Alexis Ewing, the daughter of New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, recently signed an NIL deal with College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving.
Until recently, high school student-athletes were not allowed to sign NIL deals in the state of Maryland, which left Alexis Ewing surprised at how fast things changed.
“Honestly, it was such a surprise because I didn’t think this would change so fast,” she told The NIL Deal in a recent interview. “It was really just exciting knowing that I can be one of the first people in Maryland to get this deal, and I just thought it would be cool because people are gonna be able to look up to you and stuff like that.
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“I was really just happy that I was able to be one of the first women and volleyball players because I don’t see a lot of young girls like me getting NIL deals and it’s usually a lot of boys or men (in) football, basketball, stuff like that.”
Ewing has faced doubts along the journey, as she hopes it can serve as motivation to other young girls out there.
“Honestly I would say just don’t give up because there’s been a lot of times where I was kinda upset with my performance and I felt I wasn’t good enough,” Ewing said. “I kinda just wanted to give up in a way, but just deciding that I just don’t know my full potential yet and I just need to keep working harder and harder and I knew that one day I can get to the places that a lot of the people I look up to.”
Patrick Ewing was best known for being a dominant force throughout his NBA career, but her mother, Cheryl Weaver, was also a standout athlete, as she was on the United States women’s national volleyball team from 2002-2010.
“I admire how they didn’t quit,” Alexis Ewing said of her parents. “They stayed motivated throughout their whole careers, especially my dad when he came from Jamaica and he just showed that basketball was his sport, and he just chose that sport and he was motivated even though people would judge him, and I just find that as such an inspiration to me. Just shows me not to give up.”
Patrick Ewing made the Knicks a powerhouse throughout the 90s, as he handled a big, volatile market like New York as well as any athlete could. That helped teach Alexis to block out the negativity and not let it affect your skills.
“Something I would take away is just to not give up even when people judge you because throughout your career there’s gonna be a lot of people that don’t appreciate the things you do in a way other people do,” Alexis Ewing said.
Despite being the daughter of a basketball Hall of Famer, Alexis wasn’t interested in playing the sport. Instead, she also grew up playing tennis, which she believes helped her become a better volleyball player.
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“That kinda helped with my arm swing starting off because serving in tennis is kind of similar to spiking the volleyball, so I was already kind of adjusted to the spiking aspect when I just started, so it was easier for me in a way,” she explained.
Now, Alexis is trying to incorporate some of her mom’s mentality every time she step on the court.
“A lot of the times she says I’m still too nice on the court, so something that I want to change is kind of (have) that beast mentality when I’m playing and still have a nice friendly personality when I’m not on the court,” Alexis said.
