Why Chet Stachitas Chose St. Joes

Chet Stachitas, a sharpshooting 6-4, 185 pound off guard from Nease H.S. in St. Augustine, Fla., told us he had such a great trip to St. Joe's that he was excited to make his commitment to the Atlantic 10 school.

"I really like the coaching staff alot," Stachitas told us. "I had a great time meeting the players. It's a great academic school too."

Stachitas told us he plans on taking up business as a major at St. Joe's. "They have a great business school," Chet told us. "They also have a brand new building for business. It looks great."

Stachitas told us that he is also excited to join Dwayne Lee in the future backcourt of St. Joe's. "It looks like if I work hard enough that I can get some minutes as a freshman," Stachitas said. "I want to improve my overall game before I get there. I want to improve my quickness and ballhandling too."

Chet told us he really like Penn and Princeton and also seriously considered Boston University and Davidson. Penn was especially strong because both of Chet's parents attended Penn.

Last year at Nease, Stachitas averaged 24 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals per game. He has a 4.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and scored a 25 on the ACT.

Stachitas is a deadeye shooter who is especially effective from midrange off the dribble and coming off screens.

Stachitas attended the Eastern Invitational Basketball Clinic's first session in early July, and then joined the Atlanta Celtics at a pair of events -- the Three Stripes Classic in New York and the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas.

For all of the offensive firepower and weaponry that Wallace Prather's young Atlanta Celtics possesses, they needed a grizzled veteran like Chet Stachitas on their squad at the adidas Big Time Tournament.

And there were times, like in the Celtics' elimination loss to the T5T Playaz on Sunday morning at the Big Time quarters, where Stachitas carried the offensive load for Atlanta.

Stachitas is a shooter deluxe with a good build who is especially dangerous pulling up off the dribble from mid-range. In many ways, he's a bit of a throwback player in the way he carries himself on the court and how he plays off the basketball.