(Photo: Catholic Standard Times)

After signing a letter of intent today at a televised press conference with three of his Neumann-Goretti High School teammates, Danny Stewart is officially Rider-bound.

Stewart, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 11.5 points and 8 rebounds for a 26-3 N-G team last year, will take up one of the two scholarships that Rider has to award. Rider was hoping to give the second scholarship to Stewart's AAU teammate, Archbishop Carroll point guard DJ Irving, but Irving committed to Boston University last week.

The Broncs are done recruiting for the fall signing period. They'll add either a high school player or a transfer in the spring signing period. Given the lack of playing time they have to offer -- Ryan Thompson is the only player in Rider's regular rotation who won't be back next year -- a transfer who can sit out next year and become eligible in 2011-12 may be more likely.

As for Stewart, he gives Rider yet another Philadelphia player with athleticism and size.

"We're excited about Danny," Tommy Dempsey told me. "We worked really hard to get him. I think at one point he had 17 scholarship offers, and you sit there and look at that and say 'Oh God, what are we going to do to separate ourselves? But we just kind of kept plugging away. Our players did a good job selling the program, and that cerainly helped us get him.

"As far as a player goes, he'll be a really good fit for us: a high-flying athlete, a very exciting player who will fit in very well with the style we're trying to create here."