Marcus Ginyard

While the class of 2004 point guard chase is heating up in the minds of many Blue Devil faithful, there are a number of names in the class of 2005 that are popping up on the radar screen. One of the best prospects in the rising junior class is 6-foot-4 Bishop O’Connell combo guard Marcus Ginyard, who has trimmed his list down to five schools that will surely start a big recruiting war.

“The five schools I am considering right now are “Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, and Notre Dame,” says Ginyard. “I guess you could say they are the only ones I am considering.”

After putting together a strong sophomore season at Bishop O’Connell High School in Maryland, the 6-foot-4 192 pound floor general has spent the early part of the summer trying to find some kind of rhythm to his game.

“I feel like I’ve played OK so far this summer, but I haven’t played great, just OK. I think I have progressed as the summer has gone along from the AAU Regionals up to the Kingwood Classic, and I am starting to play well more and more. Mainly I just want to keep improving and to become more dominant on the floor.”

Though he isn’t completely satisfied with his performances to date, each of the five programs on his list have seen enough to make him one of their top priorities in the rising junior class. In fact he’s already visited with Duke, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in an unofficial capacity, something that Ginyard says was a good experience each time.

“It was great talking with Coach K when I was at Duke, and I really liked meeting with Roy Williams at North Carolina too, and then Coach Brey at Notre Dame.”

And what did those coaches tell Ginyard regarding his role within the respective programs?

“When I went on the visits, only Coach Brey had seen me play so he was the only one who was capable of presenting that kind of thing to me,” said Ginyard. “He told me that I would be able to play the point guard spot with Chris Thomas being gone by the time I get to school. Aside from that I really liked Notre Dame’s school and campus.”

And what did he think of the Duke and North Carolina visits?

“Talking with the coaches and touring the campuses was really great. Both Coach K and Coach Williams were great to talk to and I could see myself playing for either of them.”

While he’s gotten three unofficials out of the way, there is no guarantee that Ginyard will be on the board when it comes time to make his official visits during his junior season.

“It could happen anytime I guess. It just really depends on a number of things like which coaching staff I feel the most comfortable with, how much I like the school, and which coaches will bring out the best in me on and off the court.”

The rest of the summer will see Ginyard participating in the Five Star Camp and then he’ll decide if he will participate in one of the shoe camps.