Magruder’s Nick Griffin, a rising senior, orally committed to play basketball at George Washington on Thursday, according to Magruder Coach Dan Harwood. The 6-foot-2 guard had 10 offers and strongly considered Drexel and William & Mary before picking the Colonials.

Harwood said Griffin delivered the news to George Washington Coach Mike Lonergan by phone, reaching him soon after the Colonials arrived in Italy to begin a 10-day trip that will feature five exhibition games against local competition and U.S. military teams.

“Coach Lonergan was pretty excited to get the call,” Harwood said.
Magruder's Nick Griffin splits the Springbrook defense for a fourth-quarter bucket. (Preston Keres - for The Washington Post) “He’s been recruiting Nick pretty hard for the past year.”

Griffin led Magruder with 17 point per game last winter, helping the Colonels win their second state title in school history. They finished 26-1 with a season-opening loss to DeMatha as their only blemish.

Though Griffin started for the Colonels as a freshman, he attempted just one three-pointer that season. The honorable mention All-Met pick has grown into one of the area’s top outside shooters.

He hit 91 three-pointers last season, connecting on 46 percent of his tries. He also set a school-record with 10 threes and finished with a career-high 40 points in a Feb. 7 win over Wootton.

“It’s scary how good he’s gotten in really two years of focusing on his shooting,” Harwood said. “He’s an old school kid who likes to get in the gym and work on his game.”

Coach Mike Lonergan has put an emphasis on attracting local talent since taking over the Colonials in May 2011. His first recruiting class of five players included Episcopal guard Kethan Savage, Landon guard Joe McDonald and Montrose Christian center Kevin Larsen. Savage and McDonald were named first-team All-Met last winter.

The Colonials also added Isaiah Armwood, a former Montrose Christian forward who sat out last season after transferring from Villanova.

North Point’s Marquis Wright guards Thomas Stone’s Brandon Stewart. (John McDonnell - The Washington Post) North Point rising senior point guard Marquis Wright committed to Loyola (Md.) on Sunday night, ending the recruiting search for the reigning Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

The 6-foot Wright made his decision after a visit to the school’s Baltimore campus last week, and had also been weighing an offer from Jacksonville.

He is the first North Point boys’ basketball player to commit to a Division I program since the Waldorf school opened in 2005.

“I thought it was a good fit for me,” Wright said. “It’s a good school.”

Wright averaged 13.0 points per game last season in leading North Point to its second consecutive Maryland 4A East title, and is an electric ballhandler and passer.

As a sophomore, Wright helped guide a veteran team to a perfect 27-0 record that included the Eagles’ first Maryland 4A championship.

“They’re getting one heck of a point guard,” North Point Coach Jimmy Ball said. “He’s picked up his scoring each year, but he’s taking what the defense gives him. He looks to give assists first.”

Behind Wright and rising senior forwards Naim Muhammad and Matt Bonds, North Point should be among the favorites in the SMAC and Maryland 4A again this season.

Lake Braddock rising senior Natalie Butler committed to Georgetown on Saturday, booking the next step on her quick rise from part-time player to one of the area’s top centers.

The 6-foot-4 Butler, daughter of former Navy star Vernon Butler, averaged 18.7 points and 18.5 rebounds per game for the Bruins last season after averaging just 4.9 points as a sophomore. Butler’s growth was documented in a feature story in The Post in February.

“I never pictured myself going to a school like Georgetown, [Division I], playing for a Big East team,” Natalie Butler said. “It’s something that didn’t occur in my wildest dreams. I’m living a fairy tale almost. I am so excited about working harder and growing as a player at Georgetown.”

As a rising sophomore, Damascus wide receiver/cornerback Jalen Christian won’t be eligible to sign a national letter of intent for more than two years, but he has already begun getting familiar with the recruiting process.

Christian picked up a scholarship offer from South Carolina about two months after his freshman season ended and has added four more major conference scholarship offers. He made unofficial visits to two of those schools last week, checking out preseason practice at Ohio State on Wednesday and West Virginia on Thursday with his mother, Vonetta, and teammate Rashard Budd, a rising senior defensive tackle.

Paul VI Catholic’s Ariana Freeman (no. 12) blocks a shot against Good Counsel last season. (Ricky Carioti - WASHINGTON POST) Paul VI Catholic guard-forward Ariana Freeman would see coaches from major conference schools at her AAU girls’ basketball games and initially think they were there to watch teammate Lynee Belton of Bullis, considered an even higher-rated recruit.

The 5-foot-10 Freeman soon learned that many of those coaches were there to see her, as well. The rising junior has drawn offers from West Virginia and Louisville and strong interest from Florida, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Kentucky and Colorado, said her father, Desmond Freeman.