By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2005 12:18 AM

When it comes to recruiting international basketball talent on the high school level, few have more experience than Montrose Christian Coach Stu Vetter. He has coached dozens of foreign players during his career and knows that the players who arrive in the United States often look -- and play -- differently than advertised by middle men and other overseas contacts.

"You always hear that these guys can play," Vetter said. "We've been fooled before."

In the case of Greivis Vasquez, things were no different. Vetter and assistant Dave Adkins were told the Venezuelan teenager was 6 feet 9 inches tall.

"We thought we were getting a big guy," Vetter said. "As the [recruiting] process began to draw to a close, he began to get shorter and shorter."

It is perhaps the only way that Vasquez -- who is 6-5 -- has not measured up since he arrived in Rockville last September.

As the college basketball recruiting circuit kicks into high gear with the summer evaluation period in coming weeks, no local rising senior will be followed more closely than Vasquez. Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State and others already have offered scholarships and it seems certain that Vasquez will be able to go just about wherever he chooses.

Not bad for a guy who this time last year was still in Venezuela and spoke almost no English.

"He's a very unique player," Vetter said, adding that Vasquez has offers from "just about everyone who has seen him play."

Indeed, Vasquez can dribble like a point guard, has the range to play shooting guard, can get to the basket and uses his size well as a rebounder.

Although he averaged only 12.9 points per game this past season, Vasquez began to make a name for himself as coaches coming to scout other Montrose players saw him on the court. Somewhat tentative at the start of the season, Vasquez gradually loosened up as he became more comfortable with new teammates, a new style of play and a thoroughly new experience.

In Venezuela, Vasquez said, basketball is popular, but still not taken as seriously other sports. Players didn't always want to practice every day, he said, and coaches sometimes were unable to attend practice. At Montrose, it's different.

"I take it really seriously," Vasquez said. "I don't play just to have fun."

In fact, Vasquez said, he could already be playing for money. His journey to the U.S. began when he was named the most valuable player in a South American tournament while playing for the Venezuelan junior national team. That led to offers from Spanish and Venezuelan professional teams, Vasquez said.

Eventually, Vasquez said, he made the decision to go to high school in the U.S., considering opportunities to play at Montrose or St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., where Danny Hurley is the coach.

"It's better than if I were to just go to Spain and play professionally," he said. "I think this is the way you get better."

Still, knowing no one and speaking no English, Vasquez said the adjustment was difficult. He watched television at night and read the newspaper to try to improve his language skills. Other Montrose international players Uche Echefu, K.J. Matsui and Taishi Ito encouraged him, he said. (Echefu, Matsui and Vasquez lived at the same house last season.)

In time, things began to come together. If he needed one more boost, Vasquez got it last month when he played in a tournament with a team from Virginia Beach run by Boo Williams. Paired in the backcourt with Eric Hayes of Potomac (Va.), Vasquez impressed those in attendance; he also enjoyed playing and rooming with Hayes, who already has announced he will attend Maryland.

"I can play point guard, he can play point guard; I can play shooting guard, he can play shooting guard," Vasquez said. "I had a lot of fun."

Whether the pair plays together in college remains to be seen. Vasquez said Maryland "is at the top of my list," but he has yet to take any official visits. He also likes North Carolina, N.C. State and Gonzaga; North Carolina, he said while wearing a rubber Carolina blue bracelet, is quite popular in Venezuela.

All in all, those four inches Vasquez lost while coming to North America have hardly been missed.

"I'll take a 6-5 Greivis over most big men," Vetter said.