Jim Quinn is the best local high school basketball reporter and he tells us more than we ever wanted to know about the recent Charlie Weber tournament. Jim did this as a favor to MDVarsity and we greatly appreciate the chance to showcase his work...

MDVarsity.Com was at the University of Maryland over the weekend to see the annual Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament. As always, it was a tremendous opportunity to see a lot of the D.C. area's top high school players. And to interview some of the players to discuss how their prep teams look for the coming season and how their respective recruitments are going.

Below are some of our observations and excerpts from interviews that we conducted:

- ANTHONY IVORY (6'9" 290 pounds; senior at the D.C. Mariott Charter School)..... It was great to see Anthony out on the floor playing with the D.C. Hawks AAU Team. Anthony had been sidelined for the better part of a year with painful and debilitating stress fractures in his lower leg. Anthony played in only two games during the 2002-2003 season while attending National Christian Academy (NCA). We saw Anthony play at last year's Weber with an NCA team, but, shortly thereafter he hurt his leg and missed most of the regular season.

Ivory transferred to Springbrook HS in Montgomery County last spring after his family moved from Hyattsville to Silver Spring, MD.

Springbrook Coach Keith Adams was very high on Anthony and had hoped he would be a key part of a Blue Devil 2003-2004 Maryland 4A Title run, but, late this summer it was determined that Ivory had exhausted his Maryland public school eligibility.

"Anthony never played a game for us (Springbrook), but he was an asset to our school community last spring,” Adams told MDVarsity.Com last summer. "Anthony did great in school, he carried a "B" average, and he was a very positive influence in the school. We really had high hopes for him as a player, but we were just as sorry to lose him as a person as we were to lose him as a player. Even after he was found ineligible, he wanted to stay here for his senior year, but I told him that he couldn't afford to sit out this year since he had missed most of last year with his leg injury. He needed to play to get in shape and get his game back."

Although Ivory had not yet picked his final high school destination, in July he made a college commitment to Providence in the Big East.

Anthony told us in July that he planned on transferring to Southern Maryland Christian Academy in Waldorf, Maryland. Ivory's Godfather lives in Waldorf and he was going to live with him. Later this summer, however, Ivory decided to opt for the Marriott School, a D.C. Charter School. "This school worked out great for me,” Ivory told us in an interview at the Maryland Armory on Saturday. "It is located near the MCI Arena and Chinatown, so I just take the Metro in from Silver Spring. This way, I get to spend this

year living with my mom and my family up here, after all. I like the school, we got some nice players and we are going to play a good schedule."

Because he has encountered difficulties with his conditioning, his academics, injuries, and multiple transfers during his high school career, some recruiting experts were skeptical that Providence took such an early commitment from Ivory. However, Ivory seems to be on the right path to getting ready for college. In addition to righting his academic situation while at Springbrook, Ivory was able to drop between 30-40 pounds last year- even though he was inactive with an injury (he had gotten up to 330 pounds

as a junior at NCA). We have always found Ivory to be a very polite, articulate, and engaging young man. He told us Saturday that he fully expects to be academically qualified and on the Providence campus next fall.

"I'm really excited about getting up there. My leg is starting to really heal up, I'm feeling better. I still need to get in better shape, but I think I'll be ready for college next year."

Ivory did not get a lot of varsity playing time while at NCA, so his actual abilities are still a mystery to many prep hoops followers. One person who will testify to Ivory's potential is Gonzaga senior forward Antwan Harrison, his former AAU teammate with D.C. Team Assualt. Harrison recently told MDVarsity.Com, "Anthony is a very talented player. When he is healthy and in shape, he can play with anyone. For example, people would not believe what a skilled passer he is, and he can shoot the ball too. He hasn't

played much (in high school), but I saw what he can do when we played AAU together. I've known Anthony since middle school, he is a good guy and a good player."

The Marriott School has also enrolled another somewhat enigmatic (and nomadic) local big man in 6'9' forward/center Jerome Habel, formerly of Paint Branch and Walt Whitman High Schools in Montgomery County. Habel, who was a first team All-County and All-Met choice as a senior last year, played in the Capital Classic last Spring, but is taking a post-grad year at Marriott. He was previously rumored to be headed to either Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia or Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina.

Habel has long told local reporters of his intent to major in Marine Biology and to his desire to attend college in Florida. Recent reports indicate that Habel, an extraordinary athletic lefthander with excellent shot-blocking skills, is getting interest from both Florida and Florida State.

BRANDON GILES (5'9" 150 pounds; senior point guard at Magruder HS)...

Brandon did not play at the Weber Tournament, but we ran into the outstanding Magruder point guard and his father, Tony Giles, at the Armory as they caught a few games.

Brandon is a quick, cerebral floor leader who has a great three point shot and runs Coach Dan Harwood's motion offense to perfection. Giles was a First Team All-County choice last year and has helped the Colonels to two straight Maryland 4A "Final Four" appearances. Brandon was on the Magruder JV as a freshman when the Isaiah Swann-led Colonels won the Maryland 4A Title in 2001.

Though slight of build, Giles is mentally and physically tough. He had a great summer for the Colonels in the Montgomery County Recreation League and in The Rock league at High Point HS. We were particularly impressed with his performances in wins over WCAC opponents Good Counsel and Gonzaga this summer. Giles is an excellent student and is getting Ivy League interest. When we talked Saturday, Brandon and his dad told us that he has visited Boston University and Harvard University this fall.

JEFF GREEN (6'8" senior forward; Northwestern HS)/Jannick Freese (6'9" junior center; Northwestern HS)

We saw the Northwestern team play on Saturday afternoon at the Armory. They were entered into the Tournament as "Maryland Blue".

Green, who averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks as a junior, is an extremely athletic and skilled forward who has developed into one of the top prospects in the D.C. area. We saw him play numerous times at The Rock this Summer where he won the MVP award in both the Championship Game and the And l Star Game. As we have noted in prior reports, Green runs extremely well for a frontcourt player and has legitimate three-point range on his jump shot. Green had previously told us that he wants to play small forward, rather than power forward, in college. Northwestern Coach Tony Dickens has told us that he hopes to play Green at both small forward and, possibly, shooting guard this year as a senior !

Green had publicly stated that Maryland was his favorite school, but the Terrapins never offered him a scholarship and had contacted him and his family only intermittingly during the summer and fall. Green publicly verbally committed to Georgetown University on Friday. On Saturday after the Maryland Blue game, Jeff told us that he had committed to Georgetown, "... earlier this week. I'm glad I 've reached my decision,

Georgetown is a great academic school and it's close to home. Also, I have a chance to play a lot right away at either forward. We are getting a good class together with (7'2" Georgetown Prep center) Roy Hibbert and some other guys."

We've seen Green play a number of times and we love his athleticism, skills, and competitiveness. There is a strong likelihood that he might be the top senior in the D.C. area this year. However, after interviewing Jeff face-to-face, we now believe that he is probably closer to 6'6" than his listed height of 6'8".

Ron Bailey, a correspondent with HOYAS REPORT.COM, interviewed Green at

the same time and he told us that, " I think Jeff Green is only 6'5" or 6'6", definitely NOT 6'8". He'll probably be a small forward or a shooting guard at the Big East level."

Regardless of Green's true height (and, as he just turned 17 years old he might still be growing), he is a terrfic baketball player and this is a major local recruiting pick-up for a Georgetown program that has been struggling in recent years.

We got our first look at Northwestern's German foreign exchange student Jannick Freese. The big center (he looked every bit the 6'9" 230-240 pounds that Coach Dickens told us that he is), is classified as a junior. He didn't play a lot in the Maryland Blue game we saw Saturday, but he did show a decent shooting touch and he certainly has some size. It looks as if he might need to get used to the speed and athleticism that he'll be seeing in the Prince George's 4A League. As we have noted previously, Freese has been impressing some opposing prep players in Northwestern open gym pick-up

games, so he certainly is a player worth watching. We spoke to Jannick briefly and he told us that he was looking forward to playing basketball and attending school in America this year. (As an aside, in this era of young athletes wearing "retro" shoes, jerseys,

hair styles, etc., Freese has adopted the "long hair pulled back by headband look" worn by Duke centers Christian Laettner and Cherokee Parks in the early 1990's !)

JAMES GIST (6'7" 220 pound center; Good Counsel High School)

We saw Maryland recruit James Gist play twice at the Weber. On Friday night, the

D.C, Blue Devils lost to the West Philly Bulldogs 67-54 despite a 12 point,

5 rebound, 6 block performance by Gist. James only took 8 field goal

attempts, mostly off of offensive follow-ups, as the very young Blue Devil

guards (Isaiah Swann, Marcus Ginyard, and Eric Price did not play for the

Blue Devils in this Tournament) failed to get him the ball. The next day,

the Blue Devils lost to Chesterfied (Virginia), 61-58, despite 18 points by

Gist.

On Friday night at the Armory, James' future Maryland teammates Chris McCray

(a former Blue Devil himself), Eke Ibekwe, and D.J. Strawberry all sat

courtside to watch Gist. A large contingent of Maryland fans also showed-up at the Armpory, both on Friday and Saturday, to see Gist play.

RUDY GAY (6'8" 215 pound forward; Archbishop Spalding)

Rudy Gay and his Cecil Kirk AAU Team drew the biggest crowds of the Tournament and probably deservedly so, as Gay was likely the best, and certainly the most talented, player in a large field of great players. His Friday night performance in a 63-50 win over the Woodbridge Hawks was as scintillating as the line score suggests: 24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks, 2 steals, 3 assists. He hit 10 of 16 field goal attempts, 1 of 2 three pointers. Rudy also threw down five show-stopping dunks that brought the crowd to its feet.

In a second round Weber game at the Armory, Rudy only played about half of

the game do to a minor hand injury, but still scored 13 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and blocked 6 shots. He converted two crushing "alley-oop" dunks and hit 3 of 4 three point field goal attempts. Cecil Kirk made short order of the tenacious but over-matched Philly Heat team, 74-40.

Needless to say, there was enormous courtside speculation at all of the Cecil Kirk games as to whether the University of Maryland might be able to out-duel Connecticut for Rudy Gay's services in what is shaping-up as one of the most important (and most watched) recruiting battles in the country this year. The fervor of the Terp fans could have only been greater fueled by Rudy's performances on the College Park Campus this weekend. Maryland fans are hoping that a Midnight Madness official visit by the Spalding star might stem UCONN's seeming advantage in this recruiting war.

CHRIS DARNELL (6'8 190 pound small forward; North Stafford HS)

We've been hearing a lot about Chris, a standout on the Blue Devil's 16 & Under team, but with North Stafford being in Stafford County, Virginia, we had not seen him play in person until the Weber Tournament. He was the Blue Devil's leading scorer with 17 points in their opening night loss to the West Philly Bulldogs.

Darnell looks and plays a lot like former former Maryland/Notre Dame small forward Danny Miller when Miller was an outstanding prep player in New Jersey. Chris has legitimate DEEP three point shooting range and is a slick passer with a nice handle. He is slender, but has deceptive quickness and hops and is a good offensive rebounder. We didn't get a chance to talk to Chris, but we did speak to his father, Mike Darnell, who is the head basketball coach at Liberty High School in Faquier County. Mike told us

that his son averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds as a sophomore at North Stafford. Chris is already hearing from schools like Ohio State, Clemson, Penn State, and Louisville. He figures to be one of the D.C. Area's best in 2005.