The area by the back entrance of the DeMatha Catholic High gym buzzed with people as a balmy June Friday reached its hottest late-afternoon stage.
A Fairleigh Dickinson coach talked loudly into his cellphone about a wing who can “really shoot it.” A group of lanky high school players discussed whether it would be possible to attend that night’s Lil Baby concert in Washington. New Xavier coach Sean Miller approached a check-in table and gave his name — not to be confused with his brother, Rhode Island’s Archie, who would also be present.
It was the first day of DMV Live, one of two big basketball recruiting events held in the D.C. area each summer and an event that will continue next weekend. In 2019, the NCAA opened a window for scholastic events in what is normally a month dominated by AAU basketball. Now in its third iteration, this event at DeMatha featured 32 private schools from Maryland and Virginia — but was open to schools from other states as well.
D.C. Live, a similar setup at Sidwell Friends, is staged for D.C. teams and Virginia public school teams.
“The biggest change this year is that the demand to get in is overwhelming,” said DMV Live director Marc Stern, who mentioned applications from high schools as far-flung as Colorado. “Logistically it’s just not possible to accommodate everyone.”
More than anything, these events are a place to watch and be watched. College coaches pepper the sidelines, each wearing his school’s gear so he can be noticed by the area’s best prospects. But coaches are not allowed to speak with players: NCAA rules limit them to contact by text or phone call during this time period.
“It’s a bit weird, not being able to talk to anybody,” Jackson-Reed star Robert Dockery said. “But I always see who’s here. I definitely notice.”
Sean Miller was among the many Power Five coaches present this weekend. Also spotted at either event: Harvard’s Tommy Amaker, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Pittsburgh’s Jeff Capel, Miami’s Jim Larrañaga, Butler’s Thad Matta, Maryland’s Kevin Willard, Indiana’s Mike Woodson and Virginia Tech’s Mike Young.
Not every coach was there to scout the top prospects. Early Friday afternoon, Davis & Elkins’s Daniel Harris sat in the bleachers at Sidwell Friends munching on a granola bar as he watched Patriot take on Coolidge. Representing a small Division II program in Elkins, W.Va., the young assistant hopes to find players on the fringe of Division I talent and convince them to come about four hours west to the Mountain State.
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Photo: College coaches covered the sidelines at DeMatha this past weekend. (Courtesy photo/Liam Brennan)
