City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Archbishop Ryan senior Austin Chabot has made his college decision, committing to DeSales University on Friday night.

A member of the Division III Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Conference, DeSales has been extremely successful under 23rd-year head coach Scott Coval, who’s led the Bulldogs to four NCAA Tournaments and nearly 400 wins in his two dozen years at the school.

The Center Valley (Pa.) school of around 2,400 undergraduates won out over Bryn Athyn and Albright, as well as a few others.

“It was the best fit for me, they’re ranked number one in their conference for the last couple of years, and I’m ready to take up that next class of challenge and just keep competing at that level,” Chabot said. “It’s a good program and I can see myself thriving there.”

Last year, the Bulldogs went 17-10, including a 9-5 record in MAC Freedom play. They’re only two years removed from their last NCAA Tournament appearance, and made an Elite 8 run in 2009.

They were already picked to win the MAC Freedom this year in the league’s preseason poll, with all-league forward Cody Deal leading a talented group that features a number of sophomore starters as well.

Chabot gave credit to a hard-working staff for making him feel wanted.

“They’ve been in constant contact with me,” he said. “There were some colleges that would call me once and then a month or two later would text me and ask if I was still interested. The coaches with DeSales...I just felt comfortable.”

As a junior, Chabot averaged 13.5 ppg for a Raiders squad that went 10-13, including 4-9 in Philadelphia Catholic League play.

A 6-foot-6, 185-pound wing forward, Chabot is a smooth outside shooter with a nice mid-range game, and fits in as a scoring combo forward at the Division III level who can play the wing if he continues to develop his handle and ability to shoot off the dribble.

With four starters returning, including fellow seniors Austin Slawter and Freddie Killian plus junior guard Izaiah Brockington, Archbishop Ryan is expected to take another step forward under first-year head coach Joe Zeglinski.

“I’m feeling more relaxed and more comfortable, I don’t have to go out and try to score 30 points a game to convince anyone,” Chabot said. “I know where I’m going."