The Muhlenberg Weekly

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports

Greg Pask will be the only senior on the Men's Team this year.

Last year, the Men's Basketball Team graduated seven seniors who played a huge role in their success. Considering that only five players are on the court at each time, the Mules are beginning this 2007-2008 season missing more than their fair share of experienced hands.

But current senior Greg Pask wants to step up to the plate as the team's sole fourth-year player with the most experience at being a Mule.

The pressure is on, but Pask has a history that confirms he is fully capable of handling the responsibility of being a captain, the demand of being an athlete, and the strain of being a student. Since entering Muhlenberg, he has received recognition on the Centennial Conference Honor Roll for basketball as well as recognition on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for his outstanding performance in the classroom.

At Wildwood Catholic High School, he earned 2nd Team All-Conference, 1st Team All-County, "Best Rebounder," and "All-Floor Burn Team" awards, which are all dignifying, almost expected milestones for a college-bound athlete, but Pask had no idea that he wanted to play at Muhlenberg.

"I played baseball all 4 years, but it was always second to basketball," he said. "Wherever I decided on attending college, I was going to try and walk-on. A grand total of two teams recruited me, and Muhlenberg was not one of them. However, I liked both visits to Muhlenberg and ended up here, with hopes of making the team."

For Pask, basketball was a tag-along kind of thing. "I started playing when I was 7 years old," he said. "Inspiration to start playing came from my family as a whole. My brother Jim is 20 months older, and he started a year earlier, so of course I wanted to follow his lead and play hoops."

He then went on to reminisce about his family's involvement in the game. "I distinctly remember playing basketball outside with Jim and my father during the first snow of winter in a marquis game called the Snowball Classic," he said. "To include the whole family…I remember when my mother beat her current boss in a foul shot contest during halftime at one of my games."

It was obviously those great memories which told him that deep down, he should never quit. Or, maybe it was the fact that Pask is 6'4" and incredibly athletic, and it would have been a waste to not give it another four years once he reached college.

Continued...

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