Things just keep falling into place for Justin Jennings — and he's looking forward to the place he's going.

Jennings, a Seneca Valley HighSchool graduate, recently accepted an assistant men's basketball coaching position at NCAA Division III Carnegie Mellon University.

Jennings, 24, spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Penn State-Behrend, where he was working toward his Master's degree.

"I finished up two weeks ago and got through with my master's," said Jennings. "I knew I wanted to stay a college basketball coach.

"I heard through some people that an assistant's job might open up, and I saw it in the paper and I applied,"he added.

The appeal of the school was great, but so was the conference itself.

"It's an Ivy League-like conference and it's a job that'll open a lot of doors for me," said Jennings. "It's a great steppingstone.

"I'm back in Pittsburgh, which is exciting. I have a full-time spot and will be in the (University Athletic Association) Conference, which is the best conference in Division III.

"There are eight teams and half the league made the NCAAtournament, the fifth and sixth-place teams made the ECAC and Carnegie Mellon won that,"Jennings added.

The conference includes Brandeis (Waltham, Mass.), Case Western Reserve (Cleveland), Chicago, Emory (Atlanta), New York, Rochester (N.Y) and Washington (St. Louis).

It sounds like the transition was easy, but in the beginning, it was not a short list of candidates.

"I was definitely looking at other jobs, but this is the one I circled and the one I wanted," said Jennings. "I heard there were over 150 applicants. I got the call on a Sunday and was asked if they could do a phone interview the next day. There were seven of us and then they brought three of us in on campus and two were from outside the area.

"One was from Washington University, which won the national title last year and the other, I think, was the video coordinator from UCLA, so I was up against some tough competition. I had the least experience, coaching-wise,"Jennings added.

"He's obviously very intelligent, has a great work ethic and a love for the game," said Penn State-Behrend coach Dave Niland. "When you add that together, he's a benefit to any program. He's gone straight from playing to coaching and not many can do that. Normally, you would wait a couple of years."

A lot went into Jennings' time as an assistant coach with the Lions.

"To say he was a graduate assistant does not do him justice," said Niland. "He was called that because he was working toward his MBA in two years, but he worked 60 to 70 hours a week and that's what the position was. Coaching is not glamorous and he knew that."

Jennings was a starting point guard at Seneca Valley before moving on to Penn State-Behrend, where he was a four-year starter.

Jennings finished his career third on the Behrend assists list with 322 while guiding the Lions to 81 victories in that span. He earned Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman, Most Improved Player as a sophomore and Most Valuable Player as a senior.

"He had an intensity as a player and that's carried over to coaching," said Niland. "As a point guard, you have to be dialed in on the floor and a point guard is an extension of the coach. He's always been well-prepared."

Jennings spent last summer helping to coach the Behrend summer camps as well as the Five Star Camp in Pittsburgh.

Jennings graduated with a degree in communications in 2006 before joining head coach Dave Niland's staff as an assistant while pursuing his MBA.

Jennings is hoping to use what he learned under Niland for his new employer.

"He was unbelievable," said Jennings on Niland. "He gave me a lot of responsibilities. He played under (former WVU coach and current Michigan coach) John Beilein at LeMoyne College and was an assistant with him at Canisius.

"Coach Niland instilled a lot of hard work and fundamentals. If you see coach Beilein at Michigan, he's a great teacher in fundamentals.

"I've got a lot of that and have a lot of excitement. This is what I want to do. I'm young, single and ready to continue coaching. Hopefully, I'll do well recruiting and try and bring a little more attitude,"Jennings added.

Niland certainly expects big things from Jennings as long as his good fortune continues to follow.

"He's very smart. He'll have a lot of options as he grows as a person and a coach," said Niland. "Obviously, it's a difficult business, but a lot of it is timing and luck. Hopefully, he'll get that along the way."