Today as TT caught up with Archbishop Spalding Coach Mike Glick to discuss the recruitment of his 6-8 star forward Rudy Gay and his visits with Maryland. We also touched base about his other D-1 college bound seniors, Spalding’s tough 2003-2004 schedule, how 7-foot Spalding grad Will Bowers is adjusting as a freshman at Maryland and Glick’s prediction for the Cavaliers hopes of recapturing the Baltimore Catholic League (BCL) title this year. TT has covered over 25 Spalding games (summer league, regular season, and tournament games) since we began tracking Bowers as a rising junior in the summer of 2001. We have come to respect the way the Cavaliers play, how their players are developed, and Glick’s willingness to schedule tough non-conference opponents. We scouted national Top 5-10 recruit Rudy Gay at a number of top national summer camps and AAU events this summer. We also scouted Spalding against such top WCAC opponents as DeMatha, O’Connell, Gonzaga, and Paul VI at the 'Ban The Brick' summer league at St. Alban’s. Here is our interview with Glick. TT: We really haven’t spoken much since Gary Williams' Basketball Camp early this summer and there is a lot to catch-up on. First of all, congratulations to you, Rudy, and the Spalding program for the article on Rudy in the September issue of 'Slam' magazine. That was pretty good national exposure. MG: Yeah, that was really cool. Actually, they took the picture of Rudy back in May before he blew up at Nike Camp in July. That was great exposure for Rudy and for our whole school to get in a national basketball magazine like 'Slam'. TT: We spoke in June after Rudy had a monster game against O’Connell at St. Alban’s. You said that by the end of the summer Rudy would be a Top 10 recruit and a preseason McDonald’s All-American. It looks like you were right with that prediction. MG: You could see in that O’Connell game how much he had improved since the end of his junior season. The things he was doing inside, outside, his athleticism, and his versatility...you just knew that there weren’t many players in the country who could play with him. He has gotten so much bigger and stronger, and now he was also hitting three-pointers, beating people off the dribble...he was already a great rebounder and shot blocker. I knew he was going to really show people a lot this summer. TT: It has been widely reported that Rudy has narrowed his list to eight colleges (Maryland, Connecticut, St. John’s, Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova, Clemson, and Kentucky). Has he scheduled all of his 'in-home' visits with college coaches for September yet? MG: Actually, the college coaches' visits with Rudy will be done at Spalding in the school, not in-home. Yes, those have been scheduled with the eight schools for September 13, 14, 16 and 18. TT: When will the Maryland coaches be meeting with Rudy? MG: On September 18. TT: There have been published reports that Rudy has already scheduled official visits to UConn for September and to College Park for Midnight Madness. Are these reports accurate? MG: We really haven’t definitely set either of those trips for official visits. I would say that it is very likely that these will be two of his official visits, but I wouldn’t say that these are definitely set as official visits yet. TT: Do you think Rudy will take all five of his allowable official visits? MG: I can’t say that yet. The plan is to have the (college) coaches come in and then decide on which schools to officially visit. He could take all five visits, it might be only be two - I would think he’ll take at least three, but we’ll see. TT: Do you think Rudy will sign early, in November, or wait until spring? MG: I’m not sure. I think he might sign early. TT: You are very familiar with the Maryland staff and the Terrapin basketball program, no doubt you've heard that Maryland is involved with a couple of other possible frontcourt recruits for 2004, beyond James Gist of Good Counsel who has already committed. I assume that Rudy is aware of and/or monitoring that situation? MG: Yes. TT: Beyond Rudy, you have two other seniors this year who will likely be D-1 college recruits, Jason Loughery (a 6'11" forward/center who was a reserve last season) and Jesse Brooks (a 5'10" point guard who is already a two year starter). How is their recruiting going? MG: Jason committed to Mt. St, Mary’s last week. He is my third guy to commit to The Mount in three years. Landy Thompson started as a freshman at The Mount last year, and Gus Durr, Jr. will be a freshman forward there this year. Milan Brown (who replaced The Mount’s Hall of Fame Coach Jim Phelan this year) did a nice job recruiting Jason. He is a great kid and very good student, they’ll bring him along slowly. It is a nice match for Jason and the school. Jason improved a lot this summer and he has gotten a little stronger and bigger. TT: How about Jesse Brooks? MG: Jesse will be a late signee. He has done well academically the last year or so and will be a full qualifier. He’ll be a low D-1 to mid D-1 recruit. I think he’ll have a much better senior year than junior year. TT: For the third year in a row you’ve landed a high profile transfer. Two years ago you got Landy Thompson when Newport Prep closed, and last year you added Rudy from Eastern Tech. This year you picked up Justin Castleberry (a 6'1' junior combo guard who was a part-time starter fpr WCAC power DeMatha as a sophomore in 2002-2003). Justin looked very good this summer for you in the Ban The Brick League, you must be excited to have him in the program. MG: Justin is a tremendous addition to our school as both a student and as a player. I’ve always liked Justin. We really wanted him as an eighth grader (out of Mater Dei in Bethesda), but we are happy to have him now. Actually, he was the 'missing piece' that we needed last year, but we are just excited to have him now as a junior. He is a combo guard. We can play him at the point to spell Jesse Brooks but he is also a good enough shooter and scorer to play the 'two' (wing guard). I won’t say before practice if he’ll start or not, but he’ll be in mix for sure. We graduated the three seniors who shared the ‘two’ spot last year, so we’ll be using new people there this year. I actually plan on playing Rudy at the wing guard spot sometimes. TT: You had two very promising sophomores who got playing time last year in Lawrence Dixon (a 6'5' forward) and Marquis Sullivan (a 6-foot wing guard). DCHoops.com. rates both of them as being among the top players in the Class of 2005 in Maryland. I guess we can expect to see a lot of them this year? MG: Lawrence played a lot last year, he was our top frontcourt sub at the end of the season. He is an excellent athlete who just needs to get a little stronger and more consistent. I would guess he’ll start this year. Marquis didn’t play much last year because we had the three senior wing guards (all of whom are now D-III college student-athletes) ahead of him, but he is a very talented player. Two years ago, Marquis was considered the number one eighth grader in Baltimore, he was a huge recruit for us. He is a real good shooter and a great athlete. He is very strong. I’d like to see his defense get a little better, but he is a good prospect. Marquis averaged 22.5 points a game on our undefeated junior varsity as a freshman, so we know he can score. His grandfather is the old Baltimore Colt defensive end Roy Hilton. TT: We were impressed by Johann Jones this summer. He looks like a good forward prospect. MG: Johann was our ‘sleeper’ this summer. He was a JV kid as a freshman, but he really came on this summer. He is going to be a serious player, he is a 6'4," 195 athlete who can jump and always plays hard. He can really rebound. I originally thought he might be on the JV again, but now I think he’ll be a starter or at least in the rotation, for the varsity. I love this kid’s potential and toughness. We have another new big kid who will be in the rotation this year, his name is Anthony Angion. He is about 6'6' and 265 pounds. He is a junior with two years of JV experience. He missed the summer with a dislocated knee cap, but he’ll be back for this season. He is a big kid, very physical. He can play center or power forward. TT: I heard a rumor that Spalding might add a promising 6'8' transfer from Baltimore County, from Timonium I believe. Did that happen? Did you get any noteworthy transfers besides Justin Castleberry ? MG: No, Justin is our only transfer this year. The player you are referring to wound up at Calvert Hall, which is in Towson and a lot closer to where this kid lived. But he is 6'8' and a good prospect, probably a D-1 prospect. Calvert Hall picked up four transfers this year, they could be really tough. TT: You like to be able to go 9-10 players deep, and the last couple of years you haven’t been afraid to play with a three or even four-guard lineup on occasion, so I would guess that seniors Kevin Galinat and Matt Cornell will still be in the rotation as well? MG: They’re both back and they both will have roles. Cornell is 6'3" and very tough and athletic, he’ll be a D-1 college lacrosse recruit. He can defend guards and forwards and rebound the ball. Brian is a solid player who can play all three perimeter positions, he is a ‘shooter’, so, if he can shoot the ball well enough, he’ll have a role. TT: You played a brutal non-conference schedule last year. How does this year’s schedule look? MG: Well, we open against Gonzaga in the St. Alban’s Tournament. In the first round of the Bullis Tournament we drew Good Counsel, which means you’ll see a Rudy Gay-James Gist matchup. We’ll be playing in the top bracket at the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament, which will mean three tough games. We’ll also be playing in one-day 'shootouts' in Rochester, New York and at the Eastern Invitational at Seton Hall. We might get matched against Cardinal Dougherty of Philly in the Eastern Invitational. So, it is another tough schedule. TT: We appreciate you spending this much time with us, but we can’t let you go without asking you how Will Bowers is doing at Maryland. I know you saw him running pick-up at Comcast this summer while you were working the Maryland camp. How do you think he is doing? MG: I think he is doing well, a lot better than some people thought he would as a freshman. He still needs to keep working hard and working on his conditioning, but Will has nice skills and he is tougher than people think. I know Gary (Williams), Dave (Dickerson), and Jimmy (Patsos) pretty well, and I can tell you that they are pretty pleased with Will’s development and his potential. Will is very versatile and skilled for a kid who is 6'11', 7-foot, 250 pounds, and who just turned 18 years old. I saw him at Comcast this summer and I agree he needs to get in better condition and get stronger, but I could see him starting to adjust to the speed and athleticism of the college game. I still think he is going to be a good player for Maryland. If he works hard he might be playing more as a freshman than people expect.