Cherry Hill East's Santo picks Vermont

Chris Santo, a two-time Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey basketball player from Cherry Hill East, has made an oral commitment to attend the University of Vermont.

The 6-foot-5 Santo is already Cherry Hill East's all-time leading scorer with 1.829 points. As a junior he averaged 27.9 points and 12.1 rebonds.

Santo said that Colgate, New Hampshire, Wagner, Elon and Yale were among the other schools he was considering.

"At Vermont, the basketball is good, I'll get a good education, the campus is beautiful and coach [Mike Lonergan] is great," Santo said. "I was the most comfortable at Vermont."

Vermont went the extra mile in recruiting Santo. For instance, a Vermont coach flew down to see Cherry Hill East's playoff game this year with Southern Regional and then returned to campus.

"It was little stuff like that that showed me how much they cared about me," Santo said.

Santo is the second South Jersey recruit in two seasons for Vermont. Ryan McKeaney, a 6-9 center from Cherokee, will be a freshman this season for the Catamounts.

A tenacious inside player, Santo has taken his game outside and has been recruited to play small forward and shooting guard.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com.