Highlanders' Svingos signs at Geneva in Pa.

HUNTINGTON -- After bullying the opposition in the post as a member of the Huntington Highlanders, Lambros Svingos will continue to be a force on the block in college.

Svingos signed Monday to play for the men's basketball team at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa.

"When I took my visit, I felt really comfortable there," Svingos said. "The coaches were really nice and the team was, too. I think I'll play well with them."

Svingos was a Class AAA All-State Honorable Mention selection and received Special Honorable Mention accolades in the Mountain State Athletic Conference after averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds his senior year.

He said the quality of players he was around at Huntington High make him ready to play at the next level.

"I got a lot better playing with (University of Kentucky center) Pat (Patterson). It made me a lot stronger," Svingos said. "I was playing with college basketball players all last year so that really helped me out."

Svingos stands 6-foot-6 and possesses a frame that landed him the nickname "Greek Warrior," but his prowess for being versatile within an offensive set is what helped land him in Western Pennsylvania.

After seeing the style Geneva plays, Svingos was convinced it was the place for him.

"They're pretty fast-paced which is what I'm used to at HHS," Svingos said. "They go inside-out which means it goes to the big guys first."

After hearing from the Geneva coaching staff following the Parkersburg South Holiday Tournament, Svingos and his family planned a trip to the school and the fit was instant.

"My family liked the campus a lot. It's a family environment so they are excited," Svingos said.

Svingos is going to a college that holds an interesting part of history in the sport of basketball. According to the school's Web site, Geneva College students organized the first college basketball game ever as an intramural event in February 1892. That was one year after James A. Naismith created the game of basketball.

Another interesting twist is how Geneva College got its nickname -- the Golden Tornadoes. Needless to say, the school earned it the hard way.

"They are called the Golden Tornadoes because a tornado hit their building and the roof, which was gold-plated, came off," Svingos said. "The tornado looked golden."

Geneva College is an NCAA Division III school and a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The team went 14-14 in the 2007-08 season.