Jefferson's DeGeorge headed to Malone for academics, basketball
May 1—Staff Report
Joe DeGeorge and Jacob Ernst battled on the basketball court for the last four years for Jefferson and Edgewood, respectively.
At the same time, they were also teammates on an AAU team in the offseason.
The county players will join forces again to try and help Malone University win games and championships starting next season.
"It's going to be great, especially knowing how big of a competitor he is, so getting to have him on my team is awesome," DeGeorge said of teaming with Ernst. "We played for about six years and seeing how far we've come and developed our chemistry is going to help us both in our college careers."
DeGeorge made his announcement official on Monday.
He is joining the Division II college athletics program in Canton.
"They have a great coaching staff and a great group of guys," DeGeorge said. "I feel I am a great fit for their program."
Ernst recently signed his letter-of-intent to attend Malone, which plays in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, for school and to play basketball.
"Me and Joey have known each other since we were born, and we have built a huge friendship from playing AAU together," Ernst said. "This has always been our dream since we were kids to team up with each other to play college ball."
DeGeorge and Ernst were teammates on the Lake Erie Defenders 17U team in the offseason.
"I'm so excited to team up with Joey once again, and I'm glad he made the decision to come to Malone," Ernst said. "We are for sure going to push each other and make each other better so we can do great things in the future."
Ernst earned Division II All-Ohio honors this past season.
DeGeorge, the 2023-24 Ashtabula County Boys Basketball Player of the Year, is a two-time, All-Ohio selection in Division II.
But he knows he'll need to improve as the competition will be elevated even more.
"I need to work on every part of my game, but the main areas are my ball handling, shooting and overall conditioning because of how much faster the game is in college," DeGeorge said.
DeGeorge, who is unsure about a major but is thinking either exercise science or sports management, will look to use the tools he learned at Jefferson at the college level.
"The main things I will take with me is the character, energy, attitude and talent," he said.
Jefferson Athletic Director Greg Juhola said DeGeorge is an example for every other student athlete at the school.
"Joey was our heart and soul for four years. There are so many categories where he was our best player," Falcons coach Rob Pisano said. "He was our best defender on the ball and in the post. He's the most unbelievable kid to coach."
