Greg Whittington talks Georgetown commitment
Jon Browne went to bed early Sunday, weary from attending a St. Patrick's Day parade and seeking a good night's rest before another day of school at Oakland Mills.
When the Scorpions coach awoke to seven missed calls and several text messages, he thought, “what in the world happened last night?”
Browne quickly discovered what all the fuss was about. Greg Whittington, who led Oakland Mills to a 25-1 season, made an earlier-than-expected commitment, picking Georgetown over Clemson, DePaul, Maryland and Texas.
“I just realized that Georgetown was the best fit for me, so I might as well just commit now,” Whittington said. “I’ll be able to see the world at Georgetown, too.”
Said Browne: “I never thought in a million years he would commit on the visit without having gone anywhere and without sitting and weighing his options. Not in a million years would that happen. I was just as surprised as anyone. But at the end, I’m very, very happy for Greg and his family.”
Whittington was an unknown prospect nationally before leading his Howard County-based AAU team – HCYP Elite – to a third-place finish at the AAU Nationals in Orlando last July. Clemson and Maryland were among the high-major programs that began to express interest in Whittington after his AAU performance, but it wasn’t until this winter with Oakland Mills that the 6-foot-9, 210-pound senior became one of the most wanted recruits in the country.
HCYP Elite coach Bill Napolitano knew it was just a matter of time before high-major programs picked up their pursuit of Whittington.
“I think he’s like a Kevin Durant-type player – a big kid who can shoot and handle the ball,” Napolitano said. “He’s athletic, he’s quick and he’s fast. He’s not a big, slow, uncoordinated kid. He’s kind of like a guard who kept growing, but stayed coordinated and skilled. I think he’s the kind of kid that fits in anyone’s program. A skilled 6-9 kid, it’s a rare commodity.”
While Browne had intended to accompany Whittington on visits to Clemson, DePaul and Texas, the Oakland Mills coach had some inkling that his star player harbored some desire to stay close to home. Maryland assistant coach Bino Ranson recruited Whittington harder than anyone, according to Browne. But save for attending a couple of Maryland games, Whittington never toured the College Park campus. “He was just not interested in going at all,” Napolitano said.
Browne said Georgetown started recruiting Whittington later in the process, but Hoyas coach John Thompson III put the “full-court press” on him immediately, checking out several Oakland Mills games.
“It was a good feeling to know that there was a top-notch coach in the stands coming to watch me play,” Whittington said. “Bringing the whole coaching staff to the basketball game, that really got them over the top.”
Browne thinks Whittington’s skill set makes him a good fit for just about any offensive system. The future Hoya’s “basketball IQ is off the charts,” and Browne expects him to realize his potential under Thompson’s tutelage.
“X’s and O’s are never going to be a problem for Greg Whittington,” Browne said. “There’s no system he can’t work in. I think Coach Thompson and his staff are going to do a wonderful job developing his talent. For a guy like Greg, the sky’s the limit.”
Comments
That was all I needed to hear... "just not interested in going at all." cause he's got too much brain for MD!
Ok all you Gary defenders (I'm no basher but I am certainly not a lover) out there if this doesn't get you going then what does? This kid never thought about going to MD and that is a crime against Terpmanity!
You want coach suggestions how about anyone that ever sat on Coach K's bench cause they have first hand knowledge how it's supposed to be done!
Posted by: ArdmoreAri | March 14, 2011 11:25 PM
I'll defend Gary's coaching skills and I'll be forever grateful for what he did to resurrect the program, but his arrogance over nearly the last decade has turned this program into an also-ran. This is another example. You bring in a guy to recruit, he's on Whittington before anyone else and you still can't close the deal. While Thompson is taking his whole coaching staff to games, Gary makes his first appearance a couple weeks before the guy commits? Little late to the party GW. Gary has never adapted to modern day recruiting and never will. It's like he expects the recruits to beg to play for him. We will unfortunately never land heralded local recruits while Gary is at the helm, he has a local rap that isn't good. We think this year was bad? I'll be shocked if Jordan Williams comes back even though I think he needs more work to be truly NBA ready. He leaves and you have no post presence. Padgett has no offensive skills, Weiss is fragile and the freshmen Breunig looks more like a hybrid-wing player. Our backcourt is about to be more crowded than the Wilson Bridge. I hope Gary bows out at the end of his contract and give him a proper sendoff. After honoring and celebrating all he has done, we close the book and move on.
Posted by: Tenn Terp | March 14, 2011 11:47 PM
...and Gary Williams loses another local recruit............
Posted by: Eastside Jim | March 15, 2011 12:44 AM
joke.
All of this mess on the heels of 2 final 4's. Who blows that kind of action?
I'll tell you. Arrogant, pretentious, deluded people. GW.
Posted by: Ryan | March 15, 2011 2:48 AM
GW strikes out AGAIN!
Posted by: DarNel | March 15, 2011 7:50 AM
GARY...WAKE UP!!! “It was a good feeling to know that there was a top-notch coach in the stands coming to watch me play,” Whittington said. “Bringing the whole coaching staff to the basketball game, that really got them over the top.” You are making UMD basketball irrelevant. Please start working to recruit or leave.
Posted by: TerpDoc | March 15, 2011 8:19 AM
"Just not interested in going at all" to Maryland. Those who want to harp on Gary for not getting guys, read those words. He didn't want to tour the campus, even though Bino, a great recruiter, recruited him hardest.
I sincerely hope Kevin Anderson doesn't have mind to can Gary too. Maryland may be talent-rich, but most of the local players want to go away to school and even DC is more of a draw than CP.
Posted by: David | March 15, 2011 8:53 AM
David, that is the whole problem. If a kid grows up here he should want to play here or Gtown minus the Dukes and UNCs and Kansas and maybe swine loving Ktucky.
Who cares about visiting the campus. Trust me he has before but so there was another reason he had his mind made up long be foe Bino ever stepped foot in his gym.
Poor Bino on a fools errand the whole time.
Posted by: ArdmoreAri | March 15, 2011 9:32 AM
Thank you, David, for your ability to read. Ryan, and others, could take a lesson from you. Aside from our collective knowledge that Williams allegedly had neither spoken to Whittington nor attended one of his games until late this season, no one on this blog has any idea whatsoever of the effort or time Maryland put into recruiting him. To simply conclude that Williams "blew it" with Whittington, or any other specific recruit, is sheer arrogance and delusion.
You cannot "lose" something that you never had. For people to presume that any given recruit, because of geographic proximity, is somehow the property of Maryland is an obscene stance. While, understandibly, local recruits are automatically linked to Maryland and it is certainly fair (and fun) to speculate upon such a recruit's potential configuration on the Terps' roster, it is entirely presumptuous to place them on the team and then apportion "blame" when an 18 year old decides to go elsewhere. There are simply too many "moving parts" to the recruiting equation to pinpoint a failure on any single facet such as Williams' failure to visit a recruit.
With that said, it'll be interesting to follow Bruenig's and Whittington's development to see which one ends up contributing more to his respective program. Both play a similar position. From what little video I've seen for each of them, not surprisingly, it appears that, at this point, Bruenig may be slightly better inside while Whittington is better outside. Clearly, Maryland presently needs more help on the interior, so Bruenig's recruitment seemingly makes more immediate sense. Understanding that Whittington "blew up" at last summer's AAUs, just how much of his subsequent HS production was based upon his talent versus the inferior competition (I am fully aware of this as I went to high school in Howard County) will be something to monitor. Terps' fans can readliy understand this potential spectrum: i.e., Jordan Williams v. Michael Parker. Early comparisons of Whittington to Durant may not be entirely fair to him.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | March 15, 2011 10:22 AM
Hey look I understand that the young man wants to go to GT but look who gets the short end of the stick. GT hasn't won jack since Ewing and John Thompson can recruit but he has a lot to learn about coaching. His big men are no shock when it comes to the NBA draft but they he doesn't make them any better. I have seen Greg play and he looks dominant against lesser talent but he's a big man who doesn't like to get fouled and seems at times lazy on defense and in MD's system that will not cut it. What MD needs is a banger a bonifide linebacker type this is my house(AKA Boom) banger. I don't know if there is one kid out there right now that is like that but if you have to go the Juco route to get what you need there is no shame in that.
Posted by: Big Will | March 15, 2011 10:31 AM
The whole argument that local players don't want to stay close to to home is total BS! It's an excuse. Player's from the city of Baltimore, PG county, and DC don't yearn to go to Chapel Hill, Durham, Blacksburg, and Austin...Point in case is Whittington. College Park is basically 10 mins from DC and the kid never even considered Maryland! He is going to Georgetown. Location has NOTHING to do with it. The argument is idiotic! Bottomline is Gary Williams is not capable of getting top notch talent to the University of Maryland
Posted by: Noah | March 15, 2011 10:55 AM
hey noah, dumb statement re top notch talent....tell that to j williams, stoglin and howard ... along with the 4 or 5 other top talent coming to md next year.
if you are the best we can do in terms of "talented fans"... we're in trouble - only happy in good times.
give ryan a call ... you two seem to have a lot in common. you two get the "dope award" ... now play nice and share it with your new (only) bud.
Posted by: pepper | March 15, 2011 12:21 PM
If he wasn't interested in MD at all, then why string them along in their recruitment? Why didn't he just tell Bino something like " I appreciate that you are recruiting me, but I doesn't matter how hard you recruit me, I don't want to go to Maryland", end of story. But then that would have been one less person telling him how great he is; one less person fawning over his abilities; one less person telling him what he wants to hear.
Instead of wasting his time on this punk, Bino could have been working harder on Desmond Hubert.
Greg, if you want to be treated like a mand then be a man and tell people the truth.
Posted by: Its all Greg Whittingtons fault | March 15, 2011 12:31 PM
You cannot land every prospect in your area. Ask Stoglin why he did not choose Arizona or Jordan why he did not choose Syracuse. Also, as is well known, there also is a GPA to consider.
Posted by: Bob C | March 15, 2011 1:13 PM
Nick Faust says hello to you haters. Local guy with a much better game than whittington will be here playing the same position. But I hear we should just recruit wings because thats all we need.
Posted by: josh | March 15, 2011 1:46 PM
I'm a HUGE MD fan and I'd love for Gary to sign the best talent in the area, but I'm not sure why some people think that MD has a right to, or should sign, every D1 caliber recruit in the area. This kid is a perfect example of why some things are out of Gary's hands re: recruiting - this kid obviously wanted to go to Georgetown, and it's not like GTown is Towson or something - they are a better academic institution than MD, play in a better conference than MD, and have a nicer campus for starters. Plus, they're ranked higher and have been putting more players in the league over the last decade. Chill out people, MD has a GREAT class coming in next year and the best in Gary's tenure IMO.
Posted by: Matt | March 15, 2011 3:28 PM
In this case, I definite will pick Mercedes-Benz over Chevy, if you have see the video of both players.
Good Job, Gary.
Posted by: CHL | March 15, 2011 4:31 PM
I don't care where the recruits are from, I just want to see Gary acquire some better talent. Some way, some how. It just doesn't seem he is capable of late...
Posted by: Tenn Terp | March 15, 2011 10:56 PM
For all you Gary haters: I've seen him play, and know lots about him. He'll be at Coppin in two years.
Posted by: yertle | March 17, 2011 9:54 PM