Keith Pompey: North Catholic's Christmas ignores hype

Remember Major Wingate?

He's a player some of you probably never heard of. Well, Major Wingate is a guy that North Catholic's Rakeem Christmas doesn't want to emulate.

Problem is, Wingate's path is one he will follow if some in the local basketball community have their wish.

Wingate was such a star that he transferred from one high school to another to elevate his game. But the move ended in misfortune.

At 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, Christmas, like Wingate before him, is regarded as one of the nation's top sophomore basketball players. The center is the country's seventh-best prospect in the Class of 2011, according to ESPN Insiders.

Christmas is averaging 9.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks a game. One of his best performances came Friday night against Roman Catholic. He finished with nine points and seven blocks.

Though raw, Christmas has the tools and upside to develop into a dominant post player. Blessed with great shot-blocking ability, he could become an NBA talent.

Six years ago, Wingate was projected as a can't-miss NBA prospect while at Wilson High in South Carolina. He was a headliner of a national sophomore class that included LeBron James.

"He was up there," said Dave Telep, Scouthoops.com recruiting analyst, who said Wingate was listed just about everywhere either No. 1 or No. 2. "He was certainly in the conversation."

Wingate, then 6-10 and 230 pounds, was profiled in the April 2000 edition of Slam magazine, and ESPN The Magazine recognized him as the nation's top high school sophomore in November 2001.

With the notoriety came opinions. So-called confidants said he would be better suited transferring to another school that, unlike the star-studded Wilson team, would make him the

man

.

Never mind that Wilson's coach at time, Tommy Johnson, was an accomplished coach. Forget that Johnson was a father figure who drilled Wingate on the fundamentals. And disregard that Wingate, despite having an NBA-ready frame, had much to learn.

Some folks in the community became upset that he wasn't the lone star of the team. They cringed when Wingate set picks for teammates instead of slamming home alley-oop dunks.

They told Wingate to transfer to a place where he would get his due, where the coach wouldn't be as demanding.

Unfortunately, he listened.

Wingate transferred to North Gwinnett (Ga.) for his senior season, but he dropped drastically in the national rankings.

Following three average seasons at the University of Tennessee, Wingate is still struggling to convert anything outside of a dunk. The one-time can't-miss NBA prospect is playing professionally in Europe.

You have wonder if bad advice is why he's not in the NBA.

Like Wingate in 2001, Christmas is hearing the same advice. Attending Falcons' games is like going to a beauty salon. All you hear is gossip about Christmas.

Some say he's leaving for a high-profile basketball factory. Some say he should. They even blog about shoe companies - who want to sign him to lucrative deals - being dissatisfied with his number of touches.

One text message circulating has Christmas transferring to powerhouse St. Patrick in Elizabeth, N.J.

"I'm staying" at North Catholic, Christmas said. "I don't even pay attention to all that talk. It doesn't bother me because I don't get into that."

That's good to hear.

Christmas insists his only plan is to become a better player. That's why he has a personal trainer and works out with former NBA player Pervis Ellison.

"I don't want to be like" Wingate, he said.

Hearing that, it appears that Christmas gets it. Now it's time for those who want him to quit on North Catholic to do the same.