DMV Basketball: What's The Point? (VIP)

Undoubtedly, the best high school basketball in the country is played in the DMV.

For those who don’t know, that stands for DC, parts of Maryland, and parts of Virginia.

The DMV is blessed with so much depth that every Power 6 conference and a host of mid-majors come here to recruit.

It’s borderline inexcusable to see the local schools struggle at the point guard position or, as I like to refer to it, the primary ballhandler position.

If you look at the schools in the immediate area, American University and George Mason University are the exception.

The Eagles changed offensive philosophies when Mike Brennan was replaced with first-time head coach Duane Simpkins.

That hasn’t bothered primary ballhandlers Geoff Sprouse and Elijah Stephens.

Except for the Georgetown game, Sprouse hasn’t had more than two turnovers in a game. Against the Hoyas, he had three. Because Stephens has handled the ball more, his raw numbers aren’t as good in certain areas, but his offense makes up for it.

There are times when Simpkins wants Stephens to be more aggressive from a scoring point of view. His turnover rate can be slightly high, but there is nothing to lose your mind over.

For first-year head coach Tony Skinn, it’s been even better.

Veteran Ronald Polite III and freshman Baraka Okojie have worked in tandem to give the DMV the best primary ballhandler duo in the DMV.

Polite III is among the conference leaders in Assist/Turnover ratio, and Okojie is 10th in the conference in steals.

The strength of the duo is that they bring something different. Polite III brings a calm leadership style, allowing Mason to get the ball to Amari Kelly and Keyshawn Hall. When the Patriots need a solid set to get the offense rolling again, Polite III provides that.

Okojie brings an incredible amount of energy and pace. His quick-twitch allows him to get in the lane and distribute to others. He isn’t the scorer Polite III is, but he doesn’t need to be.

On defense, Okojie constantly harasses the man he’s guarding. He forces opponents to take longer to get into their offense, and he’s a pest in a good way. We haven’t even gotten to his ability to anticipate and get steals.

Georgetown, Maryland, and George Washington are on the other end of the spectrum.

All three teams would be more successful if they had more of a traditional primary ballhandler.

On The Hilltop, Ed Cooley has had to build Georgetown from the ashes former head coach Patrick Ewing left it in.

It’s hard enough to do that in the Big East Conference. Hands down, the Big East has the best coaches in the country.

Now imagine trying to do that without a true primary ballhandler.

Cooley has had Jayden Epps there but that’s not Epps’ game. He is score-first by nature, and trying to handle both has been trying on him and has been wildly unsuccessful for the team.

Epps still doesn’t have a feel for managing a game, and that’s not his fault. It’s not who he is, but what choice does Cooley have?

Jay Heath can’t assume a primary ballhandler role, and that’s not who Rowan Brumbaugh is.

And it’s not just on the offensive end. All three have problems guarding their position on defense.

It’s a position Cooley will need to address in the portal next season.

The Terps have Jahmir Young, who is more of a score-first player. It works for Maryland because they desperately need his points, so head coach Kevin Willard lives with certain levels of inefficiency.

Young has handled the primary ballhandler role a little better than Epps, partly because of Willard’s defensive philosophy, and the Terps roster has some defense-first guys.

It hinders Maryland because they need Young to play more minutes off the ball, and Harris-Smith’s offensive woes have led to him coming off the bench for the last two games.

Freshman Jonathan Lamothe has been a non-factor this season.

If Young could play off the ball, it would allow him to help a Maryland team that struggles shooting it, even though freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. should eventually get there.

George Washington’s situation is the most complicated and, possibly, the worse off.

James Bishop IV has been making a concerted effort to be a facilitator all season, even when his team has needed him to be more selfish.

That’s been a big surprise, considering no one in the DMV took more shots from more spots on the floor than Bishop IV. His offense personified a YOLO attitude that produced numbers that looked like something you would see in an open gym.

The Revolutionaries already have a “defense by choice” attitude, so Bishop IV struggles just as much on that end of the floor as the rest of the team.

Perhaps Jacoi Hutchinson is the long-term solution, but, as of now, even when Hutchinson and Bishop IV have been on the floor together, Bishop IV hasn’t shown he can run an offense when asked, nor does the offense allow him to get up 25+ shot attempts.

Georgetown, Maryland, and George Washington don’t have an excuse to struggle at that position, especially considering their home is in the DMV.