NEPA Elite Coyle 17U wing player Jason Shields will have the option to be part of the College of Staten Island’s transition to Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association after receiving a basketball scholarship offer from the new East Coast Conference member Saturday.
The Scranton High senior is a 6-foot-5 wing player. His increased 3-point production in the second half of the season was one of the biggest reasons the Coyle team won 10 of the final 13 games of the AAU season.
Shields is the reigning Lackawanna League Division 1 Player of the Year, according to NEPABasketball.com, for his play at Scranton. He led the Knights to Lackawanna Division 1 and District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional titles.
The College of Staten Island sat out the 2020-21 season because of COVID-19 concerns. The Dolphins were 9-16 in 2019-20, including 5-8 in their last season as part of the Division III CUNYAC.
Staten Island was approved by the NCAA for the move up to Division II in July, 2019.
The basketball program’s transition was slowed by the COVID-19 situation, but the school’s entire athletic program is now in the third and final year of its Division II provisional period. If all goes well, it will be ECC and NCAA postseason eligible by the time current high school seniors arrive for 2022-23.
Shields earlier received a Division II scholarship offer from Georgian Court University in New Jersey and also has had recruiting interest and discussions on the NCAA Division I level.
