Area Players Mulling Options, Finalizing College Plans

With the five-week spring signing period set to begin Wednesday, several area players in yesterday's Capital Classic games said they are beginning to decide on colleges.

Leading T.C. Williams to the Virginia AAA championship -- the first for a Northern Region team in 27 years -- apparently has helped All-Met forward Anthony Winbush's recruiting stock. Just a month ago, Winbush only had scholarship offers from Loyola, which he visited two weeks ago, and Niagara. Now, Winbush said he has added offers from Central Florida, Tulane, Saint Louis, La Salle and East Carolina. He said he plans to take official visits to La Salle and East Carolina in the next two weeks.

Northwestern guard Terrence Burke, a second-team All-Met who scored 17 points for the Suburban All-Stars in the preliminary game, said he will choose between his three offers -- High Point, Fairleigh Dickinson and Robert Morris. Burke said he plans to take an official visit to High Point next week.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase All-Met guard Austin Cooley, who took an official visit to Mount St. Mary's last month, said the Mountaineers filled that scholarship slot with another player. Cooley said he also has an offer from Loyola, and has spoken with coaches at Penn State and Niagara, though neither has offered yet.

O'Connell center Frank Ben-Eze, originally selected to play in the preliminary game but sidelined by a knee injury, is visiting Davidson this weekend, and is scheduled to visit Georgia Tech next weekend according to O'Connell Coach Joe Wootten.

The 6-foot-11 Ben-Eze had committed to play Harvard before learning last month that he likely would not qualify academically for admission. The timing could not have been worse for Ben-Eze, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Feb. 25 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game. He is scheduled to have reconstructive surgery May 8.

More Age Restriction Talk

NBA Commissioner David Stern and NCAA President Myles Brand expressed agreement last week when asked during the NCAA tournament about increasing the NBA's minimum age requirement to 20 and preventing players from turning pro before two years after graduating from high school.

Such a rule, if approved by the NBA, could not be enforced until the league's next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA, which was adopted in 2005 and created a minimum age requirement of 19, expires after the 2010-11 season. Even though the players in yesterday's Capital Classic would not be affected by any such rule (they would be three years out of high school by then), some still had opinions about it.

"If you're ready and the whole world knows you're ready, why should you have to come back?" said Georgetown recruit Henry Sims. "I would say this is [targeted at] the kids who are more money-hungry and aren't ready to come out of school. If you stay in school for two years and you're still money-hungry, then you'll know if you're ready to play."

Said Carroll's Kris Joseph, who has signed with Syracuse: "I feel there are too many kids who leave college unprepared. I plan on staying for four years. I'm all for the rule."