David Wishon has always had the height to play basketball. By kindergarten, he was 5 feet tall. By high school, he was 6-foot-8.

Wishon, 18, now stands at 7-foot-2, 270 pounds as he enters an extra year of preparation at Fork Union Military Academy. Wishon, who played his senior season of high school at First Assembly after three years at Concord High, is finally getting his talent to catch up with his height.

"It takes big kids a lot longer to grow into their bodies," said Hal Wishon, David's father. "David has made tremendous strides in the last two or three years. But I think his best basketball is still ahead of him."

Fork Union coach Fletcher Arritt, who is in his 45th year at the school while producing more than 250 Division I basketball players, said Wishon should have the opportunity to grow at the Virginia school.

"I think Fork Union is a great place for him. There will be plenty of opportunities for him to play in front of college coaches," said Arritt. "But it all depends on how hard he works, how much he wants it."

After struggling to fit into Concord's break-neck pace for his first three years of high school, Wishon flourished in a fast-paced, but more controlled tempo at First Assembly, where he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game on a 29-2 Eagle squad.

First Assembly, who only lost once in the regular season, did not lose again until the state championship. Wishon, however, had one of his best games of the season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

"I really felt like I had a great senior season, made a lot of big improvements," said Wishon. "But I know I still have a lot to prove to people. I just have to focus on doing everything I can to become a better player."

But while Wishon's stock seemed to be rising, the offers from bigger schools didn't come.

Wishon was mainly receiving offers from Division II schools and smaller schools like Kennesaw State. He did have some interest from Ivy League schools like Dartmouth.Fork Union's - and Arritt's - reputation and influence have sparked more college interest in Wishon, as Florida State, Alabama-Birmingham, Boise State and Arkansas Little-Rock have expressed interest in Wishon.

Fork Union basketball assistant coach Brooks Berry thinks that just the beginning.

"I think David is going to be on a lot of people's minds in the near future," he said. "I think he has the potential to do really well at Fork Union and beyond.."

Wishon is looking forward to the opportunity.

"I look at this as a chance to live basketball every day and try to get as many looks as I can," he said.

"I love the sport and someday I would like to play pro ball, whether it's in the NBA or overseas. That is my goal."

First, Wishon will have to take the step of going to college, and Fork Union will prepare him for that.

"We believe David has great future ahead of him," said Arritt.

"But he is going to have to get stronger, tougher and faster. This (prep school ball) is a different game from high school ball, just like college basketball will be different from Fork Union.

"He's going to have to learn to step it up, and that is what we hope to help him do."



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08...z0vjlE1rzJ

It's good that we're going out there and looking for a big man to fill the 5 spot, but it doesn't sound too promising from what the article said.

Agreed but it is good to hear that we are getting out there

I think we were on him hard, but he decided he wanted to go to prep school to better prepare his body for college. The good news is that we have been on him for a while, but the bad news is that he didn't commit. He would be a great fit for our program, and out hope has to be that we have built a good relationship with him that makes him realize what we have to offer. Guys like Wishon move in and out of high major programs all the time, whereas we would have the opportunity to develop him and turn him into great player. Matt Heramb is a great example of what happens when big men like David get stars in their eyes for ACC/SEC programs, and then when they get there they realize what is really important about your college education. Nobody cares about sitting on the bench for a mediocre high major...

We will see what happens.

It's so important to get early and often contact with a prospect; it seems like Coach Ingle et al. are doing that. I've heard committs say time and time again after signing that "I signed because I developed a relationship with Coach..."

As I like to say frequently on our board, a coveted 7-footer with developed skills and a college-ready body is not coming to ETSU, nor is he coming to KSU or any other mid-major. Hell, he may not even sign with our respective 'major programs' up the road (i.e., UT & UGA); he may instead opt for UNC, UCLA, Kentucky, etc.

That said, when I see a prospect such as this Wishon kid, I start foaming at the chops. Although he may not be a veritable center during his freshman or red-shirt freshman year, who knows how he'll develop with weight training, college coaching, and of course, a willingess to be coached. This is one of the reasons I love mid-major basketball: Development is an extremely tough variable to measure or predict.

It'd be exciting if we were able to land him.. but Bucfaithful hit the nail on the head. Predicting how guys will develop (especially bigs at this level) is a crapshoot at best. He's the type of investment that may not pay dividents til 3-4 years after his recruitment.