Freshman guard Marc Chasin does not play like an 18-year-old student who’s only been competing at the college level for a few months but rather like someone who has been dominating the Empire 8 conference for years.

The son of Linda Rozynes and Dan Chasin, Chasin said at an early age his dad inspired him and made him love basketball.

“My dad got me into it because he played all his life and played in college as well,” he said. “He played for Evansville [College] and Hofstra [University] and helped me along.”

Chasin is a graduate of Gulliver Prep in Coral Gables, Florida, where he grew up just outside of Miami. In his high school basketball career, Chasin was called up his freshman year for his team’s playoffs and played on varsity for three years. There, he said, his coach helped him develop into a player with college potential.

“We had a coaching change in my sophomore year,” he said. “That coach really helped me develop into the player I am and helped me reach this level.”

Wanting to attend college in the Northeast, he sent a highlight video created by his team to potential coaches recruiting in the area, where head coach Jim Mullins saw it and contacted Chasin.

Prior to Mullins contacting him, Chasin said he had never heard of the college.

The rookie phenom has made his presence known on the court this season for the young Bombers squad. Chasin is averaging 13.8 points per game — the second-most on the team behind senior forward Keefe Gitto, who is averaging 15 per game — while averaging 25 minutes on the floor. He has started all 19 games this season and has scored double digits in 12 of them.

Describing the transition from high school to college, Chasin said there were many things to adapt to.

“Every player on our team were superstars on our high school teams,” he said. “Coming into college, everyone’s role changes, and there are things that you can get away with in high school but not in college. There’s a lot more game prep and a lot more thinking.”

Chasin said he knew at the beginning of the season that each game is a blessing and is appreciative for the opportunity to be playing at such a high level.

“Coming in to this season I know nothing is guaranteed,” he said. “I had to work for it and earn it and just grateful for the opportunity.”

Chasin has been at the head of a youthful Bombers squad, which has a total of 10

underclassmen on a roster of 15 players.

Mullins said he has been particularly impressed with the way Chasin has handled himself this year.

“He is only a freshman, and we expected that he could make an impact for us this season,” Mullins said. “We expected some freshman mistakes from him, but he really has turned out to be a diamond in the rough for us.”

Chasin said he enjoys Mullins’ confidence in him. However, he said he needs to continue to impress every day to continue to get playing time.

“He has been very good to me,” Chasin said. “He explained to me that nothing was going to be given to me and everything would have to be earned.”

Senior captain Max Masucci said he likes the youth that players like Chasin bring to this team.

“Obviously, upperclassmen are going to have bad games sometimes,” Masucci said. “So it’s nice that we have young players that can help us win games.”

Chasin said the experience went by rather quickly and gave him confidence to go on the rest of the season.

“Every game we go into we feel like we are going to win,” he said. “If you don’t go into a game thinking you’re going to win then your confidence gets shot, and I truly believe we can play with anyone.”

Chasin said he is always working on his game, and he is always trying to get better and improve.

“One of the strong suits of my game is that I can drive to the basket and finish and create chances for others,” he said. “I would say my biggest weakness is staying consistent with my shot from a game to game basis.”

After four years, Chasin wants to look back and remember nothing but success.

“Even though individual accolades are nice, there is nothing that can beat a team championship,” he said. “I want to win as many E8 Conference championships as possible.”