Eastern is pumping out another college athletic commitment. Matt Klinewski is the first to sign with a Division I school under Vikings head basketball coach Joe Murphy.
The 6-foot-8-inch junior made a verbal commitment with Lafayette College, a Division I college in Easton, Pa.
Klinewski began playing for the Vikings his freshman year and started 75 percent of games during his sophomore year. He moved up to start every game last year, helping the team walk away from the season with a record of 21–7.
According to Klinewski, the team lost in the second round of NJSIAA championship game to Toms River High School North.
Klinewski had a few accomplishments of his own last year, averaging 18.6 points per game and scoring 522 total.
He was awarded second team All South Jersey honors, received third team state All Group 4 honors, was awarded third team state All Junior squad, first team All-Olympic Conference receiving the most votes overall, first team All Camden County honors by NJ Hoops, MVP honors at the 2013 Olympic-Cape Challenge for a win over Holy Spirit and was named co-captain of the team.
He is also 137 points away from reaching the 1,000-point career mark.
“It was a good season,” Klinewski said.
He did not plan on committing to a school early in the live recruiting season.
He planned on waiting it out during the summer before making a final decision.
But in April, Klinewski scored 22 points after taking an elbow to the top of his head, briefly stopping the Pittsburg Jam Fest tournament — the first of the AAU tournament.
“Four minutes in, I go for a layup, pump fake and the defender goes up. As the guy comes down I catch an elbow on the top of my head. I get cut and I’m bleeding all over,” he said, adding the 20 to 30 recruiters standing on the sidelines were impressed by his resilience.
Klinewski’s mom, Joyce, drove him to the hospital after the game where Klinewski needed four staples in his head.
“The coaches noticed the toughness. It was a good way to start,” he said.
Klinewski said the University of New Hampshire was front-and-center at the game alongside other recruiting coaches from Hofstra University, Binghamton University, Rider University, Penn State and The College of William and Mary.
They watched as he stepped back onto the court with a bandage around his head.
After the game, Klinewski said his phone lit up with phone calls, text messages and tweets ranging from the time he went into school to 11:30 p.m.
“I guess you can say you like the attention, but sometimes too much is crazy,” he said, adding his decision to commit to Lafayette was based on a few factors.
Although interest was high, Klinewski had four offers — New Hampshire, Binghamton, Siena College, before the coach changed, and Lafayette. But Lafayette linking athletics with academics stood out for Klinewski.
He is not sure what he wants to study, but he is looking forward to playing against powerhouse basketball teams such as the University of Kentucky, Stanford University, Villanova University and others during the team’s nonconference schedule.
According to Klinewski, for the last three years, the team made it to the Patriot League Championship and is projected to win next year. If the team wins the conference, it has the chance to move on to play in the NCAA tournament.
“When you look at their nonconference schedule, Matt is going to have a chance to play against the top programs, in addition to being in a Lafayette setting,” Joyce said.
The transition into a Division I setting is not going to be difficult for Klinewski.
“The only difference is it’s a lot faster, and the kids are a lot stronger. But I think those two things are not big steps for me,” he said.
In the off-season, Klinewski plays with Team Speed — a travel basketball team with players from all over South Jersey.
He also trains with Tony Decker, an award-winning strength and conditioning coach, three times a week and plays basketball at Nexxt Level gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays where he recently scrimmaged with a college team.
“It will be an easy transition,” Klinewski said.
The coaching staff also drew Klinewski to Lafayette.
Lafayette’s head coach Fran O’Hanlon reminds Klinewski of Eastern’s coach Murphy.
“I will miss playing for coach Murphy and the atmosphere Eastern brings to the games. It’s going to be missed.
“But Lafayette has a pretty nice crowd when the Lehigh University/Lafayette games happen. Basketball is probably [Lafayette’s] main sport. It could get crazy,” Klinewski said.
