ESPN MAGAZINE
RODDY PETERS
RECRUITMENT
SUITLAND HS.
SUITLAND MD.
ALL-MET ELITE
A year ago, Roddy was entering his junior year at Suitland High School with a decent shot at playing college hoops. Then he erupted, averaging 23 points per game and lighting up the AAU circuit on his first run through the country's elite. Ranked outside the top 100 before the summer, he's now No. 43 in the nation. He's not a one-and-done, program-altering talent. He's more of a culture changer, representing what might be the first domino to fall in an evolving recruiting landscape that is every bit as political as Capitol Hill. That such a dynamic can occur in Washington, D.C., is mind-boggling. Basketball is embedded in the city's DNA. Says Mike Jones, who played for the legendary Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., and now coaches the nationally renowned program, "Even though the Redskins are the top dog in terms of franchises, basketball is our sport." And as long as the two most important programs refuse to give the fans what they want -- an annual bragging-rights bonanza -- the recruiting circuit becomes their battleground. And right now, Peters is the prize. TWO YEARS AGO, Peters didn't even think he'd go to college. He'd been rejected by the private schools in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), perhaps the best high school basketball league in the country, and spent a miserable freshman year at Westlake High School in Waldorf, Md., where Jamena had moved the family. He missed Suitland, and the family moved back for his sophomore year. On the court, he was better known for being the son of Roddy Peters Sr., who led the school to the 1985 state title, than for his own exploits. He was more interested in chilling on the school's steps and clowning with his friends than dedicating himself within its walls.
That changed when Jamena called in "Uncle" Charlie. Charles Harley is Roddy's cousin and the football coach at nearby Forestville High, where he's sent nearly two dozen players to D1 schools. Although Roddy Sr. (divorced from Jamena since Roddy was 5) talks to his son regularly, he hasn't been in good health. Harley's increased involvement filled the void. He emphasized the potential he saw in Roddy's game -- end-to-end speed, a tight handle and a frame aching to stretch to its current 6'4". And he explained the importance of nurturing that talent. "I showed him his transcript and talked about the NCAA process and what he had to do to get qualified," Harley says. "And I told him he had a chance to be great.
Peters listened. With help from what has turned into Team Roddy -- relatives, teachers, coaches and school administrators -- his focus improved in the classroom. And he elevated his play to a level he'd never imagined. His games, as Harley says, became a circus. Reps from the DMV's two most powerful AAU programs, DC Assault and Team Takeover, started showing up to every game and called repeatedly to secure his services. Before long, college coaches were filling the stands too.
That kind of dual recruitment is more complicated, and more rare, than you'd think. No one -- not high school coaches, AAU insiders or recruiting fanatics -- can remember the last time Maryland and Georgetown chased the same kid so deep into the process. In DC, established connections have traditionally helped kids distinguish between local schools early. The Beltway's AAU programs and stocked private schools have been aligned with local colleges or with each other, at least subtly, for years. For example, Big John Thompson never had a DeMatha player on his Georgetown teams, but he openly accepted guys from WCAC rivals like Gonzaga and Paul VI. Gary Williams seldom took a DC Assault player at Maryland, but he always had strong ties to Stu Vetter, the coach at several local prep programs. (Vetter is now at Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., whose alums include Kevin Durant and Greivis Vasquez.) Takeover and Georgetown are Nike schools; Maryland and DC Assault are repped by Under Armour.
The lines have blurred in recent years, but with so many power brokers in such a compact area, navigating relationships can be a dizzying enterprise. And Peters is new to the rodeo. As a rare public school standout, his late emergence has spared him the scrutiny of peers who have been overexposed since eighth grade; Peters has been on the periphery for so long, the old rules didn't apply. Yet the attention is still withering. Though Peters enjoyed the spotlight, his scoring took a dip as he struggled to pick an AAU program. He chose Assault in March, not quite knowing the decision making had just begun. In June, his Assault connections earned him an invitation to the NBPA Top 100 camp, where he was one of the lowest-rated players in attendance. By the end of the week, though, everyone knew his name. He scored 16 points in the championship game while running the team with aplomb. He peeled off a pick-and-roll, keeping his dribble alive while two defenders collapsed on him. He deftly threaded a pass between them, hitting the screener in full stride for a dunk. "It just got me a lot more comfortable," Peters says of his performance. "I would hear all the big-name players and just think, How am I going to play on the same court? But when you're out there with them, they're just a number next to a name."Recruiting analyst Dave Telep has seen few players improve as rapidly as Peters. "In the spring, he was not ready to be a high-level, full-time point guard," Telep says. But thanks in large part to the tutelage of former Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, who ran Assault's 17U team this past season, "by the end of the summer, Roddy had learned how to play the position and established himself as an elite point guard."Just as quickly, prime schools came calling. UCLA pursued him. So did Texas. And on back-to-back days in July, Georgetown and Maryland cemented their interest with scholarship offers. With those two phone calls, a battle commenced that is liable to test the Cold War nature of the local rivalry.
The schools need not worry; Peters is still weighing his options. He has an upcoming trip to Westwood and was impressed by his official visits to Xavier and Rutgers. Kansas recently joined the party as well. Meanwhile, everyone has an opinion on what Peters should do. "People would come to games and be looking for clues," he says. "Like if I wore Under Armour socks, they'd think I was going to Maryland.
Peters hopes to commit before his senior season starts, but there are so many minuscule differences to discuss, so many more phone calls to answer. And yet, there's one thing Peters knows for sure. Like most locals, he wants to see Georgetown play Maryland -- the outcome of which, he assures, would have no influence on his decision. "Right now, I wouldn't even want to play in it," he gushes. "I'd rather watch."
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