Old Mill guard Eric Savage on Div. I radar
The basketball resume of Old Mill point guard Eric Savage reads something like this:
Three-year starter. Anne Arundel County champion. Member of the state Class 4A runner-up Patriots. Valuable rotation player for the Baltimore Assault AAU team.
Savage enters his fourth and final varsity season as one of Anne Arundel County’s most accomplished players. Patriots coach Greg Smith has been impressed with Savage’s potential from Day One.
“Well initially we thought, obviously, he was a very talented basketball player,” Smith said. “He started as a freshman on a team that was a pretty good basketball team. We got beat in the regional finals, won a county championship, but coming in you could just tell his jump shot was a more pure jump shot than I’ve seen in many kids, especially at that age. He has unique skills that make him a special basketball player.”
During his early playing days, Savage was one of the biggest players on the court. As an 11-year-old approaching 6 feet, Savage was a post player with a back-to-the-basket game. When it became apparent that Savage was done growing at 6-1, 185 pounds, he changed his style of play.
“My AAU coach told me, ‘You’re going to be a point guard with the size you are now. You’re the size of a DI point guard.’ So it was a big transition, but I had to get through it, so I did,” Savage said.
The transition from post player to guard was a successful one, as Savage led the Patriots to Comcast Center as a junior while averaging about “14 points, five rebounds [and] three assists.” Two summers spent running the point with Baltimore Assault on the AAU circuit have put him on the radar of several Division I and II programs.
“I have nothing set in stone,” Savage said. “But I get letters in the mail every day -- Quinnipiac, Maryland Eastern Shore, Bowie State, Gannon University, that’s a really good DII school. My first official visit was to Widener, a DII school. And Franklin & Marshall, they’ve been recruiting me. That’s a DIII school with a really nice campus.”
Smith said he sees Savage as a Division I player who could “develop into an even better basketball player than he is now” at the next level. Savage, meanwhile, would love to go DI but also “wouldn’t mind” going to a DII school. “I just want an opportunity so that my parents don’t have to pay for college,” he said.
Because Savage likely won’t sign during the fall period, Old Mill will probably host its fair share of interested college coaches throughout the 2010-11 season. Savage said he’s ready to perform in the spotlight.
“It’s always a little pressure, but it’s not like it wears on my game,” Savage said. “You’re just going to do what you do. You never know who’s watching.”
Baltimore Sun photo of Eric Savage shooting over Arundel's Auraum Nuiriankh by Sara Lewkowicz / Jan. 15
