Mussachia Picks Amherst
Amherst College picked up a big commitment last week when Manchester Essex senior forward Joe Mussachia opted to spurn a handful of division II offers to head to the division III powerhouse.
While Mussachia has been well known in New England for several years now, he became a target for high academic programs across the country with a tremendous showing at last summer’s Hoop Mountain All-American Camp.
After continuing to standout throughout the rest of the summer with his Mass Rivals AAU team, Mussachia not only found himself with his choice of high academic division III programs but also three full scholarship offers from Northeast 10 schools.
“At first, I wanted to play as high as I could and I had some offers,” Mussachia told Dan Venture of the Boston Herald. “But I listened to my dad, coach Sigsbury and my AAU coach (Vin Pastore), who told me education was the most important thing. I just couldn’t let an opportunity like Amherst pass by.”
Mussachia is a six-foot-five lefty who can flat out score the basketball. He has a throwback mid-range game with a full assortment of rip through moves and mid-range pull-ups at his disposal and also plays the game with physical toughness and deceptive athleticism.
He has had an incredibly decorated high school career, earning Boston Herald All-Scholastic nods last year as a junior when he averaged 22 points per game and topped the 1000 point plateau.
As a senior, he is among the MIAA’s top players and an unmatched individual talent in division 4, where he hopes to lead Manchester Essex to a run at the state title.
Amherst is currently 9-0, the 17th ranked team in the country, and one of seven New England schools to be ranked among the top 25 division III programs in the country according to d3hoops.com.
Joe Mussachia