Ewing Jr. is a Hoosier

Patrick Ewing Jr. will officially don the cream and crimson next fall. \nEwing, who earlier verbally committed to IU, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Hoosiers Thursday. \nIU coach Mike Davis said the addition of Ewing, who is the son of 11-time NBA All Star Patrick Ewing, will bolster the team in both rebounding and shooting. \n"We're real excited to have Pat here at Indiana," Davis said in a statement. "He has a chance to come in and contribute right away. Pat can do a little bit of everything -- he's strong and aggressive on the boards, and he can also step out and shoot it as well."\nDavis added that Ewing's strong basketball lineage has helped mold him into a top player.\n"Pat has faced pressure throughout his career, following in his father's footsteps," he said. "But he has used that to his advantage. It has motivated him to work harder to prove that he can play, too. Obviously, his dad has been a huge influence."\nEwing averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and almost three blocks for National Christian Academy last year in Fort Washington, Md., leading the squad to a 20-8 record. \nRecently, Ewing has played in a pair of All-Star games. He had 11 points in The Capital Classic in Washington, D.C. and had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists at the Derek Anderson Derby Festival in Louisville, Ky. \nEwing's prep coach, Trevor Brown, said he anticipates a good fit for Ewing at IU.\n"Pat's a perfect fit for their system," he said in a news release. "I watched Jeff Newton play in high school, and Jeff was nowhere near as developed as Pat is at the same stage in their careers. When you look at the success that Newton and Jared Jeffries and (Kirk) Haston had at Indiana, it's a testament to what they're doing with their forwards down there. Most importantly, Pat and his family liked what it offered academically"