NEW YORK -- New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing, who missed 32 games in an injury-plagued first season, Monday was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year by a wide margin.
Ewing was the top scorer and rebounder among all first-year players after being the No. 1 pick in the June college draft. The 7-foot former Georgetown All-America was the only rookie to play in the NBA All-Star Game.
Ewing received 36 of a possible 78 votes from sports writers and broadcasters across the country. Forwards Xavier McDaniel of Seattle and Karl Malone of Utah finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Atlanta's Spud Webb, the league's slam-dunk champion at 5-7, received four votes. Washington's 7-7 Manute Bol and Chicago forward Charles Oakley were each named on four ballots. Los Angeles Clippers center Benoit Benjamin got the remaining vote.
Ewing, who averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds a game, scored in double figures in 45 of his 50 games. He went over the 20-point mark 27 times despite missing 32 games with knee and elbow injuries.
'This means an awful, awful lot to me,' Ewing said. 'My goal at the beginning of the season was to win the rookie award and I accomplished it.
'It was a disappointing year in some aspects. When I did play I gave it 110 percent, but it was very hard sitting there not playing when I was hurt.'
Ewing said he would work on his moves going toward the basket and his rebounding.
'Hopefully, I will be able to play more games next year and the team will do a lot better,' he said. 'The knee feels great, but I'm not running on it until July. I can shoot baskets, but I can't pound on it. The doctors don't want anything like that yet.'
'He's A-1,' Knick coach Hubie Brown said of Ewing. 'He's going to be a star for years and years and years to come.'
McDaniel, the fourth selection in the draft, averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds a game for Seattle. Malone, the No. 13 pick, averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Jazz.
