Hoyas mum on Ewing Jr.

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Georgetown's athletic department yesterday refused to confirm that Patrick Ewing Jr. was transferring from Indiana to his father's alma mater.

The elder Ewing told KRIV-TV in Houston on Wednesday his son was headed to the Hilltop.

"My son chose Georgetown," said the three-time All-American (1983-85) and NBA standout, now an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets. "He was also considering Miami and North Carolina. ... I'm excited. It's a great place for him to be, and not just because I went there. The coaches love him and want him to play for them."

Ewing, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, averaged 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in two seasons as a reserve for the Hoosiers, scoring in double figures just five times in 57 appearances. A raw offensive player, particularly in the halfcourt set, Ewing could help the Hoyas with his defense and rebounding.

Those were the primary weaknesses of last season's overachieving team, which finished 19-15 in coach John Thompson III's first year. And there's no denying there would be a certain historical symmetry to a Ewing joining a Thompson on the Hilltop.

But if Ewing does sign with the Hoyas -- he has until May 18 to do so -- he won't be eligible to play until the 2006-07 season. That could be a concern for a team that is already scholarship-strapped and exceptionally thin on the interior.

If Georgetown gives Ewing a scholarship -- though there is nothing to stop the elder Ewing from paying his son's way -- it will further muddle an already confusing numbers game for Thompson and his staff.

Will walk-on Jonathan Wallace get the scholarship he deserves after starting every game as a freshman for the Hoyas? Will junior forward Brandon Bowman pull his name out of the NBA Draft and return to the Hilltop for his senior season, eating up another scholarship? Will Prop 48 swingman Darrel Owens, who played markedly better than any other Hoya in the postseason, be invited back for his final season of eligibility? Will the Hoyas retract their scholarship offer to 6-7, 290-pound DeAndre Thomas, Chicago's Prep Player of the Year and a potential 11th-hour recruiting steal?

Two years is an eternity in college basketball, and in that time Ewing never blossomed into anything but a big-name reserve in Bloomington. If the Hoyas sign him, and if doing so forces their hand on any one of the four aforementioned issues, Thompson will have made the first controversial move of his Georgetown career.