There were early hints it was going to be a special year in college basketball for local freshmen. On Nov. 7 at Comcast Center, Dumfries native Eric Hayes started at point guard in his first game for Maryland against Hampton, which started freshman forward Michael Freeman of Alexandria, who had 14 points and six rebounds.
By the last day of January, when Texas freshman phenom Kevin Durant — a Suitland native who spent his senior season at Montrose Christian in Rockville — made it a one-man race for national player of the year with 37 points and 23 rebounds against Texas Tech, the first-ever 30-20 game for a Longhorn, the trend was undeniable.
It’s being called the Year of the Freshman — Durant was on the cover of a recent issue of Sports Illustrated bearing that exact title — and Washington-area players are a big reason why.
“There have been other years in which other great players have come out [of this area],” said legendary former DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten. “But certainly this one would rank up with any of them. There’s no question about that.”
Washington-area players headline five conference all-rookie teams. Three were named conference rookie of the year.
Big East rookie of the year and Villanova freshman point guard Scottie Reynolds, from Herndon, was the second-leading scorer in conference games (18. 4 ppg) and set a record for visiting players at Connecticut’s Gampel Pavilion when he exploded for 40 points in a win over the Huskies on Feb. 28.
An Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention all-rookie choice, Maryland point guard Greivis Vasquez, who spent his junior and senior years of high school at Montrose Christian and was Durant’s teammate for a season, was among the ACC’s best and most influential freshmen over the last six weeks.
Durant could be the most heralded freshman ever. But as the NCAA Tournament takes center stage, he may not advance the furthest. Most pundits believe freshman point guard Tywon Lawson, a Clinton native, and North Carolina are Final Four bound.
“You can go back, one year you had Adrian Dantley — this was before there were McDonald’s All-Americans — Eddie Jordan, and there’s also the Dave Bing and Elgin Baylor eras, if you want to go back far enough,” said Wootten. “There were great periods then, but this is certainly, when you think about the guys that have come out this year.”
And if McDonald’s All-American selections are the barometer, this area may be in the midst of its most talent-rich two-year run ever. In 2006, there were three McDonald’s All-Americans from this area: Durant, Lawson and Reynolds.
This year, five Maryland natives earned the honor: Austin Freeman (DeMatha), Chris Wright (St. John’s), Nolan Smith (Upper Marlboro/Oak Hill), Michael Beasley (Upper Marlboro/Notre Dame Prep, Mass.) and Donte Greene (Towson Catholic). Of this year’s 24 selections, no other state has more than two. That gives this area eight selections in two years; no other major metropolitan area can claim more than four (Los Angeles) in the same span.
“Not only does the area produce quality, it produces quantity, not only for the high major programs, but for all levels,” said George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, whose recruits for next season include Cameron Long (Freedom), Vlad Moldoveanu (St. John’s) and Isaiah Tate (DeMatha).
But after the way local freshmen have shined on the national stage, the bar has been raised.
“This class is almost as good as any,” Wootten said of the area’s current crop of high school seniors. “But it’s the same thing now for them, they’ve got to go prove themselves the way Durant, Lawson and so on have done.”
Freshmania
Washington-area natives to earn All-Rookie honors this season
» Atlantic Coast Conference
Tywon Lawson (Clinton/Oak Hill), North Carolina
» Big 12 Conference
*Kevin Durant (Montrose Christian), Texas
» Big East Conference
*Scottie Reynolds (Herndon), Villanova
Jerome Dyson (Rockville/Proctor Academy, N.H.), Connecticut
» Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
*Mike Freeman (Alexandria/Brewster Academy, N.H.), Hampton
Jason Flagler (Stafford/Potomac, Va.), South Carolina State
» Northeast Conference
Devin Sweetney (Riverdale Baptist), St. Francis
* — Named conference rookie of the year
