Tyree Johnson finally knows where he'll play his college basketball.

Penn Wood's senior point guard gave Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz a verbal commitment by telephone late Wednesday night. How late? Try 10 p.m.

"I wouldn't call it late. I wanted to weigh my options," said Johnson, the 2008-09 Daily Times Player of the Year. "I had to make the right decision and the right decision was to play for him. I had talked to my coach (Clyde Jones) earlier and I told him I was thinking about it. I told him that, most likely, I was going to do it (Wednesday) night."

Johnson had interest from a bevy of Atlantic 10 schools and had offers from Siena and Northeastern before committing to Leibovitz and the Hawks. Johnson plans on being academically eligible next fall. He said he's taking the SAT again just to make sure.

As for his first game after giving his verbal, well, Johnson was just trying to have fun. He did just that in Penn Wood's 57-40, Del Val League-clinching win over Chester. He couldn't help but smile after the Clippers' Maurice Nelson picked Johnson clean on one possession and then Johnson returned the favor on Chester's next trip up the court.

"It's basketball. I love it," Johnson said. "You've got to have fun with it."

Next season, Johnson will be having fun at Hartford.

No matter how many games Penn loses, Cameron Gunter isn't budging. The senior center at Ridley, who last fall made a verbal commitment to the Quakers, has not altered his stance regardless of how poorly they have played this season.

Consider that Penn has a 1-10 record and its only win came against Maryland-Baltimore County (1-13). In a rare midseason move, the Quakers fired coach Glen Miller and hired assistant coach and former Penn standout Jerome Allen as his replacement in the interim. Despite so much turmoil, Gunter is staying put with his choice of attending Penn.

"I think I can offer some assistance, give them some help, you know?" Gunter said after Thursday's 47-38 win over Harriton. "I know with the whole coaching staff thing, that's been tough for them. I mean, getting off to a bad start and then the coach being fired, that's tough. But we'll bounce back."

The Green Raiders' schedule, beginning next week, takes on a distinct Ivy League look, with Ridley playing on back-to-back days in three straight weeks. Gunter has tickets for Penn's home game next Wednesday at the Palestra against No. 21 Temple.