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A week ago, Walkersville High senior guard Scott Morris was pretty sure he would be playing basketball at an NCAA Division I school; he just wasn't sure which one.

By Monday, the 6-foot-2-inch, 190-pound first team 2009 All-Gazette selection made his choice: The University of New Hampshire, a member of the America East Conference.

Morris took a campus visit over this past weekend, and was sold in a matter of days.

"I fell in love with the campus and the program," Morris said.

The Wildcats fell in love with Morris's all-around game, enough to offer him a full scholarship.

He plans to utilize the NCAA's early signing period to make it official on Nov. 11.

"He definitely deserves this," said Walkersville head coach Ryan Burkey. "He has worked very hard to get to this point. One of his goals for this season was to get [his college choice] out of the way so he could concentrate on his last season [of high school basketball]."

Said Morris, "It feels like I lost 10 pounds already. All the pressure this summer, it felt good to finally get this done. I went to an open gym [on Monday night] after I made my decision, and I played the best I have played in a long time."

Last season, Morris garnered the attention of several Division I institutions such as the Air Force Academy, Davidson, Harvard, Navy and Siena by averaging 18.6 points, 6.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds. His size, shooting ability and overall skill set as a high school guard began to attract suitors early in his career with Walkersville.

Morris is motivated by New Hampshire's potential. Coached by Bill Herrion, the Wildcats advanced to the semifinals of last season's America East Conference tournament and were picked in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll to finish fifth in the nine-team league.

"I think the program has really progressed during the past few years, and you can see it building up," said Morris, who has a 4.0 grade point average and plans to major in business and minor in economics at UNH.

"They're looking for a shooter, and they have shooters who will be seniors when I am a freshman. I can learn from them and maybe still get some playing time, then maybe get more time by my sophomore year.

"I really like the guys on the team, they are a close knit group, and I had a really good time hanging out with them during my visit."

With his optimistic view of his future school's potential and its mid-sized campus of 14,000 undergraduate students, Morris has great expectations for his future.

"It would be great to be a part of the first New Hampshire team to win the America East Tournament and [advance] to the [NCAA] Tournament."

Morris will lead a Lions' contingent which captured the Monocacy Valley Athletic League Piedmont Conference championship last season, finishing with a record of 17-8.