For better or worse, the end of Haukur Palsson's high school career played out live on national television.
Palsson suited up as the sixth man for top-seeded Montverde (Fla.) Academy -- just as he had all season long -- in the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound small forward from Iceland had been one of Montverde's most consistent performers throughout the year, but at Coppin, the Maryland-bound senior was off his game.
"He struggled with his shot," said Montverde coach Kevin Sutton. "Actually, he tinkered with his shot before the tournament, so his shot was a little bit off. So it wasn't representative of his talent at all. Defensively, yes, but from an offensive standpoint, it wasn't at all. He's a skilled basketball player. He's a young man that's going to be a good player for Maryland. He didn't play as well as he's capable of playing."
The Eagles finished the year at 23-4 with a loss to Findlay (Nev.) Prep in the ESPN Rise championship game. Montverde's apperance in the tournament -- held the first weekend in April -- came nearly two months after its last game. Sutton believes that hiatus also contributed to Palsson's quiet tournament.
Regardless of the reasons for Palsson's play, many Terps fans tuned in to watch the games, and subsequently expressed less-than-enthusiastic reviews on message boards."I'm not sure [if Palsson paid attention to criticism], but whether good or bad, it's just people writing their opinions," Sutton said. "They're faceless. Gary Williams knows what he's getting and I'm sure those same people were writing messages about some other players Maryland has got. I'm sure they didn't think Greivis Vasquez would turn out to be as good as he was. I'm certain [there were people] thinking he couldn't play at Maryland. But that's just people writing on the message boards. I know Gary Williams well enough to know that he doesn't care about [what people write on message boards], whether it's good or bad."
Palsson finished the year -- his first living in the U.S. -- with averages of 10 points and five rebounds per game. He was the Eagles' best free-throw shooter at 72 percent, and also shot 51 percent from two-point range and 39 percent from beyond the arc. While Palsson's numbers may appear underwhelming at first glance, Sutton cautions observers to remember that playing for Montverde is much different than playing for a local public school.
"We have a very talented team, yes, and Hawk is one of the talented players. It's more like playing at a college. It's preparing for college rather than [playing for] an all-star team," Sutton said. "Every day he's going up against James Bell, a Parade All-American who's going to Villanova, he's going up against Jamail Jones, who's going to Marquette, and every day he's going up against Papa Samba Ndao, who's going to Boston College. Practicing against high-level players daily enables him to be a high-level player himself. Playing for us prepares him for the next level, physically, socially and academically. If he was playing at a public school, I think obviously he would score a lot more points, but I'm not sure he would be as prepared."
The Maryland staff has told Sutton they expect Palsson to come in, play tough defense and knock down long-range shots. He'll have another chance to play in front of local fans Thursday when he suits up for the U.S. All-Stars in the Capital Classic at American University in Washington.
Sutton hasn't known Palsson very long. It was less than a year ago that former DeMatha assistant and current Maryland women's assistant David Adkins recommended Palsson to Sutton. But the two have grown close over the past several months, and Sutton can't wait to see Palsson start his career in College Park.
"I will miss him as a person, first, because he's a quality young man," Sutton said. "I'll miss his competitive sprit as a basketball player. He brought a lot of things to our team that made us a complete team. We wouldn't have had this good a season if he hadn't come to our program. In general, I'll just miss Hawk period. He combines the three things I look for in a student-athlete. No. 1, being serious about his academics, which he is. Hawk's an honor-roll student. He's also a young man who's a good role model and has high character. And then I want passionate basketball players, and he was. He's a passionate basketball player. He exemplifies everything I want in a student-athlete to come out of Montverde. So I'm just going to miss him period."