Mccleary Chooses Lafayette

by Ted Silary, Daily News Sports Writer

Posted: April 20, 1999

Greg McCleary had just finished an OK, but nothing special junior basketball season at West Catholic High when coach Bill Ludlow sat him down for an evaluation.

"Coach Ludlow said he thought I could become a Patriot League or Ivy League player," McCleary said. "Was I surprised? Well, what I thought was that coach Ludlow knows basketball pretty well, so it must be possible."

It was.

McCleary, a 6-5 forward for the Burrs' Catholic League runners-up, announced last night that he had made an oral commitment to Lafayette, the Patriot champ and NCAA Tournament participant, that is coached by former Penn assistant Fran O'Hanlon.

His other official visits were to Bucknell and Colgate, also of the Patriot, and Division III King's.

"Going to a Division I school was a goal," McCleary said, "but more than that, I wanted to be at a place with good academics. I liked everything about Lafayette - the coaches, players, people I met on campus, that it's close to home. We were playing pickup ball in the gym and I interacted well with everybody. I felt welcome.

"Coach told me to have a good summer playingwise and be ready to come to Lafayette and bring whatever I can to the table."

McCleary boasts a 3.8 grade-point average and an 1,130 score on the Scholastic Assessment Test. He plans to major in business/economics.