By Tom Robinson, NEPAElite.com
NEPA Elite Coyle 17U player and Holy Cross senior Gabe Gonzales turned his combination of inside and outside skills into a chance to play in college.
Gonzales committed Monday to continue his athletic and academic careers at Wilkes University. He will enter the nursing program at Wilkes after choosing the school over Marywood University and Keystone College.
As recently as two years ago, Gonzales was not certain about his athletic future beyond high school.
“It keeps me on a straight, steady path, which really helps out with school,” Gonzales said. “And, I enjoy it a lot. It’s my passion.
“It will be great to continue it for another four years.”
With a decision made to pursue college basketball, Gonzales took action.
“After last season, I reached out to a lot of teams,” he said. “Wilkes was one of those teams that reached back.”
Gonzales visited the school, came away with a positive impression.
On the court, the 6-foot-2 forward continued to build his value to interested schools.
Gonzales leads Holy Cross in points (13.7 per game), rebounds (5.8) and 3-pointers while ranking second in steals. He has played a major role in the Crusaders winning Lackawanna League Division 3 and District 2 Class 2A titles.
The Crusaders open the state tournament Saturday in a game at Lackawanna College.
Wilkes went 8-8 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom and 13-12 overall in the 2022-23 season.