Distance isn't a factor for Mike McKee on a basketball court. A sharpshooting guard at Plum, his range goes well beyond the 3-point line.

But when it came time to choose a college, distance became a major factor. For McKee, closer is better.

McKee (6 feet 4, 170 pounds) made a verbal commitment to Kent State yesterday morning. He chose the Golden Flashes over Holy Cross, but also had scholarship offers from James Madison, Eastern Michigan, St. Francis, Pa., and Robert Morris.

Two weeks ago McKee was leaning toward Holy Cross. He visited the school in Worcester, Mass., and liked almost everything about it. Then he visited Kent State this past weekend.

"Whenever I went to Kent, it took over," McKee said.

He said he liked Kent State's players, liked the honesty of the coaches and liked that he will play in the Mid-American Conference. Plus, Kent State has a winning tradition lately, making it to the NCAA tournament three times in the past six years and the NIT three times. The Golden Flashes beat Pitt to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2002.

But what McKee really liked about Kent State was its proximity to Plum. It is about a two-hour drive from McKee's home.

"Basically, one of the deciding factors was that I would like to look up into the stands and be able to see my parents and family members at all of my games," McKee said.

Kent State started recruiting him in July after he had some impressive performances on the AAU circuit and at the Eastern Invitational camp in New Jersey.

Last season, McKee averaged 20.9 points per game for Plum and made 88 3-pointers. He shot 44 percent from 3-point range and made 9 of 10 from beyond the arc in a game against Franklin Regional.

"Obviously, he's a great shooter," said Plum coach Ron Richards. "But the thing the Kent State coaches kept getting back to was how smart he plays. A lot of coaches told me they go to all these AAU tournaments and they don't see kids who know how to work without the ball, make entry passes to the post and things like that. He does those things."

First Published: September 15, 2004, 4:00 a.m.