It’s been a good couple of months for John Carroll guard/forward Mike Maczko.

First, the 6-foot-5 senior was named to the Intensity Basketball Classic All-Tournament team in late December, helping guide the Patriots to the tournament title.

Then over the weekend, Maczko made a verbal commitment to play basketball next fall at the New Jersey Institute of Technology -- a Division I school located in Newark, N.J.

Maczko chose NJIT over interest from Gardner Webb, Quinnipiac, Radford and Campbell.

The Highlanders offered Maczko during the summer, but he elected to take his time and bypass the fall signing period in November.

After weighing his options with his parents, Maczko decided that NJIT was the place for him.

“Probably just the opportunity to play right away and get a great education at the same time,” said Maczko when asked why he chose NJIT. “And also the fact that they were highly interested in me at first and they were pretty forward about it.”

John Carroll head coach Tony Martin was pleased with Maczko’s choice.

“I was excited,” Martin said. “I thought it was a good fit for him. It’s a very strong academic institution and most importantly, they really wanted him. I think for a lot of kids, you have to go into a situation where you are wanted and will be developed and have a chance to compete early on.”

The Highlanders currently sport an 0-18 record, competing as an independent in the program’s second year of DI play. But the infancy of the program is something that Maczko said excited him about the opportunity.

“I mean it’s the same thing with John Carroll -- just a new program trying to build and make a name for themselves,” Maczko said. “I just think it’s a competitive thing and I just want to make something big out of something small and be a part of something big.”

Maczko’s commitment makes him the third John Carroll basketball senior to pledge to a DI school. Center Jakub Kusmieruk signed with Central Florida and power forward Josh Wiegand inked with Loyola.

Photo credit: Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun