BOYS BASKETBALL

Steve Luptak and his family went on a tour of Washington D.C. this weekend. They saw the White House. He saw the Lincoln Memorial. They saw Congressional building. They ate like kings and stayed at a fine hotel.

But before he came back to Munster on Sunday night, the Mustangs guard verbally committed to American University. He will sign this week at Munster.

"I'm very excited," said Luptak, who was a Times first-team all-area. "It was a great trip and a great experience. I loved talking to their coaches and playing with their players. They've got some talent and I'm excited to be a part of it."

Luptak joins Michael Bizoukas, who is going to DePaul, as the second Division I player off this year's Mustangs team. Before this season, the school had had only one D-I player in its history.

American coach Jeff Jones, who played with Ralph Sampson at Virginia and later coached there, visited Munster and watched Luptak go through some drills. He then set up the official visit that Steve took with his parents, Ron and Mary.

American plays in the Patriot League, and is located right next to Georgetown and George Washington universities.

"Steve is one of those players who has flown under the radar," Munster coach Mike Hackett said. "He's been a big part of our success the last two years. If you just watch how hard he plays, you know what kind of player he is. His stats aren't out of this world, but he didn't back down from guarding anyone -- E'Twaun Moore, Scott Martin or Robbie Hummel."

Luptak, who averaged 12.4 points and 2.2 assists per game last season, plans to major in business.

He also wanted to thank his AAU team, CAPS, where he played with Bizoukas.

"They helped me get my name out there," Luptak said.