Prep notebook: Spalding senior commits to Mount St. Mary's By KEVIN BRADFORD, Staff Writer Archbishop Spalding senior Landy Thompson, a first-team All-County boys basketball pick, verbally committed to Mount St. Mary's yesterday. Thompson, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged a team-high 14.4 points per game and added 3.3 assists in leading the Cavaliers to a sweep of the Baltimore Catholic League regular-season and tournament championships. The Germantown resident and Newport Prep transfer was also a defensive force, as he locked down first-team All-Catholic League guard J.J. Outlaw (Mount St. Joseph) and Catholic League Player of the Year Matt Tanner (St. Maria Goretti) to key Spalding's third Catholic League Tournament title in four seasons. His defense was a big reason he was named Most Valuable Player of the Catholic League Tournament championship game, while he was also chosen to the All-Tournament team at the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational. Spalding coach Mike Glick thinks Mount St. Mary's has landed a recruiting steal in Thompson, who is the ninth Cavalier to earn a Division I college basketball scholarship in the past five seasons. "It's very, very unique to find someone who shoots as well as he does, is athletic as he is, and is an exceptional defensive player all in one. Those combinations are a hard commodity to find," Glick said. "I think in my 10 years as a high school head coach and having over 45 players play in college and 17 at the Division I level, he's the biggest steal for any college team. I really mean it. He has tremendous upside." Thompson is a full academic NCAA qualifier with a 990 Scholastic Assessment Test score and a 3.3 grade point average, Glick said. Thompson will ink his national letter of intent during the signing period, which runs April 10-17. "It's a great fit for him academically, athletically and socially. It's a Catholic school like Spalding, and he also likes the size and location. It's exactly 45 minutes away from Germantown. He has a close-knit family, so it's convenient for them," Glick said. "He has a chance to compete for a starting spot immediately. He felt comfortable with the school and Coach (Jim) Phelan. That's where he wanted to go. It's a great situation. I think he'll have a very good career." Thompson took an official on-campus visit to the Emmittsburg school March 23-24 and made his decision before taking visits to Robert Morris and Stony Brook this week. He was also offered scholarships by Morgan State and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Glick said Thompson would have had more offers had he not missed the key open recruiting period last July due to a broken thumb. In other recruiting news, Glick said Florida State offered a scholarship Tuesday to Spalding 6-foot-11 junior center Will Bowers. Glick said newly hired Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton will come to Spalding tomorrow to watch Bowers work out. Glick said national champion Maryland, Florida, Texas, Stanford and Purdue are all expected to visit Spalding to watch Bowers work out in the coming weeks.