Keith Pompey: Imhotep's Prescott: Nice guy with talent

Sam Prescott is a special dude.

The basketball standout at Imhotep Charter has the characteristics one would want in a best friend. The soft-spoken 18-year-old is also someone you would want your daughter to marry.

Caring, loyal, humble and hardworking are all words to describe him.

"Sam is a better person than he is a player," Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble said. "He's a great person. . . . You just love being around him."

Mr. Lovable does have a fierce side, though.

It comes out when he's on the basketball court. The 6-foot-3 swingman turns into a quiet competitor known as "Speed Racer."

Diving for loose balls, providing lock-down defense, or making clutch shots, it doesn't matter. Prescott more often than not comes through.

For proof, ask the players from Franklin Learning Center.

In the Public League championship, the Marist University signee led his team to a 49-43 victory over the Bobcats Friday night at the Liacouras Center.

Prescott finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots, and three steals. Eleven of his points came in the fourth quarter. That's when he made 9 of 14 free throws.

The biggest were the six he made in the final 38.3 seconds to turn a one-point lead into a six-point victory. For his effort, the West Oak Lane resident was named the game's MVP.

But in true Prescott fashion, the all-Public C Division selection gave his MVP trophy to someone he thought was more deserving: his mother, Elaine Prescott.

"Without her, this wouldn't be possible," said Prescott, who is averaging 16.4 points and seven rebounds. "She tried to make every game that she could. And if she wasn't there, she'd call me right afterward to make sure how it went."

But Elaine Prescott shouldn't just get credit for raising a basketball standout. She also should be thanked for raising a great young man.

Since transferring to Imhotep from Cardinal Dougherty last season, Prescott has been a model student at the Germantown school.

"He does well in school," Noble said. "I don't think he's gotten disciplined for anything - dress code, gum, anything.

"He's just a great kid, man. You'll love being around him."

That's because Prescott is a team-first player in an era when individuals often believe they're bigger than their teams.

He shies away from interviews. And when they are unavoidable, Prescott is either noticeably uncomfortable or he praises his teammates.

"He doesn't want anybody to know about him," Imhotep guard Will Adams said. "But he's a good player, man. Every game he plays, he brings it. His offense is crazy.

"I love him."

Until last summer, Prescott wasn't receiving a lot of love on the basketball court. Few fans outside the Imhotep community knew anything about him. It had a lot to do with his averaging just 4.8 points last season as a reserve.

Determined to improve, Prescott logged long hours working on his game during the off-season.

His work began to pay off while he played AAU basketball for Positive Imagine. Impressing college recruiters over the summer, Prescott gained scholarship offers from Marist, Stony Brook, St. Francis (Pa.), and Howard.

Marist appears lucky to haved signed a player with Prescott's ability. Check that - the Red Foxes appear lucky to have signed a standout player with his extraordinary characteristics.

"He is," Adams said, "a great person all the way around."