City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Hunter Janacek has never been to Easton, Pennsylvania. The Houston native hasn't stepped foot on Lafayette's campus, or really talked to any of the Leopards' current roster.

None of that stopped him from knowing where he wanted to spend his college career.

"It's been a dream school for a while, since they first started recruiting me last spring," he said. "Of course it's nice to know where you're going, but I knew what the school stands for and that's really all I'm there for, not location or what the school looks like.

"I got really close with (assistant) coach (Pat) Doherty, and once I got to do some research on the school and they offered me, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he added.

Once he'd made up his mind, Janacek took to Twitter to make it public:

Proud to announce that I have committed to play ball for coach O'Hanlon at Lafayette! Best day of my life hands down! pic.twitter.com/flbXYX6nfo

— Hunter Janacek (@hunterjanacek) July 29, 2015

A 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard, Janacek is a strong outside shooter, making more than 36 percent of his shot attempts on Nike's EYBL circuit this summer with Houston Hoops.

With Houston Hoops, Janacek got to play with several future high-major players and some potential pros, including Victory Prep (Tex.) forward Jarred Vanderbilt and Cypress Lakes (Tex.) De'Aaron Fox. 

"He's a very good kid and he's a gym rat," said his AAU coach, Tim Schumacher. "He's not just a standstill shooter, he can really do some things with the ball in his hands."

A self-described "God-first" man, Janacek is the second commitment in the Class of 2016 for Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon, joining Parkland (Pa.) wing Kyle Stout. That leaves the Leopards with two more open scholarships for the class.

Though he didn't get a chance to watch the Leopards play during the 2014-15 season, when they won 20 games, a Patriot League title and earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since the turn of the century, he's gotten plenty of opportunities since to watch game film.

Not surprisingly, he feels like he fits right into O'Hanlon's offense, which utilizes shooters from every position.

"I can definitely bring in a 3-point shot and I like to hone myself on my toughness," he said. "I'm a great teammate, play hard and do whatever it takes to win."

While Stout will only have to travel a few miles to get from home to school, it's a different matter entirely for Janacek. But although Pennsylvania winters are much different from those in Texas, it was something he was likely going to deal with no matter what his choice was.

The Ivy Leagues were an intriguing option to him, as were some of the military academies--all of which get their fair share of cold weather and snow. But the combination of academics with an athletic scholarship was exactly what Janacek needed in the Patriot League institution.

"Distance was never an issue," he said. "I knew a lot of the schools that were recruiting me that had that academic and basketball balance were up in the Northeast part of the U.S., so I had no problem with going anywhere far away from home."

As a junior at Scarborough HS, which competes in the 4A division of Texas sports--the smallest division, before 5A and 6A--Janacek led Spartans to the state tournament for the first time in 20 years, including a win over La Grange HS that was the team's first-ever state playoff win.