Me: After an outstanding year, you have chosen to attend William & Mary in VA for Fall 2011, what was the reason behind that choice?

MT : Well they recruited me the most, showed me the most love from the schools I visited and when I went down to the campus, they had a great campus. Nice size campus. I got to shoot around with some of the current players, which was nice and the academics of the school were great as well. That was really important to me.

Me: Did you turn down any larger schools for W&M?

MT: Not really, when the time I committed, they were one of the bigger schools. It wasn’t until later in my senior year that larger schools started to show some interest so I didn’t really turn down anyone.

Me: With that impressive senior year, how do you feel about a lot of players from the DMV area not getting recruited earlier until later on in their senior year?

MT: It is what it is, I knew coming to my senior year that I wasn’t heavily recruited but you just have to live with it. That’s the way it is. I just have to work out and keep getting better, improving my game. I kept my mind straight and stay focused and it worked out for me.

Me: Speaking of working out, what improvements are you looking to do this summer into the next season.

MT: Anything and everything dealing with basketball but mostly my strength at this point. I’ll getting in the weight room and putting on the right weight to build me up. But other then that improving on my shooting, ball handling and agility.

Me: I know that you and your trainer have been working on your game, what is the most important thing you guys have been working on.

MT: The elevation on my shot, I think that’s a big reason why I score as well as I do and again just balling handling skills.   

Me: Now you picked a college that is in VA and with the recent success of VA schools in the bracket including VCU, George Mason and Richmond, what are you hoping to bring that same success to W&M?

 MT: Oh yeah, hopefully next year I get a chance to come in and make a big impact with the W&M. Being able to help my team get to that tournament and get those type of accomplishments.  

Me: Thank you Marcus for you time and best of luck to you in the upcoming school year.

MT: Anytime, Thank you 

Ex Georgetown Hoya and current Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert brings us the DMV highlight of the week.  Last night Roy violently denied Golden State’s David Lee in the paint as he tried to give him a dunk face.  Hibbert’s hard work as an NBA pro has clearly showed off not only in weight room but also improving his points, rebounds, and blocks this season.

Just seen on the NFL Network and corroborated by the Twitterverse, which of course doesn’t lie.

Due around $8 million this upcoming salary, Shanahan decided go ahead and end the anticipation.  Clinton has been released by the Skins to the surprise of no fans considering his price and relationship with Big Shanahan.  CP’s production had taken a significant drop over the last two years because of injuries but his career numbers and overall value for the Skins should not be understated.

Honestly, Portis will probably be remembered as one of the many Skins players who were not used correctly by any of his coaching staffs, which unfortunately led to him never reaching his maximum potential.

More on this later.

A week before the All-Star break, the stars had finally aligned for the Wizards.  The Cleveland Cavs had come off an emotional, dramatic overtime win a couple nights before to snap their NBA-record losing streak.  No way the Cavs could muster enough energy to win two in a row right?

Right.

The Wizards were able to capitalize on the Cavs and finally get a W on the road to end their losing streak at 25 games.  Nick Young dropped 31 points, shooting 14 of 21, and John Wall recorded another double-double with 19 points and 14 assists.  With Orlando coming up on Wednesday for the last game before the break, can the Wiz start a winning streak?

Could be highly unlikely, but at least Chick Hernandez got a chance to stop trying to be like Nick Young and cut his hair.

Arguably most legendary and notorious shotmaker ever to grace the hardwood at the Comcast Center (not Cole Field House) will have his number put into the rafters.  Greivis Vasquez, now currently with the Memphis Grizzlies, will be the honored on Feb. 20 when the Terps face NC State.

Known for pumping up the crowd Hulk Hogan style after big shots or even hilarious nights at Cornerstone, Greivis was truly a fan favorite around College Park and his services are obviously missed this season.  Expect a big turn out on the 20th and what should be an even bigger performance by the Terps because they can’t afford to lose any more conference games.

Dematha had their much anticipated rematach against McNamara last night at the showplace arena in Upper Marlboro, MD. With no pun intended it sure turned out to be a show.

The Mustangs of McNamara came out charged up rallying behind star player Marcus Thornton who couldn’t seem to miss a basket in the first half. He led his team to an 35-21 lead over the Stags at the half. Thornton finished with 25 points on the night.

While it may have seemed like the Dematha was defeated Coach Mike Jones must’ve told his team the importance of defense and down low presence because they came out with a different mindset following intermission. Sophomore BeeJay Anya and Georgetown-bound senior Mikael Hopkins dominated the glass turned it into a block party in the 2nd half accounting for 5 combined.

This made it difficult for the Mustangs to keep the lead and it became a close ball game. After a failed attempt from McNamara to close the game with 3 seconds left on the clock, Coach Jones drew up a two part play to get the ball in the basket before the buzzer by junior Marcellous Bell. The Final score was 56-54.

This was an important win for Dematha who have lost 5 of the last 10 games. As for McNamara, they go on to 19-5 and have lost 2 of the last 3.

• Baltimore standout Freshman Josh Selby is still trying to find his role with the Kansas Jayhawks. He is averaging 12 points per game but missed last game due to a foot injury that has bothered him.

• It’s hasn’t been as easy as Will Barton thought with a team full of Freshman in Memphis. The Tigers have lost 2 of the last 3 to non-ranked competition. Will is doing what he can leading his team in points avg. 13 ppg and 5 rebounds. Antonio is only averaging 8 ppg but has been a solid contribution off the bench.

• The WCAC Hoyas have won six straight led by Austin Freeman and Chris Wright in the Big East. Tonight they face rival Syracuse on ESPN.

• North Carolina Tar Heel and 2010 All-Met guard Kendall Marshall has made a name for himself during his Freshman year.  He has taken over the starting PG role and already set the school record for assist recording 16 assist last game against Florida St.

• There has been a rumor around the net indicating that K-State quitter Wally Judge wants to play in College Park, MD as a Terrapin. Stay Tuned!

• Virginia Tech senior Jeff Allen had a career game in a lost against Boston College recording 25 points and 19 rebounds in the outing.

Too bad just like that the clips over and back to reality that the Wizards are stinkin the joint up!

• Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant has been scorching hot averaging 41 points and 12 rebounds in the last four games. He’s scored 40 in three of those four.

• Memphis Grizzlies Sam Young has done a great job filling the role of an absent O.J Mayo. He had 18 points last night against Beasley’s Boys in the twin cities.

• Former Georgetown Alum Greg Monroe has been selected to participate in the Rookie/Sophomore game during all-star weekend. Teammate Dajuan Summers…Na!

• Coach George Carl says that Carmelo Anthony will NOT be traded before the deadline and will remain a Nugget. Reasons like these are why I support Lebron’s decision.

On Wednesday night in the Big Atlantic Classic in Beckley, West Virginia two top ranked teams faced off. It was unbeaten top ranked Montrose Christian against the famed also ranked Oak Hill Academy who has only two losses on the year. In what was framed to be an epic battle between two great programs it turned out to be just that.

At halftime it looked as if former stag and All-Met player of the year Quinn Cook was going to lead Oak hill to victory and deliver Montrose their first lost of the season. The Mustangs of Montrose were trailing 36-26 going into intermission but they weren’t ready to give up just yet.

A Junior by the name of Michael Carerra willed his team back to victory and scored the game-tying basket to take it into the games first overtime at  55-55 with three seconds left. He wasn’t done yet because he repeated the process again tying the ball game at 58 in overtime with seconds left to keep the game going.

Carrera finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds finishing off Oak Hill in the games second OT 70-62. This win improved the Mustangs record to 16-0. Quinn Cook did what he could but it wasn’t enough finishing with 18 points for Oak Hill.

“It’s a great game between two of the perennial national teams, Over the years we’ve had great games. It’s a very good win for our program.” Montrose Coach Stu Vetter said after the win.

Earlier today, the state’s biggest recruit out of Dematha declared that he would be going to Auburn next season.  One problem.  He didn’t sign his Letter of Intent to join the school shortly after.  Apparently, the offensive lineman is having second thoughts about going to this particular SEC school in Alabama.  We’ll see what he ultimately decides to do as the days go by.

It didn’t take long for Head Coach Mike London to get the Cavaliers off in the right direction.  London was able to land kids not only throughout Virginia but in Maryland as well in his first full recruiting season.  Four star athletes like Demetrious Nicholson and Dominique Terrell were highly recruited Virginia natives as well as Maryland natives Brandon Phelps (Damascus HS), Darius Jennings (Gilman HS), and Vincent Croce (Good Counsel).

Virginia’s recruiting class was ranked 25th in the overall by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.  Unfortunately, their neighbors (and dare I say rivals??) in Terpland could not match their success this year with the coaching transition still in full effect.

In the first month Wizards top draft pick John Wall has played in every game he managed to bring home the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award.

Wall averaged 13.9 ppg and 10.5 ast and recorded 10 double-doubles in 16 games.

For the actual Wizards team the numbers weren’t as impressive finishing a dismal 5-11 and STILL zero wins outside of chinatown.

After a dismal start to Big East play the Georgetown Hoyas have regained there confidence and are now on a 5 game winning streak which is the best in the conference.

The last two victories came against two ranked teams in Villanova and tonight versus Louisville. These wins has helped the Hoyas climb back up the polls in the nations toughest conference. The victory tonight came by the stellar play of point guard Chris Wright who I’ve been most critical about due to the importance of his performance for the team to succeed.

Tonight the kid delivered speeding through the Pitino press leading GTown to 6-4 in the Big East after starting out 1-4. The final score of tonight’s game was 62-59.

DC Assault supposed superstar recruit from Jacksonville, Florida Wally Judge has not lived up to expectations and has decided to leave the Kansas State basketball program.

Never quite living up to his high school hype, he averaged 3.3 points and three rebounds per game during his freshman season at K-State and 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season.

This was the second commit brought to Kansas State by DC native Dalonte Hill who serves as assistant coach for the program. His first product was Michael Beasley who did more than impress in his one year at the university. While its obvious that those aren’t the easiest shoes to fill actually being able to get off the bench and make something happen is a must if your going to rep the famed DC Assault AAU program or area ballers as a whole.

It remains unclear what Wally will do now but he hasn’t sold himself enough as a good basketball player to continue his career at a big institution.

Stay Tuned, I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve heard about this.

This will be Durant’s second straight All-Star appearance but the first time the Oklahoma City Thunder star will be a member of the starting five, which is decided by fan voting. He led all forwards with 1,736,728 votes and trailed only Kobe who was the leading vote getter.

KD won’t be the only beltway boy in the starting lineup. He will be playing alongside BMore’s darling child Carmelo Anthony who just might be playing his last all-star game on the west side of town.

The all-star game will be played in Los Angeles on Feb. 20.

It didn’t take long for former Washington Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn to receive his second pink slip in two years. Zorn was a just a QB Coach but I guess his actions didn’t go unnoticed after one season with the franchise.

The Baltimore Sun reports the firing came after a long meeting between Zorn and Ravens Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Zorn this morning.

I know KD and Beasley lit up the stat sheet and were the talk of last nights hoops but they weren’t the only P.G County product who made Sportscenter this morning.

There was a long awaited Sam Young sighting in Memphis (not Fort Washington) as well that is worth being noted.