By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 22, 2008

The question generates many answers. Coaches, scouts and recruiters offer differing opinions.

Who is the best player for top-ranked Gonzaga?

Is it the forward headed to the University of Virginia? Well, he's going to Charlottesville -- to play football. Perhaps the skinny forward who plans to play in college at that basketball powerhouse -- Harvard? One rival coach loves the center who also might be headed to play in the Ivy League. Then there is the sophomore point guard with loads of potential.

Each player has his strengths, but none is considered a star. In fact, on more than one occasion, the team's other starter, senior guard Rodney Gould, said he took the court believing the other team was more skilled.

"There were a lot of teams we've played this year that I think had more individual talent than we had," said Gould, who will play football at Lafayette College. "But because we play together as one, the team will beat any individuals in the game.

"It's not the best players in the area. It's the team."

There might be debate about the best Gonzaga player, but there is little question that the Eagles have -- so far -- put together one of the finest seasons in the Washington area in recent years. By forgetting about individual statistics and glory and letting the game dictate roles, Gonzaga is on the verge of perhaps the best season in school history.

"Our best player is our team," Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner said.

As it begins play in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament this afternoon at Gallaudet, Gonzaga is 27-1, with few close victories. The Eagles seem like a strong bet to end DeMatha's run of three consecutive league titles. Gonzaga has spent much of the season atop The Post's rankings.

The Stags' overwhelming recent success came in part to having standout players. Their 34-1 season in 2005-06 was led by All-Mets Nigel Munson and Austin Freeman, two other future major college recruits in Jeff Peterson and Jerai Grant and Georgetown recruit Chris Braswell.

Perhaps the best season in Gonzaga history was in 1985-86, when Georgetown recruit Mark Tillmon and Perry Carter, who went on to play at Ohio State, led the Eagles to a 29-3 mark.

However, this season's team has no such stars. Leading scorer Ian Hummer, a 6-foot-6 junior center who averages 14.3 points, is being recruited by Princeton, where his father played with Bill Bradley. Senior forward Max Kenyi, who averages 13.3 points, is bound for Harvard, which hasn't qualified for the NCAA tournament since 1946. Another senior forward, Virginia-bound Cameron Johnson, averages 12.2 points. Sophomore guard Tyler Thornton is drawing attention from many top college programs even though he averages 6.6 points per game.

Which one is best?

"That depends on how you define best," DeMatha Coach Mike Jones said.

Jones believes Kenyi has been Gonzaga's most productive player, while Thornton has the most potential and Hummer is its best prospect. And the 6-foot-4 Johnson, Jones said, "is the 'X' factor. If he wants to be their leading scorer, he'll do that. If he wants to post up and play center, he can do that. If he wants to play small forward, he can do that. He's one of the most versatile players in the league."

"They're talented," said Jones, whose team is the only one to beat Gonzaga this season, 45-42 on Jan. 15. "They just don't have the reputations."

Another rival coach, who asked not to be named because he did not want to provide any extra motivation for Gonzaga's other players this weekend, said he thought Hummer was the Eagles' key player.

"They're extremely balanced and they play well together," O'Connell Coach Joe Wootten said. "I think a lot of their guys are standout guys, but because they're a balanced team, one guy doesn't stand out as much."

Even the Eagles can't agree on a leader. While some players think it is Johnson, others said Kenyi has been the catalyst. Kenyi, like his teammates, attributed Gonzaga's success to experience playing together and a successful summer when the team won 35 of 36 games.

"We were playing great team [ball] and the other teams weren't playing team ball," Thornton said. "Summer league is more like the AAU-style basketball, you're just running up and down the court, everybody trying to get theirs. In summer league, we set a tone that rolled into this season. We decided we want to play hard, play defense, everybody was going to be happy and we would win games."