What was my first impression of D.C. United’s selections in the 2009 draft? Mission accomplished, it would be difficult not to think, considering the selection of two defenders (Rodney Wallace (Maryland/Bullis) and Lyle Adams (Wake Forest)), two rated attacking players (Chris Pontius (UCSB) and Brandon Barklage (St. Louis)) and a decent goalkeeper (Milos Kocic (Loyola)).
(By the way, I can’t go any further without commenting on Bruce Arena picking Maryland’s two starting center backs, Omar Gonzalez and A.J. Delagarza. So what we’re saying is, Maryland’s starting back line in 2008 was better than the L.A. Galaxy’s back line in 2008? Absolutely.)
Wallace is a great pickup. I’ve had people say to me that he was the most pro-ready of Maryland’s five players in the draft, including Gonzalez.
Pontius we know less about simply because he spent his college career on the West Coast, but he will be measured against a bunch of guys that United declined to choose with that seventh pick. There certainly will be plenty of eyes on how Kevin Alston (Indiana/Silver Spring, Md.) and Jeremy Hall (Maryland) do this season, as both are players that are known in Washington.
Also, the addition of Kocic made it clear that is clear that United preferred Pontius, and preferred Kocic over Cal’s Stefan Frei, who was unquestionably the top goalkeeping prospect available. It also puts the pressure on James Thorpe and Zach Wells, even Louis Crayton, to some extent. But mostly the first two.
We’ll withhold judgment just yet on Adams and Barklage.
