Local hoops notebook: Selby to Tennessee; Mount lands Edgewood native
DeMatha point guard and Baltimore native Josh Selby will head south for college.
The 2010 prospect committed to Tennessee on Saturday night, picking the Volunteers over offers from Memphis, Texas, Clemson, Louisville and several others.
“They love the way he plays. They love his heart and his passion for the game,” DeMatha coach Mike Jones said. “I know that’s what they’re looking forward to ... when he gets there.”
Selby played his freshman year at John Carroll before transferring to DeMatha for his sophomore season. He averaged approximately 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game last year, Jones said.
After spending his summer on the AAU circuit with Baltimore-based Team Melo, Selby vaulted up the recruiting rankings. Rivals.com ranks Selby a five-star player and the No. 2 point guard in the country for the class of 2010. Jones said those accolades haven’t gone to Selby’s head.
“He’s a pretty confident kid anyway, so I don’t think any of those things have any effect on him other than him realizing a lot of other players are actually gunning for him now,” Jones said. “But Josh is Josh, so I don’t think anyone telling him he’s good affects how he approaches anything.”
Barber picks Mount
Mount St. Mary’s received its second verbal commitment for the 2009 class last week when Paul VI Catholic power forward Raven Barber offered his pledge.
Barber, 6 feet 8, picked Mount over offers from Robert Morris, Quinnipiac and St. Francis (Pa.) among others.
“Raven really wasn’t on a lot of people’s radar screens, so I’ve got to give credit to [Mount head] coach [Milan] Brown and his staff,” Paul VI head coach Glenn Farello said. “They offered him last August, actually. ... When other folks got interested in spring and summer, [Mount was] ahead of the game.”
Barber spent his first two years of high school at Edgewood, where he still lives. Last year he transferred to Paul VI. He commutes to the Fairfax, Va. school.
Farello said Barber has a college-ready physique that should serve him well at Mount.
“Raven’s got a big frame on him, so physically he’ll be able to play,” Farello said. “He’s long, athletic, can rebound on the block, can step out and shoot from 17 feet. He’s got a nice high-low game to him. He’s a physical presence and does a nice job running the floor. He’s kind of a traditional post in that he can play with his back to the basket and is willing to mix it up under the boards.”
Oquendo lands in North Carolina
Anthony Oquendo, a 2008 St. Frances graduate, will play this season at Laurinburg Prep in North Carolina.
Oquendo, a second-team Baltimore Catholic League selection as a senior, arrived at Laurinburg on Sunday. He said he’s fine academically, but decided to enroll in prep school to develop as a player and receive more recruiting exposure.
“It’s going to be good and worthwhile,” Oquendo said. “I’m going to make the best out of it.”
Baltimore Sun photo of Josh Selby by Christopher T. Assaf / Nov. 24, 2006
Comments
another local talent goes elsewhere. Why wasn't MD on his list?
Posted by: Luke Skywalker | September 23, 2008 11:57 AM
Luke -- Just not much mutual interest between parties, for whatever reason. It looks like Isiah Epps from N.J. is Maryland's top point guard target.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | September 23, 2008 2:17 PM
At least being in the SEC, Terp fans will not have to constantly hear about him or his exploits and lament upon how he was "another one who got away." I just hope Williams is right on his focus upon and successful in securing Epps' and the Terps' other 2010 targets' commitments.
Is there any particular feel for the Terps' potential 2009 recruits? I realize that the 2009 scholarship situation got muddied up with the transfers, et al., but even after losing Dante Taylor, I get the feeling the Terps are doing double-duty in their efforts to secure a projected "impact" 4 or 5-type player like Jordan Williams or James Padgett. Assuming it's even fair to either classify them as such and/or compare recruits, how do such alternative players "stack up" against Taylor? I get the impression that Williams possesses much of the same skill set as Taylor and has sort of "blown up," similar to Taylor before him, but only more recently and later in the recruiting process.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | September 24, 2008 3:45 PM
Terp'nTexas -- I think you sum up the situation pretty well. Taylor's a borderline McDonald's guy, so he's kind of at a different level. But Williams can probably be projected as a multi-year starter, so he'd be a big get for UM. His stock definitely rose significantly over the latter part of the summer.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | September 24, 2008 4:05 PM