The state’s best attackman is off the board for the class of 2013. Wilkins Dismuke, a star for Rock Canyon lacrosse, has committed to Johns Hopkins.
Dismuke led the state with 61 goals and 104 points as a sophomore last season. He took a visit to the Baltimore-area campus last Thursday and returned home smitten.
“When I was out there, I just fell in love with the campus and I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere else,” Dismuke said.
The choice, Dismuke said, was helped by a visit to the University of Virginia he took hours earlier. After flying to the area Wednesday evening with his mom and brother -the two campuses are three hours apart – Dismuke got in touch with the Virginia staff and arranged a visit Thursday morning.
The defending national champion Cavaliers are developing something of a Colorado connection. Regis Jesuit’s duo of Rhody Heller, a goalie, and Tanner Ottenbreit, a defensemen, will join the roster this fall. Kent Denver’s Matt Florence will arrive in 2012.
Yet Dismuke wanted to blaze his own trail. That Thursday afternoon, his visit to Johns Hopkins sealed his decision.
“I love all those kids, they’re all really close friends of mine,” Dismuke said, “but Johns Hopkins is just something different, playing with different kids than I’ve already been playing with in Colorado.”
There’s also the fact that, at Johns Hopkins, lacrosse is king. The school has a football program but it competes at the Division III level.
“Virginia, when I was visiting there, their school was largely focused around football,” Dismuke said. “They had a big, huge shrine for them and they had a better stadium. At Johns Hopkins, it would be nice to be, like, the guy on campus because I play lacrosse.”
Hopkins’ lacrosse program has won 44 national championships, including nine NCAA titles.
“The tradition was a huge factor, as well as the possibility of winning a national championship,” Dismuke said.
Dismuke transitioned from a pure scorer (48 goals, six assists) as a freshman to an all-around player. He credited work with his club coach, Jamie Munro at 3d Lacrosse, in developing his dodging skills and rounding his game.
He said he was told by Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala that he’d get the chance to play early when he joins the squad in 2013.
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
