| Steve McNees spent the weekend playing for the Cleveland Titans AAU basketball club at the Pittsburgh JamFest. The Shenango star will have to get used to an Ohio address now that he's headed there for college.
McNees signed Tuesday with Akron after he was released from his national letter of intent and scholarship to Duquesne earlier this month.
The 6-foot-2 point guard chose the Zips over Eastern Kentucky, George Washington and Rhode Island. He also had offers from James Madison, Kent State, Robert Morris, Wright State and Youngstown State.
"We had a lot of offers, and Steve had a good opportunity to go play," said Bill McNees, Steve's father and former coach at Shenango. "After sorting them all out, this is the program and staff Steve felt most comfortable with." McNees averaged 28.4 points, 8.0 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game this past season, after which he was named to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 10 and All-WPIAL Class AA first team. A four-year starter, he finished his career tied for 15th in WPIAL history with 2,192 points and with school records for points, assists (824) and steals (233).
McNees made an official visit to Akron last fall before signing with Duquesne and then-coach Danny Nee. McNees asked for his release two weeks ago after meeting with new Dukes coach Ron Everhart.
"It's a school we've always been interested in and was interested in us," Bill McNees said of Akron. "It's a school we always thought very highly of. It's an excellent program. We liked the coaching staff, and it's a great atmosphere. We felt it was an excellent situation for Steve." | 