Festival Preview: St. John’s Vikings Poised to Make Noise

Ron Bailey, Publisher

November 30, 2008 – After going 14-14 last year, Frederick, MD’s St. John’s Catholic Prep (formerly known as St. John’s Prospect Hall) might not on first blush be considered one of the better teams in Maryland. It has yet to be seen if the Vikings can be firmly established as such, but one thing is for sure, they have made an early case to be.

“We just got back from a tournament last night” said the program’s associate head coach, Don Shopland, a tireless worker who not only helps talented head man Silas Cheung coach St. John’s, but is also a known entity on in recruiting circles. “It was at Maria Goreitti (High School) in Hagerstown (the Mid-Atlantic Invitational)…We came away with the championship”.

Prior to that, the Vikings beat The Heights (MD), producing a record of 3-0 at the time of this writing.

Toronto native Grandy Glaze

The school’s early success hinges upon a philosophy Shopland described as “A lot of man to man (defense)” and offensively “We like to push the ball and secondary break for backpedaling defenses…We go inside out (in half court situations). People have to respect what we have in inside, and we have good shooters”.

That inside anchor is 6’6” sophomore power forward Grandy Glaze, a Canadian who early on has put up hefty scoring and rebounding numbers. Equal in stature to Glaze are a pair of Viking seniors, Troy King and Darnell Wiley: King, a 6’7” small forward headed to the Naval Academy has rebounded from an MCL tear, displaying his sweet shooting touch, while Wiley, a player Shopland dubbed “our absolute glue” is a 6’0” combo guard.

Joining that trio are newcomer Cedrick Johnson, a 5’9” point man from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and 6’4” junior banger JR Ferguson, one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most highly recruited defensive ends, owing 16 Division I gridiron offers.

During the Mid-Atlantic Invitational, Glaze was named the event’s MVP, while he and Johnson were tabbed All-Tournament and Wiley received its Hustle Award.

St. John’s brings their early success to the DTLR National High School Hoops Festival Presented by Nike, an opportunity they cherish.

“First off all, Keith Stevens and Kenny Johnson you always see them in the community” said Shopland of the confab’s organizers. “They are always working hard. They just do everything with high class”.

“National Christian (the Viking’s opponent) always produces a solid team” continued Shopland of their Festival foe. Playing them is a huge opportunity”.

It’s the type of chance that could catapult St. John’s into the Mid-Atlantic region’s consciousness, as a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association entity nobody wants to tangle with.