style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jamion Christian and the Mount St.

Mary's Mountaineers in the Northeast Conference.

style=>

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The 6-foot-tall Haskett made

the call on Saturday while on a visit to the school.

style=> He was also offered by Hampton University and

drew interest from Old Dominion as well as Tennessee Tech.

style=> In the end, the relationship he built with

the coaching staff, most notably Christian and assistant Donny Lind, turned out to play a major part in his choice.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Coach Christian is a great coach and was very helpful

during the whole process of my recruitment.

He stayed on me the hardest and Mount St. Mary's has been on me from day

one since my sophomore year. They always

stuck with me," Haskett told VirginiaPreps.com.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"When I went up there, I met some of the players and a

lot of people that sold it to me. They

told me I can be really successful in their program, and he's the type of coach

I want to play for in college. We really

clicked and that's when I decided to make my commitment there."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Christian, a former assistant at VCU when the Rams made

their famous run to the Final Four in 2011, played his High School Basketball

at New Kent. It was there that he won a

state title 14 years ago. His Mount St.

Mary's squad has gone 34-31 over the last two seasons, highlighted by a trip to

the NCAA Tournament this past March.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Mount St. Mary's is no stranger to luring players from

the Tidewater area with recent standouts such as Kelly Beidler

(Tallwood), Markus Mitchell (Salem) and Julian

Norfleet (Landstown), whom Haskett

got familiar with during his time there.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I got to talk to Julian from Landstown

quite a bit and he told me that Coach Christian is someone that's going to help

and I can go to him when I have problems," said Haskett,

who played on the AAU circuit with Team Loaded 757 this summer.

style=> "That was one of the main things that helped

me. I know Coach Christian was under

class=SpellE>Shaka (Smart) at VCU where they won a lot.

style=> He likes to win and I like to win."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The up-tempo style of play at Mount St. Mary's should

make for a rather seemingly smooth transition for the speedy playmaker.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I like the defense that they play with their pressing.

style=> It's kind of like VCU where they do that 'Havoc,'

but they call it 'Mayhem.' It's similar

and I think it's going to be great. I

can get my points off of the defense and then facilitate for my team,"

class=SpellE>Haskett added.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think I can bring to their program that winning

attitude and the point guard abilities.

Coach Christian said he watched me in High School and AAU, and the thing

he liked about me the most was that I could facilitate, but I could score, too.

style=> He also liked my energy."

115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Haskett

style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

has a played a key role in Kecoughtan's success since

his freshman season. As a sophomore, he moved

into the starting lineup and averaged 8.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists

per game to help Kecoughtan achieve their second

straight State Tournament berth and a 25-6 overall record.

style=>

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With the Warriors having to replace Rajay

Bullock (Providence) and Greg Alexander (ECU), Haskett

turned into the go-to option and flourished at 21.5 points per game, tops in

the Peninsula District. In the team's

regional quarterfinal loss to Landstown, he poured in

a career-high 41 points. To go with his

scoring exploits, he averaged 5.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game to earn

Second Team All-State and First Team All-Monitor Merrimac Conference honors as

class=SpellE>Kecoughtan won 17 games.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think it's a good fit.

style=> They wanted him as much as he wanted to go

there, and I believe he'll have a good career there," remarked

class=SpellE>Kecoughtan Head Basketball Coach Ivan Thomas, who pointed to Haskett's

defense as what separates him from most point guards.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"What I like about his game is he's a lockdown defender

as a guard. He can also score the

ball. But his strongest attribute is his

ability to defend any point guard with his quickness.

style=> That's going to serve him well.

style=> He's just beginning to scratch the surface of

what he can do."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In each of Haskett's three

seasons at Kecoughtan, the Warriors have been ranked

in the Top 10 in the state and been one of the top contenders.

style=> Completing his career there with a Championship

before heading off to the next level will be the goal.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We've got Damian Knowlin

coming back and we've got Taqwain Drummond (from

Woodside) coming over. I've been to VCU

for two years and then last year lost to Landstown.

style=> Of course, no one likes to lose, but I don't

want to lose again in the playoffs," stated Haskett.

style=>

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my team

back to VCU, and as long as we get everybody on the same page, we'll have an

opportunity to get back to where we were, get further than we were last year

and possibly win it all."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>