plays to your team strengths?

PE: well I think [] there's nothing wrong with being in shape the guys have to be in shape to [] be successful you know and to be able to be able to play the style that I want to play I want to be up-tempo like I said that's the style of play that a lot of kids like to play now. Jesse can run--we have a center in him who can run even though and he's been here two years and a lot of people that haven't seen that yet and he shows me that he can run and we have wings that can run we wanted to accentuate their style and I do expect them to be attentive. I want them to be a, definitely, be a better defensive team than they have been in the in the past. One of the things that I've learned and all the teams that I've played on since high school we've always been great defensive team. I definitely wanted get back to that staple a great defensive team and [] build everything out from there…

PE: I have a lot of people I can call for advice you know coach Thompson, Jeff Van Gundy, I have Steve Clifford…

JF: what do you say when people out there say the Georgetown brand is fading it's going away?

PE: I don't know it looks like it looks like it's shining bright to me!

JF: I know there's a lot of stories out there about how you became a coach but was there a point when you started your coaching career that getting into it [you] said "this is what I want to do in the future?"

PE: You know what I think I got the bug when I was playing I would come back here and I would teach Alonzo and Dikembe all the things that I would learn from [] being in the NBA but I really didn’t realize it until it was time for me to retire and one day I'm sitting with Michael Jordan and I'm telling him youknow I think this is my last year I'm [] gonna retire he was running the wizards at the time and he told me you know what I want you to come work with me at the Wizards try coaching…

JF: your players say that they would love to be in a remake of Space Jam - what do you think

PE: I'm not sure if they're good enough right now I think LeBron and Steph and those guys already have that locked up…

JF: what's your final message here six weeks out to the same fans that you gave a thrill ride when you were here at Georgetown?

PE: Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day. I believe in my guys but [] be patient.

From my perspective, I see a few important ideas coming out of this interview that need to be discussed in a comment section. For instance, the discussion of pace of play was front and center (no pun intended), specifically with regard to Jessie Govan.

Govan is one of their highest-ranked recruits. Govan is regularly mentioned as a potential NBA prospect. There are certainly other members of this team with high ceilings, but it’s not a far stretch to imagine that a new coach—who was a Hall of Fame center—would focus on getting the most out of his big man by ensuring he touches the ball on the majority of possessions.

Secondly, it’s great to hear the word "up-tempo." I’m sure they weren’t allowed to talk recruits at this point, but you have to believe that this was a direct pitch.

Third, I love hearing that he’s running the team like sled dogs. Some of the biggest critiques of the prior coaching regime were deficiencies in conditioning and not enough time spent on the fastbreak. Many contributors and commenters often pointed out lackadaisical play and foul troubles when exhaustion was apparent. While we need not name any player in particular, it should be clear that the front court, e.g., Govan, could certainly benefit from better endurance.

Lastly, Coach ties it all together saying, "I believe in my guys but [] be patient."

Let me be one of the first to say: Coach, if your team plays up-tempo, with solid defense, great conditioning, and the discipline we expect out of a top-tier college program, I can be patient. I'm not going to wait forever, but I can be patient.

Full practices started this week and we are less than 6 weeks from games. While this video might be overshadowed by recruiting talk, #NCAArmageddon, or Meek Mill, perhaps those of us who are not excited coming out of this interview are being far too…casual...