Lemmons emerges from teammates shadows

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Last year, Gonzaga High School (D.C.) had three players who earned All-Met honors - Tyler Thornton, Ian Hummer and Cedric Lindsay, but one player who did not receive recognition, but could make an impact this season is 6-foot-4 forward, Malcolm Lemmons.

Lemmons was a quietly effective small forward on head coach Steve Turner's 2008-2009 squad. Lemmons averaged 10 points, four rebounds and three assists as a key role player for the Purple Eagles.

"He played great defense, hit the boards. & He scored when we needed him too, but with Tyler, Ian and Cedric he mostly just did the dirty work and played great team ball," Turner said. "He was in his first year on the varsity after being a junior-varsity player as a sophomore, but he made a great transition to varsity ball."

One year later, Lemmons is emerging from the shadows of his more heralded teammates -- after having a great summer in the Summer League/Summer Camp/AAU circuit and is now getting recruiting interest from over a dozen Division I colleges. Lemmons plays AAU ball with the prestigious Team DC Assault program.

"When we got back from Eastern Invitational my phone was blowing up from college coaches," Turner said. "I think he has three or four college [scholarship] offers. & He played really well for our Gonzaga team all summer and with the exposure he gets with D.C. Assault he is going to get more offers."

"I'm hearing from a lot of colleges, Vermont, UMBC, Bucknell, Brown, Dartmouth, Loyola, Robert Morris, Princeton. Only a few have offered scholarships so far, but coach Turner said that is changing."

An excellent student at Gonzaga, Lemmons is drawing interest from Ivy League and Patriot League colleges for his strong grades. Lemmons said that he will major in English, Communications or Business in college.

Lemmons has primarily been a small forward in high school, but will likely have to be a wing guard at the next level.

"I'll probably be a two [wing guard] in college, though, depending on where I go to school and how much more I grow, I might be able to play some three and be a swingman," Lemmons said. "I like playing the three where I can help on the boards and be both an inside and perimeter scorer. I'm working on my ball handling, improving my shooting range, defending different positions. I want to be a versatile player who can help my team win in different ways."

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