The wait was long and stressful. But the YAIAA's top hoops player got his Division I shot

Greg Guidinger likes to use the word "uncertain" to describe his life over the past year.

He didn't always think it would be that way. He arrived in high school already tagged as a future NCAA Division I recruit by local basketball coaches. He earned his first scholarship offer March of his sophomore year. What could go wrong?

It turned out a lot was about to change in college basketball. The aftermath of the pandemic ... the burgeoning expansion of the transfer portal and NIL legislation ... it was enough to flip the fortunes of players across the country.

The best player on Central York's state championship team, Guidinger spent his entire senior season not knowing where he'd play in college.

But that uncertainty is over. Guidinger accepted a full scholarship to Loyola University Maryland last Friday. The Greyhounds are a mid major in NCAA Division I's Patriot League.

"It was chaotic," Guidinger said over the weekend. "There's a lot of great talent out there, and the culture of basketball has definitely changed. You had to adjust and learn.

"But I know the player that I am and so does Loyola. They believe in me and I'm going to run with it and take advantage."

A 6-foot-7 wing, Guidinger averaged 18.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists this season while setting Central York's all-time scoring record. He's an excellent 3-point shooter but also an outstanding passer. He proved his defensive chops in the Panthers 53-51 win over Parkland for the PIAA Class 6A championship.

But he's also somewhat of a "tweener" — not quite big enough to be a traditional power forward or quick enough to be a shooting guard or small forward.

When he didn't lock down an opportunity last summer — the traditional time period for Division I recruits to make verbal commitments — he started to hear more from Division II schools. He was OK with the possibility of playing at that level. A recent offer from Minnesota Duluth, close to his extended family in Wisconsin and where his parents were both standouts players, seemed like a perfect fit.

Instead, he found what he was looking for an hour from his adopted hometown. Previously recruited by Mount St. Mary's, Guidinger heard from a former Mountaineers assistant now at Loyola during Central York's state tournament run. The Greyhounds brought him to Baltimore for a visit last Wednesday. They extended him a scholarship Thursday night —moments after he finished a five-set volleyball win over Red Lion.

Loyola is coming off a 7-25 season, but just hired former Johns Hopkins head coach Josh Loeffler to lead the program.

"They have the right culture and environment," Guidinger said. "They went above and beyond and proved they wanted me. They checked all the boxes I was looking for."

More on Guidinger: Promises to late coach, younger teammate bring senior basketball stars back to volleyball

'A lot of confusion:' Why college recruiting has changed

Guidinger said he heard a similar sentiment from college coaches last summer.

"We're not sure what we want to do."

Traditionally, college programs sign three or four graduating high school seniors each recruiting class. But tradition has been thrown out the window in recent years.

Anyone who was on a college roster during the COVID-affected 2021 season was granted an extra year of eligibility. And the transfer portal has exploded since then from all directions. Smaller Division I programs are now in the market for both Division II superstars and former Division I blue blood recruits looking for a fresh start.

That has left fewer scholarship opportunities for incoming high school players.

"Just as much as players were figuring stuff out, coaches were figuring stuff out," Guidinger said. "Schools didn't know if guys were leaving or what positions needed to be filled. There are so many more factors that created a lot of confusion."

Guidinger had received six Division I offers by the end of his junior season. But in college athletics, nothing is official until the paperwork is signed. When signing day arrived on Nov. 8, he was still in contact with many schools but no longer had a concrete opportunity in front of him.

High school seniors often say the first emotion they feel after committing to a college is relief. They usually prefer to play their final season with their biggest decision behind them.

Instead, Guidinger entered a pressure-packed campaign with added uncertainty on his shoulders. Central York was expected to contend for District 3 and state titles — something no school from York County had done.

"There were a lot of life lessons I learned," Guidinger said. "And it does leave you a little jaded. You're building good relationships with these coaches and sometimes it still doesn't work out. That's a very real situation that I'll experience moving forward. Instead of playing the victim, I tried to look at it as a lesson learned. It's how the world works."

Related: Central York's state basketball title was historic. It doesn't have to be the last

'The right fit isn't the perfect fit'

Guidinger said finding a Division I school wasn't his top priority in recent months.

He wanted a school that valued him. His parents had gone to Minnesota Duluth when it was an NAIA school, and his dad, Jay, did well enough to reach the NBA. His sister, Jinda, transferred from Division I Western Illinois to Division II Minnesota State. His brother Gabe just finished a standout career at Division III Juniata.

When Division II schools West Chester, Holy Family and Jefferson offered Guidinger partial scholarships this past December, he took those opportunities seriously. And he knew some people expected him to end up back in the midwest at his parents' alma mater.

Ultimately, the kid who moved to York in the seventh grade said location wasn't the most important thing to him.

"There are players at every level of basketball who could play Division I," he said. "I knew during every visit last month that if there was an opportunity that checked the boxes academically and had the right vibes, then I had to make the most of the basketball opportunities."

Guidinger will be joining a program that is building from the ground up. He's excited to grow with it. A likely finance major, he said he'd love to play professionally (perhaps overseas) one day but isn't thinking that far ahead right now.

He's still hoping to win another state title this spring — this time with Central York's volleyball team.

And he appreciates the lessons he's learned from his experiences over the past year.

"The right fit isn't always the perfect fit," he said. "You have to make the most out of what is presented to you."

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on X at @bad2theallibone.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Central York's Greg Guidinger commits to Loyola basketball