MANHASSET, N.Y. — At 5’11”, it’s not hard for Manhasset High School Girls’ Varsity Basketball center Carly George to stand out in a crowd. But when she and the school’s other college-recruited athletes gathered this fall for the annual Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremony and photo op, Carly stood out for another reason: she was the only Manhasset athlete there to be recruited to play basketball in college, and she is also only the second player under Varsity Head Coach Lauren Sadeh’s 11-year tenure to achieve that distinction.

“I love Coach Sadeh,” enthuses Susquehanna University-bound Carly, who has been playing on Varsity since her sophomore year. “She helped me out so much during this whole recruitment process. Out of all of the years of her working and coaching here, I am only the second kid that she had coached who actually went on to play college basketball. So having that connection with her has been really awesome and amazing. She’s honestly the best coach I’ve ever had. She also made me fall in love more with the game of basketball.”

That love has been a part of Carly’s DNA for as long as she can remember. “Ever since I was little, I’ve always been into sports, but basketball has been my thing,” she shares the 17-year-old. “I tried lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics—but none of those sports were like basketball to me. My dad [Steven] played basketball in high school and college, too—he played at [University of] Pittsburgh for a year and then went to Baruch College. He always played basketball, so I think I got that from him … and the height from him also,” Carly smiles.

Mom Raquel, who grew up in Manhasset, was also a college-recruited athlete, playing lacrosse and tennis for Towson University, and Carly has played on the Girls’ Varsity tennis team since 10th grade, as well. “My whole family plays tennis,” notes Carly of her parents and two older sisters, Christina, 28, and Nicole, 25. “We’re a very competitive family,” adding with a laugh, “in a good way!” Carly and her sisters actually have tennis to thank for bringing their parents together in the first place. “My dad grew up in Astoria, but then his sister moved to Manhasset and that’s where he met my mom. He saw her playing tennis one day and he said, ‘I’m going to marry that girl!’ ” (In fact, the family lives in the same exact house in which Raquel was raised.)

When it came time to starting the recruiting process for basketball, Carly admits that her main focus was not on targeting a school based on wide name-recognition, but rather one where she felt most at-home. “As I’ve grown up, my perspective has changed,” she says. “You don’t always have to go to schools that everyone knows, like Duke or Johns Hopkins. You can go to a school that people may not know as well, just because you’re comfortable with it.”

Ironically enough, the university that Carly eventually committed to hadn’t even been on her recruiting radar at all. “I was actually looking at [The University of] Scranton and Catholic University [of America], and I hadn’t even heard of Susquehanna until they reached out to me! I was like, ‘Where the heck is Susquehanna?! I’m not going to go there!’ ” she laughs.  (FYI: it’s in Selinsgrove, PA.) “But then, I went there to visit, and I fell in love with it. The people there are just so nice, and the coaches were so welcoming! It felt like a family, because it’s only 3000 kids. I’m not someone who wants to go to a big school. And honestly, I just loved how clean the campus was! A lot of campuses were not that clean, and this was so pretty and nice. It just fit. I’m really happy with my decision.”

Although she committed verbally to Susquehanna to play basketball, Carly still had to go through the official process of getting accepted academically, as well. “It’s not really official until you get accepted into the school and then sign your NCAA waiver,” she explains. “So when I found out I got in, it was so exciting! I was actually in the car with my dad when I found out that I had officially been accepted. Basketball is something that we have always shared, so opening that [email] together and him realizing, ‘I’m having a kid following in my footsteps….’ That was really special. I loved sharing that with my dad.” After sharing the news with her family, of course, “Coach Sadeh was one of the first people I texted. I was like, ‘Guess where I’m going? I was accepted to Susquehanna!’ ”

As for what she’s most looking forward to next year, Carly says, “Meeting new people and just getting out of my comfort zone. Growing up in Manhasset, it’s definitely different from the outside world, so I think I’m most excited for a new change. And then also, getting to play basketball and being on a team for a full year, pre-season, off-season, everything—I’m so excited for that, too.”

Having had such an uplifting experience with sports, Carly shares that at some point in the years ahead, she’d love to inspire younger athletes, just as she’s been inspired throughout her life. “I would love to do something with sports after college, like maybe be a basketball coach in the future,” she smiles. “Sports can really give kids the freedom to express themselves. Playing sports, it’s almost like being in a family. You go on the field or the court and you’re not just playing for yourself—you’re playing for your team, you’re playing for your community. It can make you feel so positive about yourself.”

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