Keep current with the best basketball players in the WCAC heading into next year with exciting video thanks to Ryan McFadden and Inside The Locker Room.
Even though 2015- 2016 WCAC basketball season is a few months away, it’s never too early to break down my top five players in the conference. The WCAC is filled with talented and Division I caliber players so, it took me a lot of thinking to decide who made the cut and where should they be placed. The players on this list is a group of some of the best players in the country. Two players already committed, and the other three are undecided. Schools that are looking at these players are Kentucky, Duke, Maryland, NC State, Arizona, and etc. So without further ado, here is my list of the top five players in the WCAC.
The DeMatha Stags didn’t win the WCAC Tournament in 2015 but they were able to win their first ever Maryland Private School Basketball Championship.
The team is currently in Cumberland, Maryland participating in the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament (#ACIT) that featured three other WCAC schools. However it is DeMatha Catholic High School for Boys vs Saint Johns College High School of Washington DC in the finals that will be played at approximately 8:30 PM, tonight -on Pi (π) day.
The two teams have met three times earlier this season with the Stags besting the Cadets every time. SJC won the DC City Title Game over Gonzaga recently, and the Cadets did it again yesterday afternoon when they eliminated the Purple Eagles in the semi-finals of the ACIT. Mentioning the way that these three teams have all gone after each other in basketball is reminiscent of the old Metro conference and how each school has built upon their historic heyday roots.
We’re talking old school here. Saint Johns College was once an all boys, military school with a penchant for racking up titles and producing dual-sport All Americans before DeMatha even existed. While the history of the little gray line may only be pictured in the hallways the future still looks bright for the Cadets junior point guard sensation Anthony Cowan, Jr. as the University of Maryland’s latest recruit. Saint Johns College has completely reinvented itself with the help of generous alumni and the Cadets are desperate to reclaim their former fame back from DeMatha.
Regardless of the POY award he already received Markelle Fultz knows that the most important shots are ahead of him.
Unless you have been living under a rock, or in Andalusia, you probably already knew that DeMatha will take on Gonzaga this evening (2/26) in the 2015 WCAC Basketball Championship. Coverage begins streaming live with the girls game at 6PM eastern standard time (EST) with the boys to follow at 8PM, courtesy of DMVSTREAM. (See below.) Here is exactly what you need to know in a speedy bullet format:
Don’t be late because the live stream is free, but downloads and videos after-the-fact will cost you.
This is the third match-up of DeMatha versus Gonzaga this year with DeMatha winning the first two contests during the regular season.
DeMatha and Gonzaga also played twice last year with the Stags winning both of those contests as well.
Gonzaga has three First Team All WCAC selections: Bryant Crawford, Chris Lykes, and Sam Miller.
DeMatha has two players named to the First Team All WCAC with Darren Harvey and the 2015 Player of the Year, Markelle Fultz.
Throw the records out of the window because this game is guaranteed to be a dogfight with players from both squads doing their all to win a championship.
Markelle Fultz is the 2015 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
Throw all the stats out of the window. Points per game don’t really mean that much at DeMatha to begin with but Markelle Fultz has already chipped in with all of the intangibles to take his game to the next level. Whether it is making the extra pass, hitting the clutch free-throws, or getting the timely steal the junior guard with only thirty games under his belt has served notice that he has all of the tools necessary to compete in college.
This kid works extremely hard as evidenced by the fact that around this time last year he was ending his sophomore season on the junior varsity and today he holds the prestigious WCAC‘s highest individual basketball accolade. After posterizing an Eleanor Roosevelt player in what has been the best highlight of the season, so far, he suddenly leaped up every college scout’s recruiting board. Markelle Fultz received multiple notable Division 1 offers after playing well enough on national television twice this year to add to his reel.
Do you still need recent or relevant redeeming qualities for Derrick Rose Markelle Fultz after watching that video from Finest Magazine? I don’t get into the whole JV records thing, but he hasn’t lost to Gonzaga on the Varsity level in his high school career. Neither has Darren Harvey, for that matter: Gonzaga went 0-2 against DeMatha when DJ made the varsity squad as a Freshman. DeMatha Stags notice when you build your reputation by punishing the Purple Eagles. Clearly Markelle Fultz plays well with others because sharing the ball with Darren Harvey -another 2015 All WCAC First Team selection, has transformed the pair into a dynamic duo.
If DeMatha can keep the winning streak going this Thursday in the 2015 WCAC Basketball Championship there will be even more talk about the tradition of producing outstanding student-athletes. Congratulations to all of the DeMatha Basketball WCAC honorees this year. In addition to the two first-team players mentioned junior guard Nate Darling and senior Terrell Allen were named to the 2015 All WCAC Second Team. Senior Thomas Bruce was named to the Third Team and senior Jaelin Grant and junior Kellon Taylor received honorable mentions.
There are a lot of great sports rivalries that get written about but DeMatha versus Gonzaga, in just about every sport, stands up to the test as one of the most exciting in high school sports. Add basketball to the mix, a sport in which both schools take a tremendous amount of pride in, and you have a recipe for the greatest high school rivalry ever. The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference is the toughest in America and the last two all-boys high schools in it have desperately clung to superiority complexes that often play-out on the national stage.
Gonzaga versus DeMatha is gigantic already, but the legend is still growing. Soon they will meet for the 2015 WCAC Basketball Championship, again -and everybody that follows high school basketball knows the implications. Gonzaga versus DeMatha is Washington D.C. against Maryland, “God is purple” disagreeing with “I believe”, Purple Eagles opposing Stags and so much more. There may have been a different mindset that has shaped the destiny of each school, but they are seldom far apart. DeMatha has been the high school basketball trendsetter ever since the Power Memorial game fifty years ago and the Stags also have six national titles to back that up. Gonzaga has always been an excellent foil, at their worst, and occasionally plays the spoiler to DeMatha when their basketball team is at their best.
Today DeMatha is (27-3) and trying to end the longest championship drought they have ever had in the WCAC: three years. Gonzaga (19-10) basketball has been on the precipice of being nationally formidable all year and they can finally do that if they can find a way to beat the most well-known team in the league for the championship and salvage another lackluster season. Individually there is no shortage of star power on either squad, today or historically. DeMatha junior Markelle Fultz is the 2015 WCAC Player of the Year, and sophomore Darren Harvey garnered First Team All WCAC honors. Gonzaga has two players deserving of First Team All WCAC honors as well: sophomore Chris Lykes and senior Sam Miller.
The DeMatha Catholic High School for Boys is in search of their fortieth (40) league championship after their win over Saint John’s College in the WCAC semifinals. This one is especially poignant for the Stags as they look to officially punctuate another incredible season and send the seniors out on a high note. Seniors Thomas Bruce, Terrell Allen, Ahmad Clark would all love nothing more but I am equally certain that if Jaelin Grant wants any bragging rights in his family whatsoever -he needs a DeMatha win more than anyone. Each of Jaelin’s three older brothers managed to bring home a conference title for the Stags, and this is his last year to add to the already spectacular legacy. On a personal level, I want to see Jaelin holding up the hardware. I am hoping that this isn’t one of those years where Gonzaga can pull off the ultimate upset after losing two games to DeMatha during the regular season. So now you know the deal…
Photo Courtesy: http://www.scout.com 
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