Counting down to tipoff and previewing the incoming freshmen of the Atlantic 10 with a look at the first year players of the George Washington University Colonials.
George Washington registered 13 wins (seven in the conference) a year ago. In his third season at GW Mike Lonergan welcomes three freshmen to campus: Miguel Cartagena, Nick Griffin and Skyler White.
Miguel Cartagena G 6-2, 170 Aibonito, P.R./Montverde Academy
A 6-foot-2 guard from Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Cartagena signed an NLI after two seasons at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., the same scholastic program that produced rising GW sophomore guard Patricio Garino. He helped the Eagles to a combined 48-6 record the past two seasons and appearances in the championship game of both the 2012 and 2013 ESPN National High School Invitational (NHSI). As a senior this past season, Cartagena helped Montverde win the prestigious NHSI, City of Palms Classic and Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) titles and achieve a No. 1 final national ranking in all three major polls (ESPN, USA Today, Prep Nation) with a 25-2 record.
Cartagena was named to the City of Palms Classic All-Tournament Team as a junior in 2011 and the MAIT All-Tourney Team as a senior in 2012 along with some of the nation’s highest-rated recruits of the past two seasons. He is currently No. 164 in the nation in ESPN’s shooting guard rankings. Cartagena represented Puerto Rico in the 2011 FIBA Americas U-16 Championship, where he led the event in scoring at 22.4 points over five games.
What they’re saying about Miguel Cartagena – Steve Keller/ National Recruiting Report: “He played a on a team ranked top five in the country. He played behind Kasey Hill who is going to Florida and who may be the best point guard in the country. There were times when he got in the game, got in the flow and did some things that were pretty impressive. He’s going to come in and need time, but he’s going to have experience in high-powered games.”
Nick Griffin G 6-3, 173 Rockville, MD/ Magruder
A 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Griffin led Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville, Md., to a 24-3 overall record and a third straight Maryland 4A state final four appearance as a senior in 2013. He averaged a team-best 17.8 points and made 85 three pointers, the fifth-highest total in the Metro D.C. area, to earn Third Team All-Met honors from The Washington Post and a McDonald’s All-America nomination.
Griffin, who signed an NLI with GW in November 2012, was also an honorable mention All-Met selection as a junior at Magruder in 2012. He averaged 17 points and made 91 triples at a rate of 46 percent to help the Colonels to a 26-1 mark and a Maryland 4A state championship. He made 10 of his 91 three-pointers en route to a 40-point performance in a victory over Wootton in February 2012.
Griffin is currently rated the 76th-best shooting-guard prospect in the nation and third in the state of Maryland by ESPN.
What they’re saying about Nick Griffin: Edgar Walker/ DMV Elite: “His shooting ability will definitely get him on the floor his freshman year. He’s a good catch-and shoot option. He shot it well off the dribble his senior year and developed that a little bit. I have to wonder how well he will guard teams at that level, but he’s a terrific knock-down shooter. He can fill up the score sheet pretty quickly when he gets hot.”
Jamie Shaw/ Phenom Hoop Report: “Griffin is slightly built but able to really get hot in a hurry. He needs to have a point guard play with him that he is comfortable with, but Griffin does a great job reading screens, spreading the floor, and following the space off the dribble penetration. Griffin is working on his game off the dribble but is a true shooting guard capable of some big outputs.”
James Lee/ Mid Atlantic Select: “He’s a good shooter, a very good system player. He can come off screens and make shots. He can make catch-and-shoot threes. He has a pretty good pull-up game. He will need to get stronger and develop ballhandling skills.”
Steve Keller/ National Recruiting Report: “He is clearly one of the best if not the best shooter in the freshmen class coming in. He has a great touch and a great feel for it. Originally, people thought he could only shoot, so he was considered low division one. As time went on his senior year people realized he has enough mobility to get his own shot. He’s got a chance to be a big factor for GW.”
Allen Rubin/ Hoop Scoop: “He’s a good catch-and-shoot guy. He plays smart, moves well without the ball.”
Skyler White F 6-8, 238 Clyde Hill WA/ Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
White, a 6-foot-8 forward from Clyde Hill, Wash., will come to GW after two seasons at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass., a prep program that had more than two dozen players competing in NCAA Division I in 2012-13. This past season, White helped the Hoggers to a 29-5 overall record and the 2013 National Prep Championship while being nominated for McDonald’s All-America honors. In his first season at NMH in 2011-12, the Hoggers captured the 2012 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class AAA crown and went 29-6 overall.
White also played at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Wash., and Bronxville High School in Bronxville, N.Y., during his scholastic career, and also suited up for England’s U-18 National Team during its run to the 2010 Haris Memorial Tournament title. He was named a Seattle Times Honorable Mention All-Metro Conference performer at Eastside Catholic in 2011.
What they’re saying about Skyler White – Steve Keller/National Recruiting Report: “He has continued to improve. It may take him a while, but the pieces are there.”
Maurice Creek (Graduate/Transfer) G 6-5, 195 Oxon Hill, MD/ Hargrave/ Indiana U
Creek, who has enrolled in GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, will be eligible to compete for the Colonials immediately after graduating from Indiana University this past May. Creek averaged 7.2 points on 43 percent shooting, including 36 percent from three-point range, 2.0 rebounds and nearly 16 minutes over 54 career games with the Big Ten’s Hoosiers, but was hampered by injuries during three of his four seasons from 2009-13.
During his debut season in 2009-10, Creek was among the highest scoring freshmen in the country, averaging 16.4 points through 12 games, including 31 against No. 4 Kentucky in December 2009, before succumbing to a season-ending injury. He also averaged 8.3 points through 18 games of the 2010-11 season, as well as 1.8 points in 24 games in 2012-13 as Indiana spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
A native of Oxon Hill, Md., Creek earned Washington Post honorable mention All-Met honors as a sophomore at Oxon Hill High School in 2007 before playing his junior season at South Kent (Conn.) School and senior year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he was the among the nation’s top shooting guards and a Top 100 prospect by Scout, Rivals and ESPN.
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