Baltimore Area News

July-August 2002

August 23, 2002

Tyler Smith set's up his first visit!

Throughout the past few weeks since returning from the Adidas Big Time tournament in Las Vegas, Smith has been making decisions on prep schools and college visits. As far as we know here at Baltimore Select his prep school choices are West Nottingham and Laurinburg Prep.

Now onto the college visits. We know that UNC-Charlotte, UConn, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Georgetown were all on his list. It was a surprise when Smith played so well in the Adidas 3-Stripe tournament that Depaul was also interested. Since then Depaul has had weekly contact with Smith and the Select coaching staff. Depaul will be making a home visit on September 17 and then Tyler will be going to the campus in Chicago on September 20th. Depaul is trying to get another great player to play along side the recent comittment of a great guard Sammy Mejia from New York (Long Island Panthers -AAU)

Smith is also in the process of setting up visits with the schools that have shown interest in his abilities.

August 23, 2002

Abraham gets a date set from a familar face!!!!

Josh Oppenheimer, Asst. Coach at Depaul University, was just recruiting Dennard Abraham for the University of Delaware last year. He felt that if the Hens could get him, they would be getting a steal. Since then, Josh has moved on to become assistant at Depaul University and knew that Dennard could help them in C-USA. Dennard informed Baltimore Select that he has talked with Depaul's Head Coach and feels that he needs to make a visit. Therefore, a date has been set for September 27, 2002 for a campus visit up in the windy city.

Abraham knows that Depaul just recieved a comittment from Sammy Mejia and after playing against him all summer long, he knows what kind of player Sammy is.

Abraham is in the process of setting up visits with Rhode Island, Loyola-Chicago, LaSalle and Youngstown State, with a possibility of a visit to George Mason. His decision is up in the air now, but he assures us that he will make a decision by the November 13th signing period.

August 21, 2002

Draper Is A Sleeper!!

One of the biggest sleepers to emerge from this past weekend's Sonny Hill/Future Stars Tournament in Philadelphia was 5-11, 195 pound point guard Dontaye Draper of Baltimore, Md.

You can find the rest of this story at rivalshoops.com

Article by Russ Blake at rivalshoops.com; forwarded to Baltimore Select by Denny Conroy

August 13, 2002

Offers come rolling in for Select Players!!!

This is an up to date list of the players and offers that are on the table:

Offers: Rhode Island, DePaul, LaSalle, Loyola-Chicago, Virginia Commonwealth, George Mason and Youngstown State. Abraham plans to set up his 5 visits very soon and will make a decision soon after.

Schools that have HIGH INTEREST: UCONN, Georgetown, UNC Charlotte, DePaul, Marquette and Pittsburgh. Smith will also be setting up visits soon and will make his decision soon after.

Schools that have HIGH INTEREST: Cincinnati, Tulane, Auburn, UCONN, UNC Charlotte, LaSalle; Virginia Tech, Florida State, University of Southern California and Marquette have shown interest also. Dorsey is now at Mt. Zion Prep School in Raleigh, NC.

Offers: Towson, Holy Cross, Lehigh, William & Mary and Drexel

Ranked #269 in the country by Hoopscoop.

Schools that have HIGH INTEREST: Towson, Mt. St. Mary's, Duquesne, Wagner, Holy Cross, William & Mary and UMBC

August 10, 2002

One of the Baltimore Select coaches packs his bags and moves on?

Throughout the history of Baltimore Select the founders, Scott & Paul Bowden have made it a point for this program to be about the development of the kids. This website is always about the great things that the players are accomplishing throughout there time with Baltimore Select and even after when they graduate high school and go onto college. But, at this time we would like to break our tradition for an important reason. That reason being, Paul Bowden, the co-founder of Baltimore Select is moving on!!!!!

Paul has accepted the position of Assistant Athletic Director of Hampton University (Class of 1991). He is rejoining the Pirate team in which he cheered for in his college years. Because of his position at the University he will no longer be able to participate in the capacity he so well secured for the past 6 years with Baltimore Select. He became known for his great relationships with many of the D-1, D-2, JUCO and Prep school coaches across the country. One of the longest tenured players at Baltimore Select, Terrance Whitters, gave Paul his nic name, Paul "gets it done" Bowden. The reason why is that Paul would pound the pavement for all the kids in the program that needed his help, from helping with prep schools, SAT classes, JUCO's and of course NCAA clearinghouse eligibility was his specialty. The Select team will miss Paul but Coach Keith, Coach Scott and Coach Jeff will pick up the slack and try to do the job for the kids as Paul did for so many years. Good luck Julio!!!!!!

July 31, 2002

Baltimore area "BIG MAN", Will Bowers, makes his move!

With a decision that did not surprise the Baltimore Select coaches, Will decided to stay close to home to play college ball. To be in the position to pick a National Champion to play for is a dream; to also be able to play in front of family and friends everyday is the iceing. Throughout Will's time with the select team, he showed the willingness to play his role in a guard dominated offense. We appreciate the hard work you showed throughout the past two summers.

With the confidence the coaching staff at Maryland have in Will, we are sure that he will have much success at the University of Maryland. We are very proud of you!!!!!!

Article can be found:

http://www.sunspot.net/sports/college/basketball/bal-sp.terps28jul28.story?c
oll=bal%2Dsports%2Dmore

July 31, 2002

Dorsey gets national recognition...

After a busy summer with the Baltimore Select squad, Dorsey goes from a blip on the national radar map to one of the top power forwards in the country and as a fellow top 100 player along side his two amigos, Brown and Smith. Dorsey won a state title this past season with Douglas High School. The team was known to have two of the best guards in the country, Tyler Smith and Gerald Brown, but "Joey" was not getting the recognition for his accomplishments throughout the season. That has all ended with the intense schedule he has had with the Select team this summer. From the Bob Gibbons TOC, BET DC-ProAm, the Adidas ABCD Camp, the Adidas 3 Stripes and Las Vegas Big Time Tournaments, Richard "Joey" Dorsey is now being recognized for his talents. Joey is now being recruited by such teams as Georgetown, Tulane, Cincinnatti, Auburn and UNC Charlotte. Throughtout the next high school season we will keep in touch with Joey to keep everyone posted on his progress.

Dorsey will be attending Mt Zion Academy in Durham, N.C., where he will be re-classifying as a Junior in order for him to complete the requirements for the NCAA clearinghouse. Dorsey should look forward to another impact season at Mt. Zion with the national schedule they carry and then come back home and play with Baltimore Select again with tough summer circuit!!!

Rankings can be found at the follwing site:

http://espn.go.com/recruiting/s/030703toppowerorwards.html

http://espn.go.com/recruiting/s/020703top100.html

July 31, 2002

Results from the 2002 Adidas Big Time Tournament will be posted soon. In the mean time if you want an overview of the tournament, you can go directly to the Big Time site by clicking icon below.

July 19, 2002

(From l-r) Back Row - Will Bowers, Mike Popoko, Gerald Brown, Richard Dorsey, Denard Abraham, Josh Johnson, Matt Stevenson; Front Row - Coach Jeff Bowden, Derek Brooks, Jesse Brooks, Tyler Smith, Laronja Owens and Coach Scott Bowden

Viva Las Vegas...

The Baltimore Select team will start its final journey this summer at the Adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas starting July 22-26. The Select time will be trying to improve on their final four appearance last year. The last year team had Carmello Anthony (Syracuse), Todd Galloway (Florida State), Gary Neal (LaSalle), Kenny Minor (Manhattan), Kevin Steenberge (Richmond), Jai Lewis (George Mason) and Jaz Cowan (George Washington) along with rising juniors and seniors Tynell Duckley, James Taylor, Matt Stevenson and Denard Abraham.

This years team will comprise of more of the same, great prospects to represent Baltimore in the biggest tournament of the season. The team will consist of James Taylor (Prep,Laurinburg Inst.), Jesse Brooks (Jr,Spaulding), Theo Brown (Prep, Laurinburg Inst), Tyler Smith (Prep, West Nottingham), Tynell Duckley (Prep), Mike Popoko (Sr, McDonogh), Josh Johnson (Sr, Annapolis), Richard Dorsey (Jr, Mount Zion), Denard Abraham (Sr, Notre Dame Acad) and Will Bowers (Sr, Spaulding). Unfortunately Laronja Owens (Sr, Annapolis) and Gerald Brown (Sr, Douglas) will not be able to join the team for Vegas, they have to buckle down and finish summer school. We will miss them, but summer school is more important!!

For a list of when and who we play go to:

July 15, 2002

Select beats the NY Ravens in the finals of the 3 Stripes Tournament at Hofstra!!!!

In the American finals against Baltimore Select, the Ravens faced much the
same kind of task. This time, Laing and Grant had to battle 6'8" Richard
Dorsey and 6'9" Dennard Abraham inside. They got behind by as much as 12
before a furious rally led by Merritt (who returned after extended time on
the bench) and Grant who in addition to battling inside flashed some of his perimeter skills, slashing to the basket and hitting several tough mid range jumpers. They got the lead twice before a late jumper by Select guard and Providence recruit Gerald Brown, who took the game over down the stretch gave Baltimore the lead for good. Grant proved that he is a top prospect nationally in the class of 2004 as he combined his normally good perimeter play with better aggressiveness inside, if his concentration and intensity become more consistent big things lie ahead for him.

Abraham makes Top 20 and Stevenson makes All NBA this past weekend at the Eastern Invitational Camp...

July 11, 2002

Denard Abraham (a 6'8 F/C) and Matt Stevenson (a 6'6 WF), both three year players with Baltimore Select, decided to show off their talent at the Eastern Invitational Camp. Abraham arrived at the camp Sunday and just put work in every day. He was a force in every game, but during some games his fellow teammates did not take advantage of his size. Realizing this throughout his play that these camps are guard oriented, Abraham showed his skills from the perimeter and controlled the offensive and defensive boards. All of his hard worked earned him a spot, along with fellow Baltimoreans Josh Boone and Jujuan Robinson, a spot on the TOP 20 list for the entire camp. This is an accomplishment, there were over 300 players at the camp.

Stevenson arrived at the camp late, but came right in playing well. His play throughout the last two days earned him a spot on the All NBA team. Look forward to more of his strong play with the Select team at the Adidas 3 Stripe tournament (July 12-15) and the Adidas Big Time Tournament (July 22-26).

Brown comes away with Top 60 Honors at Adidas ABCD Camp...

July 11, 2002

Brown shows off at the ABCD camp and comes away with Top 60 honors. Brown and his teammates made it to the Championship game at the ABCD camp, unfortunately for Brown who had to leave camp early to get back to summer school.

http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/adidasabcdc2002.html

The duo from the undefeated State Champion Ducks are doing it on the National Scene...Bowers also added to the list of top 100

July 9, 2002

Gerald Brown and Tyler Smith, the tag team that ran through the city and state to earn Frederick Douglas High School a state chapionship and national recognition, are being recognized at two of the top 100 players in the country. Smith is ranked 45 and Brown 60 by RivalHoops.com.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=220

All Metro Point Guard getting National Attention!

July 9, 2002

Tyler Smith has been putting in allot of work during his summer with the Baltimore Select AAU program. Since winning a state title with Frederick Douglas High School (Final National Ranking 40th) during his senior year, Smith has been rising up the charts and becoming one of the top point guards in the country. Smith still has a few more opportunities to show off his skills, Adidas 3 Stripes (Hofstra July 12-14) and Adidas Big Time ( Las Vegas July 22-26). In the mean time he has spent the last few days at the Adidas ABCD camp in New Jersey. ESPN has Smith ranked as on eof the top 20 point guards in the entire country. And Dave Talep of Insiders.com also has Smith ranked as #4 in his category.

http://scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&plid=19138

http://espn.go.com/recruiting/s/030703toppoints.html

Offers In For Bowers!!!

By: Denny Conroy
Date: July 5, 2002

Will Bowers, a 6-11, 225 pound center from Archbishop Spalding HS in Severn, MD, is getting ready for the adidas ABCD camp in Teaneck, NJ, which starts on Sunday.

Then on Monday, July 8th, Division I coaches can enter the facilities at Fairleigh-Dickinson High School as the first 10-day summer evaluation period begins. (The second stretch runs from July 22-31.) There was a change implemented by the NCAA this year permitting coaches to contact juniors during the school year. Spalding head coach Mike Glick told RivalsHoops that coaches from all over the country visited the school in April to check on Bowers, who now goes by the monicker "Big Will." Bowers' list of schools is now reduced to ten with Ohio State, Pitt, Maryland and Notre Dame leading. The other schools are St. Joseph's, Michigan, Florida State, Providence, Connecticut and Stanford. All but three have offered with Michigan and Connecticut expected to make a scholarship available for this improving big man soon. "And with Stanford, you have to apply first," said Bowers.

RivalsHoops last saw Bowers play at the NBPA Camp in Richmond, VA. He looked very strong inside. This young man's improvement from the beginning of his junior year is a reflection on the hard work he puts in.

Bowers, who told us that he'd like to make a decision by the beginning of his senior season, will play with the Baltimore Select AAU program this month at the adidas Three-Stripes at Hofstra and adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. He'll close out July playing with the DC-area team in the 16-team 2002 USA/International Hoop Summit on Central Florida's campus. "I'll be taking some unofficials in August with my family, Coach Glick and maybe one of more of our assistant coaches," he said.

A good student, Bowers has a 3.4 GPA and scored 1310 on the SAT. "I am looking for something in business finance and economics in college but that's not set in stone yet and I could change my mind any time," he said.

Bowers averaged 15.5 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists as a junior last season and was named to the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro second team.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=220

http://scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&plid=15138

All-Baltimore and Nationally Top Ranked SG Picks Big East...

By: Russ Blake
Date: July 7, 2002

Gerald Brown, a 6-4 senior shooting guard from Baltimore's Frederick Douglass High School, committed to Providence College, according to sources close to Brown.

Brown can put up big numbers in a game. He averaged 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks last season. "I have a 2.7 GPA," Brown said. "I also have a 900 on the SAT."

Syracuse, Providence, NC State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Maryland, Florida State, Delaware, Kent State, Penn State, and Wake Forest were of interest also to Brown. Not all of these schools offered a free ride yet. Brown was named to the Baltimore Sun's 2002 All-Metro First Team. In addition to his competition with the Baltimore Select AAU squad, Brown will be attending this summer's adidas ABCD camp.

We are very proud of Gerald and wish him all the success possible at Providence!!!!!

http://scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&plid=18441

http://espn.go.com/recruiting/s/030703topshootingguards.html

ABRAHAM CONTINUES TO POLISH SKILLS...

By Thom Jones (PrepStars)
July 5, 2002

At 6-9 and 250 pounds, one would think Dennard Abraham would be a pure post player. But some schools that are recruiting him are looking at him as a
combo forward, capable of playing both the three and four positions.
"I feel the strength of my game is that I can rotate positions," Abraham
told PrepStars.com. "I can post up or I can shoot. I want to be able to
freelance and my coach (Larry Cullinane) at Notre Dame lets me do that."
Abraham, a rising senior at Middleburg (VA) Notre Dame, plays with Baltimore
Select and is about to get very busy. He will be at the Eastern Invitational
on July 7-11, followed by adidas Three Stripes at Hofstra on July 12-14,
Charlie Weber in Morgantown on July 14-16, capped off with an appearance at
the Big Time event in Las Vegas during the latter part of July. Abraham hopes to use the summer to improve his basic conditioning as well as focusing on running the floor better. Schools that have called include Kent State, DePaul, LaSalle, Rhode Island, George Washington, Drexel, South Alabama and the College of Charleston. He claims to have offers from Kent, DePaul, Rhode Island, LaSalle and Duquesne, but has no early leader. Abraham said that he hopes to made a decision in early August and that academics and early playing time will be key in his decision.

http://www.prepstars.com/recruiting_news/2002/dennardabraham070502.jsp

July 5, 2002

James "JT" Taylor will be attending prep school next year....

James Taylor will be attending Laurinburg Inst. in North Carolina next season. His mother, Sarletta Taylor, made the decision to send JT down for one year of prep school in order for him to qualify to play D-1 college basketball. He will be following another outstanding guard for Baltimore Select, Terrance Whiters, who attended Laurinburg last year; who will be attending University of Loyola-Chicago of the Horizon League. JT will join the Select team to Hofstra (3 Stripes) and Adidas Big Time this year and will attract plenty of attention. JT has been an important part of the strong Baltimore Select teams over the past three years. He started with us shortly after his freshman season at Dunbar High school where he eventually won a state championship in 2001. We look forward to a great July for JT and a strong season next year at Laurinburg Inst.

Busy July for Select as a team and individual players....

July 3, 2002

July is the open period where coaches will be able to come out to certain events to evaluate players abilities in order for them to join their programs in 2003. Upcoming events for the Select players include the Adidas ABCD Camp (invite only), The Eastern Invitational Camp, 3 Stripes Tournament (Hofstra), Charlie Weber (West Virginia) and the Adidas Big Time Tournament.

List of where the Select team will be playing in July: http://www.baltimoreselect.com/schedule.htmTeam

Individuals and where they will be:

Adidas ABCD Camp - Gerald Brown, Richard Dorsey, Tyler Smith and Will Bowers

Eastern Invitational - Denard Abraham, Moe Martin and Jesse Brooks

3 Stripes, Charlie Weber and Big Time- Gerald Brown, Richard Dorsey, Tyler Smith , Will Bowers, Denard Abraham, Jesse Brooks, Laronja Owens, Josh Johnson, James Taylor, Matt Stevenson, Mike Popoko and Donte Draper.

Getting the Invite to the BET-DC Pro-Am was a blessing for the 17 under group!!!!

July 2, 2002

During this past weekend's BET-DC Pro Am, the group played well against teams that are ranked as the best in the country. The team has a very busy July so at first we thought we should rest our kids for the tough month ahead?

Coach Paul Bowden and Keith Goodie learned alot about the team this past weekend. That knowledge should help them prepare for the tough month ahead. The tournament consisted of eight invited teams: the Long Island Panthers, DC Assault, Fairfax Stars, Boo Williams, Sam Rines, Richmond Squires, New Jersey Playaz and Baltimore Select. The team went 1-2 losing in the battle for 3rd place against the Long Island Panthers.

The first round matchups were: DC Assault vs. Boo Williams, Sam Rines vs. New Jersey Playaz, Baltimore Select vs. Fairfax Stars and Long Island Panthers vs. Richmond Squires. DC Assault, New Jersey, Baltimore Select and Long Island came out the first round with victories.

The second round winners bracket was: DC Assault vs. Baltimore Select and Long Island vs. New Jersey. The winners would play in the championship and the losers would play for 3rd and 4th place. Select ended up losing to there #1 rival, DC Assault and eventually losing the battle against Long Island, gaining 4th place in their first ever appearance in the BET-DC Pro-Am tournament.

Tyler Smith once again had a solid performance earning an All Tournament Selection and Richard Dorsey had no competition on his way to winning the Slam Dunk contest. Congratulations to the team and solid play by Gerald Brown, James Tayler, Laronja Owens, Tynell Dunkley, Denard Abraham , Josh Johnson, Donte Draper and Barry Jenifer. Select's own Gerald Brown came in second place of the Three Point contest, eventually losing to Tre Kelly (DC Assault).

Select box scores from BET-DC Pro-Am:

vs: Fairfax Stars 80-73: Barry Jenifer - 0, Joshua Johnson - 14, Tyler Smith- 14, Richard Dorsey - 13, Gerald Brown - 11, Denard Abraham - 6, Donte Draper - 5, James Taylor 12, Tynell Dunckley - 0 and Laronja Owens - 5.

vs: DC Assault 73-78: Joshua Johnson - 6, Tyler Smith- 23, Richard Dorsey - 4, Gerald Brown - 15, Denard Abraham - 4, Donte Draper - 0, James Taylor 12, Tynell Dunckley - 2, Laronja Owens - 7, Barry Jenifer - 0.

vs. Long Island Panthers 71-82: Joshua Johnson - 5, Tyler Smith- 9, Richard Dorsey - 11, Gerald Brown - 19, Denard Abraham - 5, Donte Draper - 3, James Taylor 10, Tynell Dunckley - 2, Laronja Owens - 5, Barry Jenifer - 2.

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