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High School Sports
In Oxon Hill’s Ronald Polite, George Mason thinks it’s getting a ‘sleeping giant’
Ronald Polite averaged 22.5 points as a senior at Oxon Hill. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
By
Kyle Melnick
March 23, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
With the high school and college basketball seasons finished, The Washington Post will use the coming weeks to look ahead to next season, when some of our area’s prep stars will bring their skills to various campuses across the nation. This is the first story of the series.
George Mason men’s basketball coach Dave Paulsen sat in Oxon Hill’s home bleachers last March when Ronald Polite received a pass while cutting to the paint. There were teammates circled around Polite, but the Clippers guard saw a small opening to the left side of the basket. He attacked the gap, jumped around a defender and finished a layup through traffic.
It was only the second quarter of Oxon Hill’s Maryland 3A playoff game against Potomac, but Paulsen had seen enough. He told assistant coach Duane Simpkins he was sold on Polite and offered him a scholarship in Oxon Hill’s locker room after the Clippers’ win.
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Paulsen said the intuition Polite displayed on that play is unteachable, and it’s one of the main skills the senior will bring to George Mason, which finished this past season 17-15, including 5-13 in Atlantic 10 play.
“As good as Ronald is, he’s going to come to a program that really values player development,” Paulsen said. “The Mason program’s a sleeping giant, and I think he’s a sleeping giant.”
2020 Winter All-Met: Boys’ basketball first team, second team, and honorable mention
Despite not being a coveted prospect nationally, Polite emerged as one of the area’s top players this season, averaging 22.5 points and 5.5 assists while leading Oxon Hill to its first Prince George’s County title since 2010. The first-team All-Met selection’s season came to a halt against Southern Maryland Athletic Conference champion St. Charles in the second round of the Maryland 3A playoffs.
Polite made a big jump athletically this past season, even throwing down one of the area’s best dunks over a Potomac defender in February. His intelligence, though, is what has stood out to his coaches.
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He grew up studying former NBA stars while watching “Hardwood Classics” on NBA TV. In middle school, before teams watched film, Polite observed opposing players’ tendencies during warmups. Even playing quarterback as a kid, Polite could roll to one side but still find open receivers on the opposite side of the field.
“The thing that’s super exciting for me about him is his ability to pass, his vision and his unselfishness,” Paulsen said. “Passing and vision and basketball IQ are at shorter supply now than ever. He brings that right to the table right from Day 1.”
While Polite grew up as a facilitator, he developed into a go-to scorer entering his junior year by improving his midrange jump shot. Oxon Hill Coach Lewis Howard sold George Mason’s coaching staff on the fact that Polite plays at a fast pace and doesn’t become rattled under defensive pressure. Polite believes his skill set translates well to George Mason’s up-tempo, pick-and-roll-heavy offense, which is similar to Oxon Hill’s system.
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“As time went on, I had to become a better scorer, create by myself a little more, because that’s what was best for my team,” Polite said. “I had to learn how to create plays from nothing.”
In July, Polite verbally committed to George Mason, partly because it was the first school to offer him a scholarship. He also considered William & Mary, James Madison and Delaware.
George Mason graduates two players and expects to return most of its scoring next season. Former local stars Jordan Miller (Loudoun Valley) and Xavier Johnson (Episcopal) should remain big contributors in the backcourt.
Polite will have to earn a spot in a rotation that usually went nine players deep this past season. Paulsen doesn’t know what Polite’s role will be in his freshman season, but he foresees him directing the Patriots’ offense at times and forcing turnovers with his 6-foot-3, 162-pound frame.
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“If you just look at him and you didn’t see him play, you wouldn’t think that he could do the things that he can do,” Howard said. “The unteachable things that he has is his feel for the game.”
Howard believes Polite has a high ceiling and could become the Atlantic 10’s premier player during his George Mason tenure.
Paulsen does, too.
“I don’t think it’s a question of if he’ll be an elite player for us,” Paulsen said. “I think it’s a question of when.”
Sorry if I missed something on the boards, but the article seems to indicate Kier is not coming back. Talks about two graduating seniors.
