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Two of the county's most notable unsigned basketball players have taken themselves off the market — Bishop McGuinness point guard Aaron Toomey has committed to play at Amherst College, while High Point Christian's Joseph McManus will play for Guilford.

For Toomey, the decision concluded an emotionally exhausting odyssey in which his stock fluctuated more than his on-court demeanor typically has. The 6-foot-2 guard received more than a half dozen offers to be an invited walk-on at Division I programs, including Wake Forest, UNC-Wilmington and Vermont, but he never broke through the recruiting ceilings most two-time All-State selections would.

"At times, I was like, this process is too much for me. I didn't think I was getting the looks I deserved," Toomey said. "It was kind of frustrating, but I regrouped and realized I've still got some great choices for basketball. I'm going to take what I have and go from there, and prove to the people who backed off me that they made a mistake."

Basketball aside, he couldn't turn down a chance to study economics at Amherst, the second-ranked liberal arts school in the country in U.S. News & World Report's most recent list.

"I'm not going to be playing basketball forever," Toomey said, "and having an education from Amherst is going to mean a lot when I get out of college."

Toomey, who was the MVP of Bishop's 2009 state title game win and led the Villains back to the regional semifinals this season, finished his high school career atop the Villains' record books in assists (571), free throw percentage (86.6) and free throws made (712, next closest has 454) and second in scoring (2,003). His 28.3 points per game this season were also the second-highest in school history.

At Amherst, which is three years removed from a NCAA Division III championship under 32-year veteran head coach Dave Hixon, Toomey projects as a point guard who could start as early as Amherst's current rising senior starter graduates.

"After my freshman year, the team's in my hands, which is kind of what I was looking for — a leadership role early in my career," Toomey said. "I can get used to it, get acquainted with the players and learn how they play, kind of like I did at Bishop."

McManus, a 6-foot-2 guard who joins American Hebrew Academy forward Omer Atishkin and Asheboro guard Saegan Hilliard in the Quakers' incoming class, averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game and was High Point Christian's leading defender. But he caught Guilford's attention with his emotional command of the team this season, when he used every good vibe he could muster to hold the Cougars together when a depleted roster sent them on a 2-11 tailspin to open the year. High Point Christian recovered to make the NCISAA 2-A title game, and McManus was voted the Cougars' MVP despite not leading them in any major statistical category.

"It was the most responsibility requested of me my whole high school career," he said. "I just had to keep a hard work ethic in practice and try to be a positive leader, not try to drag the team down any further. By staying together, we were just that much stronger when we added the pieces we needed."

"We couldn't have done it without him," first-year Cougars head coach Brandon Clifford said. "He's the type of kid they want in their program -- a hard-nosed hard worker who wants to win."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com