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MARYLAND STATE FINAL FOUR PLAYER NOTES

Big East targets turn in outstanding performances at the Comcast Center last weeked

by Ron Bailey

March 17, 2009 – Maryland, known as the Free State is also recognized as a prime source of basketball talent; given the DC suburbs and of course Baltimore and the Eastern Shore regions within its borders, colleges descend upon the nation’s seventh state in droves. Big East conference schools are no exception with the likes of Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson of Villanova, Georgetown’s DaJuan Summers, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Henry Sims, Syracuse forward Arinze Onauku, and others playing at Big East institutions like John Flowers (West Virginia), are all Maryland residents playing in the conference currently. History reveals a similar trend of Marylanders playing in the nation’s best college basketball league.

Of course one should expect Maryland’s best basketball teams – gathered at the University of Maryland’s Comcast Center last week – to have talent being recruited and/or scouted by Big East schools. Following are evaluations of those players, along with i95Ballerz.com all-event team nominations:

Lake Clifton High School (B’More)

Jason Sharp: A 5’11”, senior guard, Sharp is a marksman from downtown that must work on his point guard instincts. Strong and crafty, Sharp seems to back down from no one. Expect his recruitment by the likes of Seton Hall and Virginia Commonwealth to continue next season at Notre Dame Prep (Mass.).

Tourney averages – 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds. First Team All-Tournament

Will Barton: As a 6’5”, junior swingman, Will is one of the most highly sought after players in Maryland. “It’s kind of crazy right now” he said of the process. “It seems like every day there is a new school that is interested.” Those institutions include “Pittsburgh, Villanova, Marquette” and South Florida, along with Memphis, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida and a slew of others. Georgetown seems to be monitoring him at this time and many of these colleges have offered scholarships. The process is to the point where the young guy can’t list all the interested institutions in a brief interview period.

Barton, though thin at about 175 pounds just makes plays. As he noted, “Whatever I have to do, is what I’m going to do”, which includes driving, shooting, passing and defending. As he continues improving, strength development will be key for him.

Will plans to be on the circuit this year, but doesn’t know which team will enjoy his services.

Tourney averages – 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals. Most Outstanding Player and First team All-Tournament.

Antonio Barton: The brother of Will Barton, Antonio is not the household name of his older sibling but may have the highest upside – a 6’2” junior, point guard, he can shoot, drive and dish, all while running the show. It seems as if he’s just scratched the surface of his talent, a point Herman Harried, Lake Clifton’s coach, agreed with.

“Miami, Virginia, Maryland, Seton Hall, Temple, LaSalle and a couple of other schools” are recruiting him, shared Antonio.

Could the tandem end up a package deal? “It’s some schools that want him that don’t want me, and there are some schools that want me that don’t want him” he said. “If it’s a school that we both like, that we both want to go to, that would happen”.

He indicated a likely return to the Baltimore Stars AAU organization this summer, in addition to becoming stronger and concentrate on being a more efficient floor general.

Tourney averages – 15 points, 3.5 assists. First Team All-Tournament

Walbrook (B’More)

Roscoe Smith: A known entity amongst recruitniks, Smith, a swingman standing 6’7” and weighing around 185 pounds showed more than just scoring this time around; in his team’s singular game he didn’t put up numbers like usual (averaging over 21 points during regular season play), but did drop 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks.

A good shooter and fast break finisher, Roscoe has offers from over 20 schools, including Louisville, Georgetown (Head coach John Thompson III was on hand) and Connecticut in the Big East, along with Florida State, Maryland, Kansas, Texas and clearly others.

It’s unclear if Smith is going to play AAU/travel team ball this summer (he didn’t last year), but nevertheless the Class of 2010 standout will work on his handle – both half court and open floor – lateral foot quickness and strength.

First team All-Tournament

Springbrook (Montgomery County)

Jamal Olasewere: Not known to many outside of the DC area, Olasewere, a 6’5”, 200 pound senior forward can be dubbed ‘a beast’ for his competiveness and athletic ability. To see Jamal spin baseline and dunk, come out of nowhere to block a shot or pull down a key rebound was commonplace. To say he dominated was an understatement.

Previously shown minimal interest by Georgetown and Villanova, while Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac have offered, Jamal’s semifinal round performance caused the Hoya’s Thompson, present initially because of Smith, to return for the final.

To be a force in the Big East, Jamal must further develop his mid range jumper and ball handling – in doing so, he would be the kind of player that can become a Big East sleeper, one that takes the conference by storm by seemingly coming out of nowhere.

Tourney averages – 24.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, two steals. Tournament MVP and First Team All-Tournament.

Be sure to check out i95Ballerz.com for semifinal and final coverage, along with complete .

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