Baltimore's Div. I hoops players for 2010-11
Is Baltimore's basketball talent being underrated? In Carlton "Bub" Carrington's opinion, that's definitely the case.
After chatting with the Nike Baltimore Elite coach about Sam Cassell Jr., conversation eventually turned to City shooting guard Nick Faust and his rise from a little-known regional recruit to a nationally renowned high-major talent over the course of four months.
"Nick Faust was always good," Carrington said. "He was always a Top 25 player, but we don't have those national type [of events and recognition]. So he started outside the Top 100 when he should've been in the Top 25 from the start. He still is a way better prospect than 10 other shooting guards that are ranked ahead of him, and the proof is in the pudding.
"You go back to Bootsy Thornton, Juan Dixon, Marcus Hatten. Those guys didn't have numbers next to their names, but they led their teams to championships. Those kids were always good. We just don't have the media spotlight. We're a little bit behind the eight ball."
Carrington said the Baltimore-Washington area, per capita, has more pro players than any area other than Chicago. In other words, the amount of talent exceeds the size of the city.
"You can go from one end of Baltimore to the other," Carrington said. "It takes you 10 minutes to go from Walbrook Junction to [the eastern end of] North Avenue. That's how small Baltimore is. For us to put out that level of talent and have that quality of basketball, it's amazing."
For proof of Carrington's point on the city's amount of talent, look no further than this list of Division I players -- by my count, 66 -- from the Baltimore area. Let me know if there's anyone I missed.
Akron
Chauncey Gilliam, junior guard, Hammond, UMBC transfer
Bryant
Raphael Jordan, sophomore guard, John Carroll
Erick Smith, sophomore guard, John Carroll
Buffalo
Auraum Nuiriankh, freshman forward, Arundel
Charlotte
Jamar Briscoe, sophomore guard, Cardinal Gibbons
Connecticut
Roscoe Smith, freshman forward, Walbrook, Oak Hill (Va.)
Coppin State
Ceslovas Kucinskas, senior center, Mount Carmel
Delaware
Brian Johnson, senior guard, Mount St. Joseph, Winchendon (Mass.) Prep
Devon Saddler, freshman guard, Aberdeen, Winchendon (Mass.) Prep
Delaware State
Brandon Baylor, junior guard, Mount Carmel, CCBC-Catonsville
DePaul
Cleveland Melvin, freshman forward, Lake Clifton, Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)
Brandon Young, freshman guard, Friendship Collegiate (D.C.), Baltimore native
Eastern Illinois
Levi Noel, freshman guard, Towson Catholic
Elon
Ryley Beaumont, freshman forward, Mount St. Joseph
Georgetown
Henry Sims, junior center, Mount St. Joseph
Grambling State
Rupert Rose, sophomore guard, Walbrook
Holy Cross
Devin Brown, junior guard, City
Idaho State
Jakub Kusmieruk, junior center, John Carroll
Kansas
Josh Selby, freshman point guard, Lake Clifton
La Salle
Steve Weingarten, senior forward, Catonsville
Loyola
Jamal Barney, senior guard, Southwestern
Dylon Cormier, freshman point guard, Cardinal Gibbons
Josh Wiegand, sophomore center, John Carroll
Marist
Dejuan Goodwin, junior guard, Mount St. Joseph
Marshall
Johnny Higgins, junior guard, Randallstown, Frank Phillips Junior College (Texas)
Maryland
Dino Gregory, senior forward, Mount St. Joseph
Sean Mosley, junior shooting guard, St. Frances
Massachusetts
Terrell Vinson, sophomore forward, St. Frances
Memphis
Antonio Barton, freshman guard, Lake Clifton, Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)
Will Barton, freshman guard, Lake Clifton, Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Missouri
Kim English, junior guard, Randallstown, Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)
Morgan State
Larry Bastfield, junior point guard, Towson Catholic, Toledo transfer
Aric Brooks, junior small forward, St. Frances, Jacksonville transfer
Justin Jackson, freshman point guard, Digital Harbor
Rodney Stokes, senior forward, Old Mill
Kevin Thompson, junior center, Walbrook
Mount St. Mary's
Raven Barber, sophomore forward, Paul VI, Edgewood native
Notre Dame
Eric Atkins, freshman point guard, Mount St. Joseph
Oklahoma
Andrew Fitzgerald, sophomore forward, Owings Mills, Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Penn State
Jonathan Graham, freshman forward, Calvert Hall
Cammeron Woodyard, junior guard, Winters Mill
Pittsburgh
Aron Nwankwo, freshman forward, City
Quinnipiac
Raheem May-Thompson, sophomore forward, Towson Catholic
Radford
Jeremy Robinson, senior point guard, Northwestern, Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College
Richmond
Wayne Sparrow, freshman guard, St. Frances
Southern
John Tatum, freshman guard, Howard
St. Francis (Pa.)
Anthony Goode, freshman guard, Milford Mill
Stony Brook
Tommy Brenton, junior forward, River Hill
Syracuse
C.J. Fair, freshman forward, City, Brewster (N.H.) Academy
Texas A&M
Naji Hibbert, sophomore guard, DeMatha, Baltimore native
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Terence Jones, sophomore guard, Lake Clifton, Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)
Towson
Braxton Dupree, junior forward, Calvert Hall
Troy Franklin, junior point guard, Mount Carmel
Isaiah Philmore, sophomore forward, John Carroll
Danny Quinn, senior forward, Archbishop Spalding
UMBC
Nick Groce, sophomore point guard, St. Mary's
UMES
Dishawn Bradshaw, junior guard, St. Frances, ASA College (N.Y.)
R.J. Tucker, senior center, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold native
UNC-Wilmington
Shane Reybold, freshman forward, Reservoir
Vermont
Brendan Bald, sophomore shooting guard, Severna Park
Villanova
Isaiah Armwood, sophomore forward, Montrose Christian, Baltimore native
Virginia Tech
Allan Chaney, sophomore forward, New London (Conn.), Baltimore native
Malcolm Delaney, senior guard, Towson Catholic
Wake Forest
Denmore McDermott, senior forward, St. Paul's
William & Mary
Matt Rum, sophomore guard, Loyola
Xavier
Jordan Latham, freshman forward, City
Comments
You forgot George Jackson, Justin Jackson older brother. He plays for Coppin State.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 1, 2010 12:10 AM
Anonymous -- George Jackson is no longer on Coppin's roster. Fang Mitchell has four returning players.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | October 1, 2010 7:18 AM
How about Birdsong at George Mason.
Posted by: Greg | October 8, 2010 8:15 PM