Archive: February 2007
Former All-Met Suspended
Georgia linebacker Akeem Hebron , an All-Met at Good Counsel in 2005, will miss the first two games this coming season after being arrested for underage possession of alcohol....
By Josh Barr | February 27, 2007; 1:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
A CAA Convention
Quite a crowd last night at American U. for the WCAC semifinals. Aside from Niagara Coach Joe Mihalich, it was almost like a CAA convention with George Mason assistant Chris Caputo, William & Mary assistant Antwon Jackson and Virginia Commonwealth assistant John Brannen were among the crowd, with the two...
By Josh Barr | February 27, 2007; 12:28 PM ET | Comments (0)
Wise Big Man Getting Looks
It was a busy weekend, starting with last Thursday's Prince George's County championship games that saw Largo pull off a clean sweep. I stopped by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament for a bit on Saturday and DeMatha All-Met guard Austin Freeman again showed why he is so highly regarded....
By Josh Barr | February 26, 2007; 1:05 PM ET | Comments (1)
Monday Morning Point Guard?
Maryland's 89-87 victory over North Carolina could not have hurt the Terps' chances to land highly-regarded prospect Jai Lucas, who was in attendance and had a front-row seat. Lucas, whose father, John, was a Maryland standout in basketball and tennis, plans to announce his college choice next month. Meantime, Normad...
By Josh Barr | February 26, 2007; 11:01 AM ET | Comments (0)
Big Man Stands Out
Largo 6-11 junior Maurice Sutton is attracting plenty of top college attention and if he continues to play like he did in last night's Prince George's County championship game, there seems little question Sutton will be a top recruit. Sutton finished with 10 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks as...
By Josh Barr | February 23, 2007; 11:29 AM ET | Comments (0)
Sex, Booze & Videotapes?
The University of Cincinnati is investigating allegations that several football players and recruits engaged in some, ahem, inappropriate behavior during recruiting weekends. There are a handful of Washington-area players on the Bearcats' roster, though no players have been named in connection with the allegations....
By Josh Barr | February 21, 2007; 4:31 PM ET | Comments (0)
Prospect Blooming Late
There are several seniors yet to make basketball commitments. St. John's (Md.) forward Nikita Mescheriakov and Kennedy guard Jeremy Herring are among the group of players who have helped themselves in the eyes of recruiters with their play this season. However, it is possible that no player has helped himself...
By Josh Barr | February 21, 2007; 11:12 AM ET | Comments (0)
Tar Heels Make Big Local Pickup
The North Carolina women's basketball team today received a verbal commitment from Brooke Point junior Chay Shegog, a 6-foot-4 post player who was heavily recruited by most of the nation's top programs, including defending national champion Maryland....
By Josh Barr | February 20, 2007; 2:33 PM ET | Comments (0)
Not a Full Ride?
Here's a story that talks about the costs of an athletic scholarship. It might not pertain to football or basketball players at the Division I/I-A level, but it certainly pertains to athletes in just about every other sport....
By Josh Barr | February 20, 2007; 12:06 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Late Football Signing
Eleanor Roosevelt Coach Rick Houchens passes along that LB Justin Winters signed with Buffalo, where he will join Seneca Valley LB Fred Branch and Good Counsel QB Zack Ingle as incoming freshmen next fall....
By Josh Barr | February 20, 2007; 10:52 AM ET | Comments (0)
As Anticipated, Lazear...
As I expected last week, one-time All-Met LB Pat Lazear has signed a letter-of-intent to play for West Virginia. Lazear's father, Harry, declined to comment and Saturday afternoon can be a tough time to track down West Virginia folks for comment. But I'd guess WVU putting out a release on...
By Josh Barr | February 17, 2007; 5:52 PM ET | Comments (0)
Turn Back the Clock
They dominated the Washington area on the hardwood last winter and now All-Met Player of the Year Kevin Durant and two-time All-Met Scottie Reynolds are getting it done in college. It will be interesting to see what impact this season's top players - DeMatha's Austin Freeman and Chris Wright of...
By Josh Barr | February 16, 2007; 12:04 PM ET | Comments (0)
Around the Recruiting Dial
Some recruiting odds and ends among the snow and ice: Here's another columnist who thinks the while recruiting game has gotten way out of whack. Meantime, plenty of college basketball coaches likely will find their way to UDC on March 7-8 for a four-team prep school tournament featuring Patterson (N.C.),...
By Josh Barr | February 15, 2007; 1:51 PM ET | Comments (0)
More Football Commitments
Suitland FB Emmanuel Williams signed to play for North Carolina Central, which is moving to Division I-AA. All-Met K Garrett Watson of South County will head to Virginia Tech as a recruited walk-on. The Hokies have had plenty of success going this route. South County teammate Matt Vane, a wide...
By Josh Barr | February 12, 2007; 2:22 PM ET | Comments (0)
Top O' The Morning
All-Met RB Terence Kerns of Thomas Johnson is recovering just fine from his season-ending knee surgery and remains on track to go to West Virginia. Nobody knows Virginia recruiting like Commonwealth All-Star Sports Scribe Doug Doughty, and this webcast is Must See TV. Many things come to mind while watching,...
By Josh Barr | February 12, 2007; 10:58 AM ET | Comments (0)
Never Too Soon...
Obviously schools already are working on next year's recruiting classes, but maybe this puts things in better perspective. Virginia Tech already has made 20 scholarship offers for next year....
By Josh Barr | February 9, 2007; 12:32 PM ET | Comments (1)
More Trouble For Alaeze
One-time top prospect Melvin Alaeze was indicted earlier this week and faces even more charges than first reported. The Baltimore Sun reports that Alaeze was stopped for making an illegal U-turn and police found a loaded revolver with some empty casings behind the driver's seat. He was wanted for the...
By Josh Barr | February 9, 2007; 12:31 PM ET | Comments (0)
All You Need to Know
Plenty of reading material to go around this morning. Stories about Maryland: Post, Sun, Times. Here's Virginia: Post, Fredericksburg, Roanoke, which says assistant Mike London is staying put. Tech: Post, Fredericksburg, Roanoke. There's Navy. A two-time All-Met pulls a small surprise. Here's one about the top two players in Frederick...
By Josh Barr | February 8, 2007; 10:34 AM ET | Comments (0)
An Inside Look at Austin's Day
Here's what Alan Goldenbach passes on from watching Marvin Austin pledge for the Tar Heels earlier today: Marvin Austin bounced from one television camera to another yesterday afternoon at the ESPNZone, where he made his announcement to sign with North Carolina. Austin, who has long said he hopes to pursue...
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 5:28 PM ET | Comments (2)
Lazear Holding Off For Now
Linebacker Pat Lazear, All-Met as a junior, will not sign a letter-of-intent today, according to his father, Harry. "You'll hear it soon," Harry Lazear said. Pat Lazear in December pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the robbery of a Bethesda Smoothie King store. He was sentenced...
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 3:44 PM ET | Comments (0)
Local Colleges Do Well, Says Lemming
Caught up with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming last night. He ranks Virginia (18th) and Virginia Tech (21st) in his top 25. Maryland is No. 28, which Lemming attributed to a lack of top local talent. "It was a very weak year in the state of Maryland" for high school players,...
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 2:06 PM ET | Comments (0)
Big Marvin Says the Sky is Blue
Two-time All-Met Marvin Austin today picked North Carolina over Florida State and others. Teammate Alan Goldenbach will have more on this later......
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 1:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Twyman Plans to Wait and See
All-Met QB Deontay Twyman of Sherwood won't be signing a letter-of-intent anytime soon. He's working on improving his board scores and colleges still are wary of his size. Then there's the matter of whether he could play college basketball. For football, Twyman said he is considering North Carolina Central, Bowie...
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 6:53 AM ET | Comments (0)
Signing Day Bites
It's common for players to retake classes in an attempt to raise their grade-point averages, but All-Met QB Brandon Hogan of Osbourn might be taking things to a different level. According to the Potomac News, Hogan is retaking four classes online as he attempts to meet the NCAA's minimum academic...
By Josh Barr | February 7, 2007; 6:45 AM ET | Comments (0)
Quite Impressive...
Of course, tomorrow is the beginning of the National Letter-of-Intent period for many other sports. Here are two notable teams: The DeMatha boys' soccer team has seven players who will sign: S Fernando Duran (Penn), D Brendon Gregoire (Towson), D Trent Hebron (Howard), M Travis Hebron (Howard), D Amir Reda...
By Josh Barr | February 6, 2007; 3:14 PM ET | Comments (0)
LB Prospect Is Torn
While most of the area's top prospects have made their college choices, Kennedy Coach Gunnary Twyner is unsure what linebacker Chimso Okoji will do tomorrow. On one hand, Okoji has offers from several BCS schools and wants to choose between Michigan State and Iowa. But Okoji took an official visit...
By Josh Barr | February 6, 2007; 3:09 PM ET | Comments (0)
Football Tidbits
A former Central Virginia standout, previously committed to Virginia, now is bound for West Virginia. Woodbridge LB Na'eem Outler is bound for a top Division I-AA program....
By Josh Barr | February 6, 2007; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (0)
Flip-Flopper Says He's Made Up His Mind...
Akron. Virginia. Akron. Virginia. I caught up with Friendly All-Met WR Vinnie Hill on Monday afternoon and he said he is done changing his mind and will sign Wednesday with Akron. Hill said in the end he was swayed by Akron's setting and the opportunity to play as a freshman....
By Josh Barr | February 6, 2007; 10:01 AM ET | Comments (0)
Don't Be Surprised if Lazear...
With the beginning of the signing period two days away, don't be surprised if one-time All-Met LB Pat Lazear signs with West Virginia. The Mountaineers continued to recruit Lazear throughout the fall as he awaited trial for the robbery of a Bethesda Smoothie King. Lazear eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy...
By Josh Barr | February 5, 2007; 4:39 PM ET | Comments (10)
Not a Normal Event for Campbell
There usually isn't much exciting about college announcements. This past Friday afternoon at Forestville, however, was a little different as All-Met linebacker Devonte Campbell made it public that he had accepted a scholarship offer to play for Maryland. The school color guard marched in. Three girls sang the Star Spangled...
By Josh Barr | February 5, 2007; 7:01 AM ET | Comments (1)
More for Monday
ALTHOUGH DeMATHA guard Jeff Peterson has decided to re-open his recruiting process, it doesn't mean going to Princeton is out of the question, Stags Coach Mike Jones said. In the past week, Peterson has heard mainly from schools in the A-10 and CAA and also one Big Ten school, Jones...
By Josh Barr | February 5, 2007; 5:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
Maryland Picks Up All-Met Commitment
Just got a call from Forestville Coach Charlie Harley, who says that All-Met LB Devonte Campbell has picked Maryland. I should have more later this afternoon....
By Josh Barr | February 2, 2007; 1:04 PM ET | Comments (1)
Five for Friday....
1) Forestville All-Met LB Devonte Campbell is set to announce his college choice this afternoon. Knights Coach Charles Harley last night said that he considered Maryland "the leader" but that Illinois and Mike Locksley are making a strong push. I'll have the update this afternoon. 2) I don't have any...
By Josh Barr | February 2, 2007; 6:39 AM ET | Comments (0)
Top Recruit Gets Snowed Out!
Forestville All-Met LB Devonte Campbell was all set to announce his college choice this afternoon at school, but had to postpone until tomorrow because Prince George's County cancelled all after-school activities. In other football news, Woodberry Forest lineman Jake Marcey of Gainesville committed to William & Mary. Gaithersburg Coach Kreg...
By Josh Barr | February 1, 2007; 3:55 PM ET | Comments (3)
Austin Says He's Going to....
Wait until the last minute before making a decision. Marvin Austin spent Tuesday night hosting USC Coach Pete Carroll. Last night it was Florida State's Bobby Bowden. North Carolina associate head coach John Blake is scheduled to come to town today to chat up the All-Met Defensive Player of the...
By Josh Barr | February 1, 2007; 9:42 AM ET | Comments (0)
