Back in the summer of 2005, George Raftis had just finished a successful high school basketball career and was trying to figure out where to play in college.

A Sewickley Academy graduate, he had received interest from a few NCAA Division III schools, including Wittenberg (Ohio), Oberlin (Ohio), Washington & Jefferson and Carnegie Mellon, but was struggling to make a choice.

"I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do," Raftis said. "I knew I didn't want to go away from home to a school like Wittenberg or Oberlin.

"I just couldn't decide."

In the end, he didn't pick any of the schools. Instead, Raftis, a Mt. Lebanon resident, took a break from competitive basketball and began taking business classes at Duquesne University during the 2005-06 academic year.

It wasn't long, however, before he missed the game.

"I regretted my choice," he said. "Suddenly, I had all this free time."

By the next year, he was back on the court, playing for Allegheny College. And in two seasons, this 6-foot-5, 235-pound forward has become arguably one of the best players for the Division III Gators.

Raftis was named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference second team. He led Allegheny in points (12.9 per game) and topped both the team and the conference in rebounds (8.7).

Raftis posted six double-doubles for Allegheny, which finished 12-15 this season, and he set a career-high by scoring 26 points in a loss at Kenyon on Feb. 16.

"It's a great honor to get," Raftis said. "I'm very happy, but it's also surprising. I never expected something like this at the beginning of the year."

Indeed, Raftis began his sophomore season as one of the Gators' top reserves. He didn't crack the starting lineup until the sixth game of the season, when he had 10 points and eight rebounds in a loss at Edinboro.

"Because of injuries, he was thrust into a more involved role," Allegheny coach Rob Clune said. "He really took that role on. And with increased minutes, his production went up."

Raftis is no stranger to a starting role. As a junior at Sewickley Academy, Raftis helped the Panthers to a 26-5 record, a WPIAL Class A title and an appearance in the PIAA title game.

His senior year, Raftis averaged 16.9 points per game, as the Panthers finished second in Class A Section 1. Raftis was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's all-section team.

Clune said he was aware of those accomplishments when he received an e-mail from Raftis during the summer of 2006. In that e-mail, Raftis expressed his desire to play basketball again.

"I knew he played on a good high school team," Clune said. "He was definitely at a point where he decided that he was looking for a place to play. He missed playing the sport. He was very sincere."

Once he started playing again, Raftis said he was a bit rusty.

"All I did was play some pick-up and in a summer league," he said. "It's just not the same. [The college game] is a lot faster than high school. But, after a little while, I definitely got into the swing of things."

Raftis played in all 25 games and made one start his freshman season, averaging 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds. He scored a season-best 21 points in a game against Hiram.

"We thought very highly of him last year, and he did well," Clune said.

This year's Allegheny team, seeded sixth, upset No. 3 Wittenberg in the quarterfinals of the NCAC tournament last month. Raftis had 10 points in the win. The Gators' season ended with a loss to eventual tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals.

"We had a huge win over Wittenberg," Raftis said. "It's definitely encouraging heading into next season."

In the meantime, Raftis will spend the offseason increasing his strength, working on a left-handed shot and improving his dribbling.

"All-around, I just want to get better," he said.

Clune suspects that will be the case: "His improvement will continue because of his work ethic."