Haddix chose Siena over Penn, Princeton

It is not uncommon for high school basketball players who get recruited by Ivy League schools to choose to attend another institution.

Tomorrow, Siena's Michael Haddix gets to show the Ancient Eight what it's been missing.

The junior forward and Vineland, N.J., native was a standout at St. John Neumann High School, earning Philadelphia Daily News Co-Player of the Year and Philadelphia Inquirer South Jersey Boys Player of the Year honors in his senior season. Penn and Princeton both recruited him.

But unlike players such as Mark Zoller (Saint Joseph's Prep), Temple's Mark Tyndale (Simon Gratz) and Villanova's Kyle Lowry (Cardinal Dougherty), Haddix left town.

Tomorrow, the Quakers come to his house.

"I think it was more of a location decision," Haddix said of choosing to move to Albany, N.Y. "I know I wanted to get away from home a little bit."

It wasn't just about geography, though. For all the great academics and amenities the Ivy League offered, Siena had something else -- a scholarship.

"The scholarship situation is a big thing -- everybody knows in the Ivy League you have to pay," he said. "The free ride was a big deal, important for me and my family."

Tomorrow's game is doubly important for Haddix because it will be his first time on the court after a leg injury which has forced him to the sidelines for the last five games.

"He fractured the bone in his left leg around the joint where the knee connects," Siena coach Rob Lanier said.

Haddix has certainly been missed. In nine games this season, he averaged 16.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and provided the Saints with a valuable inside presence.

"He's a low post player, and he has no delusions about anything otherwise," Lanier said. "He likes to mix it up in there, he's physical, he's aggressive, he's got a great knack for the ball. And great hands, and a real soft touch and just a knack for scoring."

This despite being only 6-foot-6, a relatively small size for a big man.

"His game is not predicated on his athleticism, his game is predicated more on his skill and his timing," Lanier said. "That's what makes him effective, even against bigger players."

Haddix certainly is not intimidated.

"I usually play against the centers, a lot of 6-8, 6-9 guys," he said. "It's something that I am used to, and I like that challenge."

Early on, Haddix struggled to stay out of foul trouble, but he has improved that part of his game since then. He averaged 3.06 fouls per game as a freshman, but only 2.55 as a sophomore.

This season, he is back up to 3.33 fouls per game -- 30 committed in nine games -- but 10 of those fouls came against Syracuse and Albany, against whom he fouled out.

"Mike used to, like a lot of high school guys, come in and reach a lot," Lanier said. "He's got a better understanding overall of position, and where his man is in relation to the basketball, and being smarter."

Penn coach Fran Dunphy is well aware of Haddix's progress.

Haddix "is a monster," Dunphy said. "He's from Philadelphia, so I'm sure he's going to want to show the people that read the story back in Philly that he's playing well."

Haddix will have another big reason to be thinking about his hometown this weekend, with the Eagles playoff game on Sunday. He admits to being a big Eagles fan, and his father -- also named Michael -- played for the Eagles at Veterans Stadium from 1983 to 1988, before spending two years with the Green Bay Packers.

But basketball is taking first priority this weekend, as the elder Haddix will be in Albany to watch his son.

"He's going to stay over the night, and we'll watch the Eagles game the next day," Michael the younger said.

Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

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