McNamara's Hill Keeps On Climbing
McNamara's Hill Keeps On Climbing

By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 10, 2008

The coach from an Atlantic 10 school had come to scout a different player. But as he sidled up to a high school assistant coach taking notes for an upcoming game, all he could wonder was: Who was that Number 10?

Marc Hill, Bishop McNamara's diminutive point guard, had been in control on the court once again. And although he has signed a letter-of-intent to play for North Carolina A&T, his play continues to suggest he could have earned a scholarship to a much higher level of college basketball.

"A lot of schools were going to wait until after the year to see what he did," McNamara Coach Marty Keithline said, noting that Hill's only other solid scholarship offers were from Morgan State and Wagner. "But he did a good job during the summer and wanted to get it over with."

The big question about Hill has always been his size. McNamara's roster lists him at 5-foot-8. But Keithline noted the Mustangs' tough competition in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and said that Hill always has found a way to succeed.

"Most people talked about that, but it's never been a problem for him," Keithline said. "He's always held his own. Some people have a mold they want to fit for their program, and it doesn't fit everybody."

So as it turns out, North Carolina A&T might end up with a steal. Hill scored a team-high 16 points in Friday's 61-56 victory over Good Counsel. For the season, he is averaging 11.4 points with seven assists and shooting 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. More importantly, he exudes confidence on the court and never seems to force things, whether it is getting to the basket, shooting from the outside or setting up teammates.

"He does a good job letting the game come to him," Keithline said.

On Gwynn Park's Guards

A team on the rise has been Gwynn Park, which has ridden its two standout senior guards to an 8-0 start (4-0 Prince George's 3A/2A/1A league) entering this past Tuesday's game at Potomac.

Point guard Sean Thomas is averaging 20.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds, and shooting guard Harold Washington is averaging 18.6 points and 5.5 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets have put themselves in contention in a most competitive league that also includes No. 4 Largo (a Maryland 3A semifinalist last season) and Fairmont Heights, which advanced to the Maryland 2A final last season.

"This is a very experienced team; we returned everybody from last year," said Coach Mike Glick, who is in his second year at the Brandywine school after successful runs at Spalding and Pallotti. "It's probably one of my favorite teams in 15 years of coaching. I'm having a lot of fun. They listen, they don't get rattled and they play hard every night out."

Gwynn Park has been in some difficult situations this season, including trailing Crossland by 17 points during the first half of a 72-67 victory Dec. 21. That's where having an experienced and talented backcourt comes in especially handy; Glick said both players are receiving Division I interest and should sign scholarship papers in the spring.

"Our guards are playing great," Glick said, noting Thomas's 31-point, 10-rebound performance in Friday's 65-54 victory over Douglass. "I think we have one of the better backcourts in the area."

Burke Is Everywhere

One of the county's leading scorers entering the week was Northwestern senior Terrance Burke, who took his 24.9-point average into Tuesday's game at C.H. Flowers. (Crossland junior guard Percy Woods is averaging a county-best 26.4 points, followed by Largo senior guard Klevin Pollard at 25.2 points.)

Burke, who is 6-foot-4, has played mostly shooting guard this season. But Wildcats Coach Gerald Moore laughed when asked about Burke's position, saying that "he plays everywhere" for a team that began the week 4-3, 1-3 in the Prince George's 4A league.

Burke has scored at least 30 points three times, including a season-high 37 in an 81-72 loss to Bladensburg on Friday. Despite being one of two seniors on Northwestern's roster and drawing much of the attention from opposing defenses, he has scored at least 20 points in all five games against Washington area opponents.

Burke was scheduled to attend Temple's game against Duke last night, Moore said, and St. Bonaventure, Fordham and Loyola also are recruiting him.

"He's a hard worker," Moore said. "He's getting looks. He's going to go somewhere."