07/26/06
Laurens graduate Breuer will take a shot at Division II basketball
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
By Brendan Connarton
Contributing Writer
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a series on the college choices of some of the area’s top athletes.
Greg Breuer will take a shot at Division II basketball.
It better be a good one, too, because it might be his only one.
Recent Laurens graduate Breuer passed up a Division III roster spot for a chance to walk-on at D-II Le Moyne College in Syracuse.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]"I have talked to the coach (Steve Evans)," said Breuer, a Daily Star First Team All-Star for the Leopards this past season who led area boys with 25.2 points per game. "He has some scholarship players for next season, but he said I should definitely try out."
It’s likely he’ll try harder than most to make the team.
Breuer said he originally planned to attend D-III Cazenovia College, a school that probably would have been happy to have one of the best players in the Tri-Valley League.
However, Breuer said, Le Moyne’s academic program was too good to pass up.
"In high school, academically I always tried to maintain above a 90 average in every class," said Breuer, who plans to major in accounting. "School work comes first."
Basketball seems to be a close second, though.
"Physically, I think he is capable of playing at that level," said Andy Carr, who coached Breuer in basketball and baseball this past academic year. "He’s 5-foot-11, but he is solid. He might not start for them right off the bat, but I think he can contribute coming off the bench and be a role type of player.
"His work ethic was excellent during the season and out of season," Carr continued. "He had a personal trainer in the off-season."
Should Breuer, who played guard in high school, earn a spot on the Dolphins, he’ll join a team that went 12-17 overall and 7-15 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last winter. Le Moyne is expected to return three of its top five scorers from last season.
Breuer, who has a reputation of getting hot at the right time, scored 453 points in 18 games as a senior and finished with a school-record 1,096 points.
"My highest moment in high school basketball was scoring 1,000 points and beating Edmeston at home," said Breuer, who made his varsity debut as a freshman call-up for the Section Four Class D Tournament. "With all the fans there supporting me, it was pretty exciting. That was the most memorable moment of my career."
Carr said Breuer, who earned Second Team Daily Star All-Star honors in soccer and baseball as a senior, led by example at Laurens.
"I don’t want to compare him to Michael Jordan," Carr said, "but at times, you would watch him and expect him to make the play.
"You couldn’t ask for a nicer kid. He is going to be missed as a player and a person at this school. He was a special individual."
