Choate Post-Grad Earns Scholarship

by Phil Kasiecki | Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Players who do a post-graduate year often hope to gain something in that time besides a better college destination.  That's certainly happened for C.J. Ruskay, now a post-graduate at Choate Rosemary Hall, who recently committed to the University of New Haven.

The 6'4" wing actually thought about coming to Choate earlier than last year.  He visited and considered repeating his junior year and finishing his career there.  But he opted to finish his time at Fairfield Prep to have the full high school experience, graduating from there last year.

Ruskay broke his foot in three places before his senior season, and that hurt his recruitment significantly at the time.  When he finally came back well into his senior season, he wasn't the same player, and that certainly played a role in the decision to ultimately do another year.

"I wasn't athletic, wasn't where I should be," Ruskay reflected on his return to action.

In his post-grad year, Ruskay put on more than 10 pounds and polished his game more.  He became more consistent and extended his shooting range, helped in large part by two factors in his favor: coach Adam Finkelstein and point guard Luke Matarazzo.  A former Division I assistant, Finkelstein spent time doing a lot of instruction with Ruskay, and also helped him manage his recruitment.  Ruskay didn't play with a point guard of Matarazzo's caliber in high school, so it was like a whole new world for him, and his life was easier at the offensive end of the floor.

Ruskay, who will go in as an undecided major but is considering sports management as one possibility, had interest from American International College and Southern New Hampshire, but New Haven was the best fit.  He also likes being close to home since his family is important to him, and they won't have to go far to see him play.

"I really liked the coaching staff, and they saw me play a lot," he said of the New Haven coaches, who started recruiting him heavily right after the season got started.

With his recruitment settled, Ruskay now turns to the business of finishing off this season.  His team started off strong before injuries slowed the team's progress.  But earlier in the month, they knocked off powerful Hotchkiss and are currently 10-6.  They should make the inaugural tournament of the newly-formed Western New England Conference, and if they're healthy, their play early on suggests they have a chance to make some noise there.

Phil Kasiecki is the managing editor for Hoopville.  Stay tuned to their website, www.hoopville.net, in the coming weeks as they re-launch their page covering the best in college basketball and recruiting.