“I loved the culture of the team and how the players and coaches interacted with each other,” House said. “I also was very drawn to the style of play and the amount of success their program has had in the past 10 years. I also felt at home on campus. It is a great college campus life.”
House, a 6-foot-5 guard, led the Elks with 17.2 points per game as a junior. In the Division I state championship game at UD Arena, he scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in a 43-42 victory against Westerville Central. The Elks won their first state title.
“He has a dedication to getting better,” Centerville coach Brook Cupps said of House. “He had a lot of lot of mid-major interest early on, and I think his size and ability to shoot attracted a lot of people.”
House received scholarship offers from Mercer in April and Oral Roberts in May. The offers continued to pour in throughout the summer: Wright State; Ohio; Georgia, which he visited earlier this month; Tulane; Rice; Old Dominion; Furman; Holy Cross; Fordham, etc.
“It was very crazy,” House said. “It happened very fast, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to play in college and go to school for free.”
House played well in Atlanta with Centerville over the summer, Cupps said. Georgia and Florida State saw him there. Florida State saw him play again with All Ohio Red on the Nike EYBL circuit at the Peach Jam.
Before he was a prized basketball recruit, House was just as big of a swimming prospect. Cupps said House was getting calls from top Division I programs early in high school career before he decided to give up swimming to focus on basketball.
“I’m happy for Tom,” Cupps said. “He was patient. He was doing his due diligence and visited several places, which gave him a good perspective. I think that’s one of the best things kids can do is just go around and see places.”
House had help in the recruiting process. Everyone in his family has experience with college athletics. His dad, Jeff House, had a long coaching career that included a stop as an assistant coach with the Dayton Flyers women’s basketball program. His mom, Ann Leonard-House, was the former head women’s volleyball coach at UMass-Lowell and Rutgers. His sister, Elizabeth, is in her fourth season with the Dayton volleyball program.
“With the knowledge that they have, they were obviously a tremendous resource for Tom,” Cupps said.
About the Author
