Joe David first met Evan Pierce two years ago when he moved into the district from the Indianapolis area.

Since then, David, the boys' varsity basketball coach at Mt. Lebanon High School, has watched Pierce gradually develop from a raw, athletic sophomore into a Division I college recruit as he prepares for his senior season.

"He's worked very hard," David said. "We worked with him on his fundamentals, and he's improved every year. I'm looking forward to watching him get better and better, because we know he's going to continue to do that."

Pierce's ascension last season saw him named second-team Associated Press All-State after helping to lead the Blue Devils to the WPIAL Class AAAA title game and PIAA semifinals.

Now, Pierce figures to be playing on the Division I level when he enters college next year. Last week, Pierce, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 17 points per game last season, made a verbal commitment to Wagner College, located on Staten Island in New York City. He can sign a binding national letter of intent with the Seahawks in November.

Wagner competes in the Northeast Conference of which Robert Morris is also a member.

"I'm ecstatic for him," David said. "I think Evan is just a fine, fine young man. He's worked considerably hard for what he gets. He's worked extremely hard for the opportunity to play at the next level, and he is that caliber of a player.

"I think what Evan has going for him is that he's a Division I caliber gentleman. I think I'm more proud of that sometimes than I am of his accomplishments on the court. I think Wagner has gotten a heck of a player."

David said it was easy to recognize Pierce's potential, and he's been gratified with the way Pierce has brought it out.

"He's quick, he can finish at the hoop and he can shoot the 3," David said. "He can pull up. He's an explosive player.

"I was real happy with the jump he made defensively from his sophomore year to his junior year. I think if he makes that kind of jump from his junior year to his senior year and then from his senior year to college, he'll be quite a good all-around player."

Although the leap in Pierce's defensive prowess was most telling heading into last season, it is this summer where he has improved his ballhandling.

"People had doubts about me handling the ball," Pierce said. "I wanted to make sure I could prove that I could."

The proof that his ballhadling has reached the major-college level comes from none other than Mike Deane, Wagner's veteran coach who once coached Marquette. Under NCAA rules, Deane cannot comment publicly on Pierce until after he signs a letter of intent.

The recruiting process for Pierce began in earnest in the spring after Mt. Lebanon's season ended. Iona and the Air Force Academy also offered scholarships, but the Wagner coach was the one who stayed after Pierce the most.

"He came to a couple open gyms, and that continued. He was at every one of our [AAU] games. He was definitely serious about me. He was like, 'You're our guy,' and I was their No. 1 person to get.

"I chose Wagner because of the coaching staff and that it was a place I could play right away. They needed a shooting guard, and that's a comfortable position I can play in.

"It's nice to have [the recruiting process] all over so now I can just focus on the school year."