Solid Pickup For Mid-Major

Every so often a talented recruit slips through the cracks and lands at a school many thought didn't have a chance.

This happened during the recruiting process of John Zito, a 6-5, 190 pound small forward from St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, Connecticut.

Zito is athletic and has vastly improved his jumper. He needs to be in a system that has some structure to it. John is a great teammate to have because he pushes aside individual stats for team glory. But when Jere Quinn's team needed Zito to score, John would drop the jumper in or hit a putback. He thrived under Quinn's system.

Zito signed today with Maryland Baltimore-County, a solid pickup for this program. Zito should be an immediate impact player there. He also had offers from LIU, Wofford, New Hampshire, Wagner, and Mount St. Mary's.

Here is an example of Zito's great year. This was a story reported on by this writer when RivalsHoops.com watched the big matchup with Rashad McCants and the New Hampton team:

MONTVILLE, CONNECTICUT -- John Zito scored 21 points and Kevin Reed had 20 of his team high 24 points in the first half to lift St. Thomas More past New Hampton Prep, 88-85.

New Hampton led at the half, 36-35, after Rashad McCants dropped in a three-pointer two seconds before the halftime buzzer went off. McCants had 15 points in the half, in a game that featured for the most part, perimeter play.

But the second half was more physical and the paint became a more comfortable home for both offenses. Zito's three-pointer from the left baseline though extended the STM lead to 50-39.

But New Hampton continued to chip away and rally. Wes Miller's three-pointer cut the lead to 59-53. The lead eventually dwindled to a single point, 76-75. But Zito was clutch again. He delivered a three-pointer from the right corner to extend the lead to four points.

But a New Hampton free throw and a McCants dunk off an inbounds pass cut the lead again to a point, 79-78. After a STM free throw, McCants got free in the lane again. His in the paint turn around jumnper spun around the rim and out.

Zito hit two free throws with 35.6 seconds left to extend it to 82-78. Anthony Wilson also hit two clutch free throws for STM after New Hampton could not convert on a possession.

On the inbounds pass, Zito deflected the ball away. Lenny Jefferson from STM picked up the ball and fed it to a cutting Reed, who hit a driving layup, making it 86-78.

McCants led all scorers with 29 points. Michael Konovelchick also pitched in with 21 second half points for New Hampton.

Jefferson added 16 points for the winners. Teammates Aaron Johnson (11 Points) and Wilson (10 points) also had some key buckets in the second half too.