At peace in his father's shadow

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Patrick Ewing Jr. sits in the lounge of the Georgetown basketball office, a mural-sized picture of his father looming just behind him, and smiles good-naturedly at the awkwardly worded question.

The picture is the quintessential Pat Sr. shot: back to the camera, sweat-saturated, arms outstretched, palms up.

It's an image of a player unparalleled in his sport. It's an image of a player Patrick Jr. can never be.

But is that something the younger Ewing realizes?

"Of course," he said, immediately dismissing the notion he ever carried with him the burden of his father's brilliance. "I was pretty young when I figured out I probably wouldn't be a three-time All-American and a perennial NBA All-Star. There aren't a lot of those walking around."

If No. 22 Georgetown (16-5, 6-2 Big East) starts slowly tonight at Louisville (16-7, 6-3) -- and the team's recent first-half play says that's a pretty safe bet -- coach John Thompson III may turn to the 6-foot-8 Ewing for a spark off the bench.

Ewing might lack his father's freakish combination of size and athleticism, but nobody can question his heart.

"Pat is plugged in, man, like pure energy," said junior Jeff Green, Ewing's teammate and best friend. "When he's on the floor, it seems like he tips every pass, contests every shot and gets every loose ball."

Ewing claims his most valuable trait was nurtured by an Indiana teammate in an otherwise desolate two-year haul in Bloomington.

"When I was a freshman at IU, A.J. [Moye] told me, 'You have a gift there, and don't ever let that passion drop, because every team needs an energy guy,' " Ewing said. "Intense energy is a factor that a lot of players don't bring. I want to leave no doubt for anybody watching or playing about who is working hardest on that floor. Your teammates see and feel that, and it raises their level of intensity."