Flowers Blossoms Into a College Prospect

It was important for John Flowers to be noticed on the basketball landscape. That is why the 6-foot-7 junior forward transferred from Thomas Stone to St. Mary's Ryken prior to this season.

Flowers had to sit out the first part of this season because of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference transfer rule, but since joining the Knights' lineup last month, Flowers has had quite an impact, averaging 18.1 points.

Last Friday, when St. Mary's Ryken played at Good Counsel, University of Maryland Coach Gary Williams was among those in attendance, watching as Flowers made another move toward blossoming as a top prospect

"At first it was kind of nerve racking," said Flowers, who scored 17 points to lead the Knights to a 60-56 overtime win after they trailed by 20 in the first half. "I had never played in front of a top Division I coach before. I was nervous at first. I just had to play my game."

The next day, Flowers went to the Maryland-Duke game at Comcast Center.

That was Flowers' second on-campus visit this month. On Feb. 4, Flowers made the trip to Morgantown to see the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati. It was on that visit, he said, that Coach John Beilein made a scholarship offer. Flowers said he also already has offers from La Salle, St. Joseph's and American. He hopes to visit St. Joseph's and George Washington in the coming weeks.

Flowers said that right now his favorite schools are Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Michigan and Texas Tech.

"I have a great coach [Danny Sancomb] that is on the phone for me, sending out tapes, working hard everyday and he's helping me," Flowers said. "I'm playing hard, working hard, keeping my grades up and doing everything I can to help him sell me."

Flowers said that all of the attention has been exciting and it is something he has looked forward to since before high school. Basketball runs in the family; his mother, Pam, was a three-time all-American at Louisiana Tech in the early 1980s and his older brother, Nathan, was two-time all-conference at Thomas Stone.

As for making a college decision, Flowers wants to have things finalized by the fall.

"I'll definitely choose a college by the early signing period," he said.

Dorman Comes Home

Quarterback Harold Dorman led Potomac (Md.) to the Maryland 2A final in 2003 and took a scholarship to Alabama A&M. He redshirted as a freshman then earned offensive MVP honors in his first game this past season, rushing for 53 yards and scoring the go-ahead touchdown in a 27-14 victory over Tennessee State in the John Merritt Classic.