As of July 1, 2004 James Quinn MDVarsity.com Magazine Staff MdVarsity.com did a couple of interviews with veteran Spalding Coach Mike Glick before traveling to St. Albans to watch a Cavalier game in the Ban The Brick League with Coach Glick last weekend. Coach Glick had been optimistic with regards to Spalding's outlook for 2004-2005 even before their game against WCAC power Paul VI. The fact that the Cavaliers, with two key returning senior starters not present for the game, played a competitive game against Levi Franklin's tough WCAC team had to be encouraging for Coach Glick. 6' wing guard Marquis Sullivan and 6'5" small forward Lawrence Dixon missed the Paul VI game, which the Panthers won 57-51 after holding off a late Spalding comeback. In an interview last month after Spalding had concluded its spring "open gym" period, Coch Glick told MdVarsity.com, "I think that we could ve very good next year. We return some very god players and we have a few kids coming up from the JV who will help us. I think we will be a very good defensive team and we will have good team quickness and be very versatile." Glick was particularly effusive about his three returning senior starters. "We have three seniors returning who will be D-I (college) recruits. Marquis Sullivan and Justin Castleberry give us two senior guards who are D-I kids who can shoot, play defense, really have complete games. I think that Lawrence Dixon will have a great senior year. In the six weeks since the season ended, Lawrence has improved as much in six weeks as any player I've ever had. He could be really outstanding for us next year." MdVarsity.com did a feature profile on Castleberry in May. The 6'2" point guard, who started his career at DeMatha HS, is also an outstanding student and is being recruited by a number of colleges from the Ivy and Patriot Leagues. Sullivan, a tremendous long range shooter, was the second leading scorer on the 2003-2004 Spalding team. The Cavaliers had a great season in 2003-2004. Spalding was 29-8 and won the MIAA "A" Conference Tournament Championship. For the second year in a row, Spalding lost to Mt. St. Joe's in the Championship Game of the BCL Tournament. Spalding finished No. 2 in the Baltimore Sun Top Twenty Rankings, No. 12 in the Washington Post rankings. Glick will lose several key players to graduation, most notably All-American forward Rudy Gay. The 6'8" UConn-bound, Parade and McDonald's All-American averaged 21 points, 9 rebounds and blocked a team high 125 shots last year. Numbers not easily replaced. "Well, obviously, you don't replace a great player like Rudy. He's the best player I've had in all the years I was at Pallotti and Spalding, I mean, he's a future NBA player. And, we won't have the size next year that we have had the last few seasons when we had Rudy and Will (7' center Will Bowers, a 2002 graduate now playing at the University of Maryland). But we have a lot of good players returning. we'll be very quick and athletic and we'll be a better defensive team. We have a few kids who are really good rebounders, even tough we won't have a seven footer next year." In addition to losing Gay, Spalding graduated starting point guard Jesse Brooks (Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts), wing shooter Kevin Galinat (D-III Mary Washington College), 6'11' reserve center Jason Loughery (Mt. St. Mary's), and 6'4' rebounder/enforcer Matt Cornell (Ohio State on a lacrosse scholarship). Spalding is off to a 5-1 start in the Ban the Brick Summer League. Also, this spring a number of the Spalding underclassmen played together on an AAU Team called "the Fighting Irish". The Fighting Irish were coached by, among others, three of Mike Glick's Spalding assistants. In all likelihood, one of the starting positions will go to rising junior Johann Jones. Jones, a 6'4" high-energy rebounder and defender, had a excellent sophomore eason on the cavalier varsity and started a number of games at the end of the season. He is an efficient offensive player, but principally earns his keep with excellent defense, his ability to run the floor and force turnovers, and his relentless work on the boards. "Johann was definitely my 'surprise sophomore' this year," Glick told MDVarsity.com. "I think he can be a really good player for us next year." Danny Quinn, a rugged 6'6" junior who transferred in from DeMatha, will likely be the Cavalier's starting center. Quinn is a tough rebounder with some developing post skills. He had 13 rebounds in the Paul VI summer game that we watched. "Danny is going to be really good. I think he is going to do a great job for us. he is just now starting to get used to playing with our other kids. He is very tough, a strong kid. He understands how to play inside," said Glick. Ironically, Glick recruited Quinn (no relation to Jim Quinn) very heavily two years ago as an eighth grader coming out of the Annapolis area. A pair of transfers from Prince George's County will also give Glick great backcourt depth. Daniel Palumbo and Derek Young each transferred into Spalding last fall and they played on the Cavalier's excellent JV team last year. Young had attended Suitland HS as a ninth grader. Palumbo, who is from Bowie, Md., attended DeMatha as a freshman. "Palumbo is a terrific athlete and a great competitior," said Glick. "He can play either guard position. He's also a great baseball player, but he loves basketball. He gives us a lot of different looks for our line-up next year. He is tough and he can PLAY." "Derek is a GREAT defensive player. I think Derek will be one of the two best defensive guards in the BCL next year. He will really help next year because we are looking to be quicker and more defensively-oriented," said Glick. Another guard up from the JV who might help next year is 5'10" rising junior Miguel Jones. Jones came off tyhe bench in the Paul VI game to hit 3 first half three pointers and scored 16 points. Jones is also one of the younger Spalding players who played on thr Fighting Irish AAU Team. "I like the look of our team, I think we will surprise some people and be real good," said Glick. SPALDING NOTES: -Two of the bigger, bulkier Cavaliers who could provide depth on the frontline for next year have been injured. 6'6" 250 pound senior Anthony Angion, who only played in 10 games as a junior because of a knee injury, continued to have knee problems after the season. 6'3" 240 rising sophomore Rickey Congo, a standout on last year's JV as a freshman, is, according to Glick, out with an ACL injury. - Coach Glick told us that the Spalding program is starting to build some quality depth in its Boys Basketball program. Unlike most catholic/private schools, Coach Glick does not field a Freshman Team for ninth graders. He only fields a JV and a Varsity. Although Glick told us that he does not foresee starting a Freshman Team at Spalding next year, "We are now in the position to do that if we wanted to...we have enough good young talent that we could field a Freshman Team and a JV if I wanted to, I'm not going to do that now, but we could. We have a couple of big kids coming in, a couple of big wings who can really shoot it. Our young kids, our young classes are pretty deep." -Spalding landed one of the best eighth graders in the DC area in 6'3" Kevon Moore. We asked Coach Glick if Moore might go straight to the Spalding varsity as a ninth grader? "I don't think so, I have never kept a freshman on the varsity here (at Spalding), I only had one at Pallotti. I'd rather see a really young player get started on the JV. But, believe me, this kid is REALLY good. Kevon was the MVP on the Bethesda Magic. He is really athletic. he's a lefty...he kind of reminds me of a young Adrian Branch, he's the best eighth grader I've ever recruited here."