Sports

H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL

By John Erzar jerzar@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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So much for a long, drawn-out recruiting process. Holy Redeemer 6-foot-11 junior Pete Alexis decided Sunday night where he wants to play Division I college basketball.

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Though he won’t arrive on campus until the 2011-12 season, Holy Redeemer junior Pete Alexis gave a non-binding verbal commitment to Penn State on Sunday night.

PETE G. WILCOX FILE PHOTO/THE TIMES LEADER

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Alexis

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Alexis made a verbal commitment to Penn State, ending what would have been a speculative final two seasons of his high school career.

“I’ve been kind of thinking about it for awhile,” Alexis said. “I took an unofficial visit down there for the Ohio State football game. I was able to talk to the coaches and the people about the academics. It really struck me as a really good school for what I want to go into. I want to be an engineer.”

First, Alexis will be a Nittany Lion. However, he can’t officially sign with Penn State until November 2010 at the earliest. Also, his verbal commitment isn’t binding, meaning he could still change his decision and go elsewhere. Nor is Penn State obligated to keep its offer of a scholarship.

Alexis had one other scholarship offer. James Madison, where his sister Meredith set school records in scoring and rebounding from 2003-07, also sought his services. He also heard from Rutgers, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Yale, among others.

“I know the first game (Penn State) went to was the first round of states we played in last year,” Alexis said. “They were following me all summer. They really didn’t show heavy interest until they saw me play in the state tournament.”

Alexis scored a game-high 18 points in Redeemer’s lone state game last season, a 72-46 loss to Susquehanna Township. More schools were expected to join the recruiting battle as this season progressed. But just one game into his junior season, he had the same feeling about Penn State his sister had about JMU.

“I knew with her when she went down to James Madison it struck her that it was where she wanted to go,” Alexis said. “It was just a great feeling (at Penn State). I was down there for a basketball camp over the summer and again when all the students were there. I got this warm, friendly feeling that it was student oriented and the fans were going to be really great.”

Alexis was a Times Leader All-WVC selection as a sophomore when he led the Royals in scoring with an 18.6 average. He opened this season by scoring a game-high 22 points in a 55-52 victory over Scranton. His early commitment will allow him to concentrate more on the present than the future.

“I can focus more now on what we want to do,” Alexis said. “We definitely want to win a district title this year and make a run in states.”

Penn State is 6-4 this season. The biggest players on the roster are a pair of 6-10 juniors – Andrew Jones and Andrew Ott, both of whom will be gone when Alexis arrives for the 2011-12 season.

The Nittany Lions finished 27-11 overall and 11-9 in the Big Ten in 2008-09 and won the National Invitational Tournament championship.