Notable Dematha Catholic High School Alumni Athletes

Out of all the high schools in the DC-Metropolitan area, there is arguably no school with a more storied sports program as dominant as Dematha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. As members of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), they hold the record for the most conference championships in the following sports: football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, wrestling, golf (tied with Gonzaga), and ice hockey. Dematha has an impressive list of alumni that would go on to have success at the collegiate and professional level. Here we will highlight some of the best former athletes in the history of Dematha’s athletic program.

Adrian Dantley- NBA

Adrian Dantley is arguably the most accomplished athlete that attended Dematha. Playing under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten, Dantley helped the team win multiple WCAC championships and Washington D.C. State championships. In addition, he was named Mr. Basketball USA and a Parade First-team All-American as a senior. In college with the the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Dantley played three seasons averaging 25.8 points and 9.8 rebounds for his career. He led Notre Dame to the NCAA Tournament each season and was named a Consensus All-American twice.

Adrian Dantley then entered the NBA as the sixth overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft to the Buffalo Braves (now Los Angeles Clippers). He would play 15 seasons in the NBA with the Braves, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks. For his career, Dantley averaged 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists leading the NBA in scoring twice. He won the 1977 Rookie of the Year, was named to six All-Star Games and two All-NBA teams. In 2008, Adrian Dantley was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Brian Westbrook- NFL

While at Dematha, Brian Westbrook helped lead the team to two WCAC championships while also being selected to the All-Conference, first-team all Prince George’s County, and was selected All-State honorable mention twice. Westbrook then played in college for the Villanova Wildcats where he was selected the Atlantic-10 Conference Player of the Year twice and won the Walter Payton award in 2001. He broke many NCAA records in his time with Villanova including the record for career all-purpose yards (9,512).

Brian Westbrook entered the 2002 NFL Draft as the 91st overall selection in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles. He went on to play eight of his nine seasons in the NFL with the Eagles. Westbrook finished his career with 6,335 rushing yards and 41 rushing touchdowns along with 3,940 receiving yards and 30 receiving touchdowns. He was named to two Pro Bowls, an All-Pro team, and led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2007.

Cameron Wake- NFL

Cameron Wake led Dematha to a WCAC championship in his junior season in 1998 and was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Washington Post as a senior. Wake then went on to play two seasons with the Penn State Nittany Lions. He finished his career with 8.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss. Following his college career, Wake attempted to enter the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants but did not make the final roster. He would go north of the border to keep his professional career alive playing for the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Cameron Wake played two seasons in the CFL with the BC Lions recording 137 tackles and 39 sacks. He was named an All-Star and Outstanding Defensive Play each season. Wake got another shot in the NFL signing with the Miami Dolphins where he would play the next 10 seasons. In total, he played 11 seasons in the NFL recording 100.5 sacks, 99 tackles for loss, 224 QB hits, 22 forced fumbles, and 16 passes defended. He was selected to five Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team.

Chase Young- NFL

After beginning his high school career with St. Vincent Pallotti High School, Chase Young transferred to Dematha High School as a junior. He led DeMatha to a WCAC in each of his two seasons with the school while being selected to the USA Today All-USA team and was named Washington Post Defensive Player of the Year. Young then began his college career with the Ohio State Buckeyes where he played three seasons. He finished his college career with 40.5 tackles for loss, 30.5 sacks, nine forced fumbles, and eight passes defended. He was selected to the second-team All-Big Ten as a freshman, first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, and was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year in his final season.

Chase Young went on to become the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft selected by the Washington Football Team. Young had a successful rookie season recording 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and four passes defended. He anchored a Washington defense that ranked fourth in the NFL in points allowed. In addition, Chase Young was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

Danny Ferry- NBA

In his time at Dematha, Danny Ferry was considered to be one of the best high school players in the country. He led DeMatha to WCAC championships each year and helped lead the to the high school national championship in 1984. He was named Mr. Basketball USA, USA Today High School Player of the Year, Parade Magazine Prep Player of the Year, and was a two-time All-American. Danny Ferry would go on to play with the Duke Blue Devils where his success continued. In his four years with the Blue Devils, Ferry averaged 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals. He was selected to three All-ACC teams, was a two-time Consensus All-American, made two All-ACC Tournament teams, and won two ACC Player of the Year awards.

Danny Ferry was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1989 NBA Draft behind Hall of Famer David Robinson. Rather than playing his rookie season in the NBA, Ferry instead played in Italy because he did not want to play with the Clippers. After a year in Italy, he came to the NBA where he would be traded to the Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers. He went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA with the Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs respectively winning an NBA championship with the 2003 Spurs in what was his final NBA season.

Derek Mills- Track & Field

In Derek Mills’ senior year with Dematha, he ranked second in the world in the 400 meters. In 1990, Mills won a gold medal in the World Junior Championships in the 4×400 meter relay. Following his time with Dematha, he ran track with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. There he won the 1994 NCAA championships in the 400-meter dash. His final two years with Georgia Tech saw him rank in the top 10 among the top 400 including ranking second overall in his senior year. Between 1994-1996, he ranked in the top 10 in the nation in the 400 meters. In 1995, Mills won a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships in the 4×400 on his way to participating in the Summer Olympics the following year. In the Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 4×400 meter relay.

Jerami Grant- NBA

Coming out of Dematha High School, Jerami Grant was a four-star recruit by ESPN.com and was the 37th ranked recruit in the 2012 class. Prior to his college career beginning, Grant won a gold medal playing in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championships as a member of Team USA. In college, Grant played for the Syracuse Orange where he would play two seasons averaging 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds for his college career. Entering the 2014 NBA Draft, Jerami Grant was selected in the second round as the 39th overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers. So far, in his seven seasons in the NBA, Grant is averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. This season, he is having a career year with the Detroit Pistons averaging 22.5 points and 4.6 rebounds making him a contender for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Markelle Fultz- NBA

Markelle Fultz did not get off to a good start with Dematha as he was cut from the varsity team in his sophomore season. He got his chance in his junior year winning the WCAC Player of the Year award averaging 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. As a senior, he set the school record for assists in a season. Fultz was the fifth-ranked recruit by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RCSI) in the 2016 high school class choosing to play in college with the Washington Huskies.

In his lone college season, Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. He was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Markelle Fultz then entered the 2017 NBA Draft where he was selected as the number one overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. Injuries have prevented Fultz from reaching his full potential in the NBA so far as he has missed 189 of a possible 328 games in his career. This season, Fultz was ruled out after suffering a torn ACL in January.

Paul Rabil- Lacrosse

Paul Rabil is one of the most influential figures in the sport of lacrosse. His journey began at Dematha where he led the school to WCAC championships each year. In addition, he was a two-time All-American and was named Washington Post Player of the Year in 2004. He then went on to play lacrosse in college with Johns Hopkins University winning two NCAA championships. In 2008, Rabil was selected number one overall in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) collegiate draft by the Boston Cannons and would go on to become one of the most decorated players in the league’s history.

In 11 MLL seasons, Rabil won two Steinfeld Cup championships winning the MVP in 2015, won two MLL MVPs, three Offensive Player of the Year awards, made 10 All-Star appearances, and nine First-Team All-Pro appearances. In 2018, along with his brother, Paul Rabil founded the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) holding their inaugural season in 2019. Rabil plays in the PLL with the Atlas Lacrosse Club.

Quinn Cook

Quinn Cook spent his first three years in high school at Dematha. There, Cook became the only sophomore to make a Washington Post All-Met team, the only junior to make the All-Met First team and the first junior in 30 years to be named the Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year. He played his final high school season with Oak Hill Academy before going on to play his college career with the Duke Blue Devils. In his four years at Duke, Quinn Cook averaged 11.0 points and 3.6 assists and was named to two All-ACC teams. In his senior season, Cook led the ACC in three-pointers made (102), three-point percentage (.395) and free throw percentage (.891).

Coming out of college, Quinn Cook began his professional career in the NBA G-League with the Canton Charge. Following his second G-League season with the team, Cook was called up by the Dallas Mavericks. In 2017, Cook signed with the Golden State Warriors where he would play the next two seasons making the NBA Finals each time winning his first NBA championship in 2018. In 2020, Cook won a second NBA championship as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Currently, Quinn Cook is a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Victor Oladipo- NBA

While at Dematha, Victor Oladipo helped lead the team to three WCAC Championships. His senior season saw him selected to the Washington Post All-Met First Team and the All-WCAC First Team. He went on to play in college for the Indiana Hoosiers. He spent three seasons with Indiana averaging 10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. Oladipo’s college career saw him named to two Big Ten All-Defensive teams, he was named to the All-Big Ten team his senior season and was named Big Ten and NABC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Victor Oladipo entered the NBA in the 2013 NBA Draft as the second overall pick to the Orlando Magic. In the NBA, Victor Oladipo has averaged 17.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 steals. He has made two All-Star appearances, was named to an All-NBA and an All-Defensive team in 2018 as well as leading the NBA in steals. Despite injuries setting him back, Oladipo has continued to persevere currently playing for a Miami Heat team that is sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.