DC Basketball Blog

Greatest D.C. Area Player Poll

Who was the greatest high school basketball player in the history of the DC metropolitan area? Comment here, or send your response to bijan@dcbasketball.com, or bijanc@hotmail.com.

BCB

43 Comments

43 responses so far ↓

  • DC HS Basketball Junky // March 3, 2009 at 7:07 pm | Reply

    I have been following DC high school basketball for over forty years and I believe that Wilbert Skipper(Anacostia HS 75-78) should also be recognize as one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. His shooting range in HS was a minium of thirty five feet.We may have to check the DC basketball achives to see if Skipper is the all time leading scorer in the schools history. lets not forget that Skipper is the all time leading scorer in Southeast Community College Neb with 1226 points in two years. After playing at SCC Skipper was a basketball star at GWU from 1980-82. The next time we discuss the greatest basketball players from Wash DC Wilbert Skipper name should be mentioned. Thank You -great DC High School basketball fan.

    • cagewriter // March 4, 2009 at 4:15 am | Reply

      Thanks for propping Skipper, who could really play. Im always asking people if they recall him. He was a talented guard who went on to play at GWU.

      BCB

  • DP // March 4, 2009 at 4:15 pm | Reply

    DARRYL PRUE WAS STREET AND SMITH TOP 100 IN 1985

  • Lennie K. // March 21, 2009 at 5:47 am | Reply

    I saw Gary Browne from Whitman play in 1968, and he is the best high school player I have ever seen. A 6 foot 6 power forward with the softest lefty touch I”ve ever seen on a player at any level, and played his biggest in the biggest games. He went for 64 against Annapolis in his senior year state semi-final. The day before (maybe even the day of) the state final, he tore ligaments in his ankle. He still played and scored 33 points, with a heavy limp the whole game. Amazing performance. I remember all this, burned in my memory as an 11 year old. About 6 years later, I was shooting in the Whitman gym, and this large fellow with a beard comes in, and starts swishing shot after shot after lefty shot. It was Browne. I think his college career at West Virginia was cut short by a back injury suffered in a car accident. Wherever he is, I hope he is well!

    • cagewriter // March 21, 2009 at 3:06 pm | Reply

      Wow. Thanks for stopping by and fleshing out Browne’s game Lennie. Sounds a little bit like Jerry Lucas.

      BCB

  • Kandis Kernan // March 23, 2009 at 5:52 am | Reply

    stan snookie kernan is my grandfather and he has always been the greatest basketball player to me. i look at all his awards and hall of fame pics. he is my hero and a great man… it has been a privilege to get advice bout playing basketball from him when i played i want to be him……

    • cagewriter // March 23, 2009 at 5:14 pm | Reply

      Thanks Kandis. Your grandfather was a phenomenal player, and coached our founder in high school.
      BCB

  • MillratsGM // March 24, 2009 at 11:31 pm | Reply

    My homeboy Terry Lancaster was as good as they come. He didn’t stick with the academics and never achieved a real college career…but he used to get it done on the playgrounds and in the Urbo & the Kenner.

    Not saying he was the best of all time from DC just throwing his name out there.

    Mark Tillmon played in the McDonald’s All-American East-West Game and had a great HS career.

  • cagewriter // March 25, 2009 at 2:12 pm | Reply

    Nice props Millrats. They used to call Terry “Kris Kross” because of his dribble.

    BCB

  • Millratsgm // March 25, 2009 at 9:08 pm | Reply

    Does anybody know where I can find old urban coalition videos? I’m looking for vides of Terry Lancaster and guys from that era (86-98)

  • cagewriter // March 25, 2009 at 11:04 pm | Reply

    I wish I knew. We do have a request out on our homepage for folks to submit or upload their videos and images.

    BCB

  • david wood // April 4, 2009 at 11:34 pm | Reply

    How about Carl Jackson, all met, TC Williams, 1974, 27 points, 20 boards a game. Played in McDonald’s Capital Classic. Was all league at first year at George Mason before knee injury. Had several games against 6′8″ centers in high school with D 1 schlorships where he had games of 40 plus points and 20 plus boards in these games. Jumped like David Thompson and could play any position.

    • cagewriter // April 5, 2009 at 5:15 pm | Reply

      You’re right David- great nomination. Carl Jackson was a bad boy. I hope you enjoy the interview with Pete Holbert on our homepage. He talks about T.C. Williams.
      BCB

  • ju21 // April 16, 2009 at 7:39 pm | Reply

    Anthony Cricket Williams was one of the best players that came out of Mckinley Tech , then went to Jacksonville Univ. Mckinley Tech was all-Met and all conference in the sunbelt conf that went to the ncaa tourney in 1979.

  • David Moore // May 5, 2009 at 2:09 am | Reply

    I had the opportunity to be coached by two of DC’s finest in Herb Gray,Sr and Stan Kernan. Herb Gray,Jr (Bowie)was an excellent player, but did not have the supporting cast.
    Who is your founder and what year did he graduate from PHS

    • cagewriter // May 6, 2009 at 3:21 pm | Reply

      Good coaches. Our founder Pennington Greene attended Parkdale until 1974, and was an All-Met performer there.

      BCB

  • Wade Smith // May 13, 2009 at 6:42 pm | Reply

    I went to school with carl Jackson, can score from any angle, variety of shots. He had team mates, James Majors who broke his leg playing football, started for George Washington as a freshman, prior to going to T.C. Williams.

    Herbert Estes was T.C. Williams first All American, The quickest shot release, was left handed, first team all met.

    Craig Harris, most valuable player Capital classic was another bad dude. He had a teammate (Anthony Roach Young) averaged ten block shots a game. He was 6′6″ Center.

    Pete Dehaven, Edison, 1969 or 70. You have him listed for Madison 1975, which is wrong. That was a bad boy, had a spin so quick, gave George Washington fits in the playoffs.

  • Bobby Johnson // May 25, 2009 at 11:58 am | Reply

    I had the opportunity to play with quite a few good players such as Donald Bullock, Joseph “Mousie” Sommerville, Joe “Radar” Carr, Jake Lewis, Norman Moon, Willie Suber, Earl Muschette , Marshall “Putt-Putt” Cromwell & Kenny Bruce.
    These guys could shoot & play with any one in the NBA At the trime.
    During The late 1960’s.
    And they were all under 6 feet.

  • cagewriter // May 25, 2009 at 6:19 pm | Reply

    Thank you Mr. Johnson. Bullock and Moon are names that surface sometimes. I appreciate you recalling the others.

    BCB

  • Bill // May 30, 2009 at 9:22 pm | Reply

    Hello,
    First of all, let me say that I am using my daughter’s e-mail address to send this message. I am visiting her and I came across your website and saw this article on Mickey Michaels of Duval (and couldn’t wait to comment on your “Greatest D.C. Area Player Poll”). Unlike Mick, I was not a good ballplayer but a great fan of the game. I went to high school in Prince Georges (P.G.) County in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The Duval team, from the winter of 1968 through the spring of 1970, was arguably the best “TEAM” to ever play in Prince Georges (P.G.) County. I saw many teams in the Washington D. C. area play during that 1970 season and it is hard for me to dispute people who say Duval was (again; arguably) the best team. Irving Copeland, Alphonso Adair, and Mickey Michaels were three of the top 10 players in the Washington, D.C. area in the 1970 season; barring none! Guys from that era who are honest with themselves know that these guys were “no joke.” They deserve to be ranked with the best of the D.C. high school B-ballers of any era. Bobby Stevens and Walter Schaffer, guard and center respectively, were also a tremendous part of Duval’s success over the 1968/1969 and 1969/1970 basketball seasons. Thanks for your time,
    Bill

    • cagewriter // May 30, 2009 at 9:31 pm | Reply

      That team must have been something else Bill. At the time, St. Anthony’s, Eastern, and Tech also had monster squads. To play in back-to-back state title games, Duval must have had a stick.

      Don’t be a stranger- daughter’s computer or not…

      BCB

  • Bobby Sumner // August 17, 2009 at 10:24 am | Reply

    Two other great Interhigh players if you have not named them yet were Andrew Corbin (HD Woodson) and Diego McKoy (Spingarn).
    In Maryland, Booty Neal (Oxon Hill) and Barry Frazier (DuVal) were great HS cagers.
    One of my favorite Catholic league ballers is Tommy Branch.

  • Wade Smith // August 27, 2009 at 4:57 pm | Reply

    Morris Mills, Daymond Jackson & Michael Horton T.C. Williams. Morris Mills did not look like one of the best when you saw him play, but everyone you thought was greater then him came up short. H would just out play, shut you down defensively & score & rebound to the tune “He did What? He was only Six Foot Two, was first Team All Met & All State 1974-75 year. at T. C. Williams.

    Daymond Jackson was 6′4″ tall, could really jump, dribble & shoot. He was first team all met his senior year, went to Georgetown, why he did not start is anybody’s guest, He should of started.

    Michael Horton, truly a talent, really, really good, but loved to have fun ( p..rty).

    I do not know how you can say one player is greater then the other except Mr. Baylor, Mr. Dantley, Mr. Carr, Carl Jackson & Pete Dehaven.

    I know you considered David Koesters of West Springfield, but his teams offense, something like a Princeton Style enabled him to shoot behind screens. I must say, I never seen anyone shoot from the corner like he does.

    Speaking of West Springfields offense, their coach Don Mc Cool was the best coach in the Wash dc area, “Bar none! ”

    In my opinion, He was better than Morgan Wooten. If, you gave him the same players Morgan Wooten had, he would smoke Morgan Wooten.

    You can see Don Mc Cool’s genius in his warm up drills and skill sets his players would go through during pre-game warm ups.

    Perhaps we will do a greatest coaches poll?

    Wade

  • Ed Duncan // September 12, 2009 at 5:55 am | Reply

    So many great players– the best I ever saw in person were Harold Fox- Northwestern 1968 , Gary Browne Whitman 1968– both of them went for more than 60 a couple of times during the year. I saw Browne put 62 on Gaithersburg- very scarey shooter. They met in the state title game, Northwestern won but both of them put on a show. Also– everybody on McKinley Tech’s 1969 team. I saw them beat DeMatha , with James Brown, in the M Club Tournament. Randolph “Apple” Milam lit it up. He didn’t have a big college career and I’ve always wondered why– I thought he was a better player than Ronnie Houge, who was All SEC at Georgia. Austin Carr was unbelievable his senior year at Mackin– made like 18 of 21 shots in a win over DeMatha. I saw Adrian Dantley as a freshman– he was really good , but not yet the total package he later became. Ed Petersen , Springbrook 1969 may have been the best pure shooter I ever saw. Good career at South Carolina. The Fairmont Heights teams in the late 60’s and early 70’s were really something with Jerome McDaniel, two time All Met.

    • cagewriter // September 12, 2009 at 1:42 pm | Reply

      Those are some great names and some fantastic memories. I wish I could have seen Fox, and McKinley Tech’s “Magnificent Seven”.
      BCB

  • Tom Greer // October 5, 2009 at 2:04 am | Reply

    Downtown Junior Brown of the Mount Vernon High School 79 VA State Champs. Awesome play-making point gaurd, deep threat shooter, and passer. Probably his most dangerous weapon was his ability to “pick” the ball away from opposing point gaurds as they brought the ball down court. He is a legend!

    • cagewriter // October 5, 2009 at 8:56 pm | Reply

      Thanks Tom for hipping me to this outstanding local performer. We are working on a documentary that will bring this rich regional story to the world.
      BCB

  • William Reese // October 16, 2009 at 1:50 pm | Reply

    Bill Langloh of DeMatha (1968-73) was one of the great high school guards of his era.

    At 6′4″ he was a tremendous open-court ballhander and passer, and a dead-eye outside shooter; he could take it to the rack either left or right handed.

    During the historic 1973 Dunbar-DeMatha game at the Baltimore Civic Center, Langloh went for 28 points, while more heralded teamate Adrian Dantley was held to 12.

    Skip Wise shot the lights out with 47 points, and the Dunbar team shot 75% in the second half, and beat the Stags by 12 points or so.

    Langloh went on to have a stellar career at Virginia, winning ACC Tourney MVP in 1976, when the last-place, 2-12 Cavaliers won the ACC Tournament.

  • DJ Nose // November 3, 2009 at 10:19 pm | Reply

    Oh yea, That Capital Classic MVP for Craig Harris came in the game that the national squad had Magic Johson & Gene Banks. Craig dropped 28 on them. The TC Williams team from that year went 28-0. Shout to “Little Wille” Jackson, point guard on that squad.

    Daryl Prue played wiith Tyrone Shaw (from T.C.) on that West Virginia squad. Wish Prue could of made that basket in the tournament.

  • chris // November 6, 2009 at 2:15 am | Reply

    donald ford,victor page, jonny dawkins, xree hipp…

  • mark chisholm // November 14, 2009 at 3:21 pm | Reply

    Barry Frazier played at H.D. Woodson in the late 70’s with Weldon Parham before the 3-point line was in existence. D.C. has had many outstanding basketball players Jojo, Billie Bryant, Delonte Taylor-Peanut, BAY-BAy, Big Sky, brian Magid, but Stayce Robinson was one of the best that ever did it. He completely took over basketball games and was MVp of the Capital Classic, Curt Smith has held his own with every guard to venture into DC…Don;t forget Louis Bullock ,Michigan scored 40 in Capital Classic starred at michigan…Turk Tillmon, Ratiff, way too many ball players to name…fast eddie swailes…the unbelievable Sherman Douglas…playground legend Ducky Vaughn. I could go on all day Dennis Johnson-Mackin–Stevie Lincoln, John Battle, Moochie Norriss…wes Matthews…Clyde the Glide…Hawkeye, the gregory brothers…garcia hopkins…I;m sorry to the ball players Ileft out did not feel like typinganymore

  • cagewriter // May 6, 2009 at 3:21 pm | Reply

    Thanks Mr. Prue.
    BCB

  • cagewriter // October 26, 2009 at 12:13 pm | Reply

    Thanks for the tip Tom. He’d make a great interview for our homepage, and for an upcoming documentary.

    BCB

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