Will Lasky, a native of Annville and now a physics teacher andbasketball coach in the Exeter School District, was a two-timeAll-American for the men's basketball program, and he led theDiplomats to their best finish in the NCAA Division IIIchampionship tournament. During Lasky?s four years, the Diplomatswent 103-13 and were conference champions three of those years andrunner-up the fourth year. All four years the Diplomats made it tothe NCAA tournament.
He started 89 consecutive games during the final three seasonsof his career, leading the Diplomats to second place in the 1991national championship tournament and the team's third "Elite Eight"appearance in his four seasons in 1992. In the three years as astarter, Lasky was named to seven all tournament teams, twice beingnamed MVP. He served as captain of the team his final two seasons.He was named first-team All-Conference three times by the MAC andECAC. He was also named the MAC "Player of the Year" in 1991.
Lasky was awarded All-American honors in both 1991 and 1992 byfive different selection bodies. He was the school's first men'sbasketball player to be named first-team All-American. He willforever be remembered by those in attendance, and those who havesince claimed they were in Mayser Center on that Saturday eveningin early March 1991, for "The Shot" (off-balance, off the wrongfoot, fading away from the basket from three point range) that beatRochester in the final seconds of overtime to advance the Diplomatsto the "Final Four."
Lasky finished his career first in free throw percentage(82.5%), third in steals with 242, third in three-point field goalswith 123 for 292 (41.2%) and third on the career scoring list with1,608 points. At the end of his senior year, he was named the"Outstanding Senior Athlete-Men" by the F&M AthleticDepartment.
