"At North County, we had a lot of kids who could go on and play," Liddick said recently while supervising weight training. "I had coaches here making offers at the schools, and the kids wouldn't go. We started getting this reputation that … you weren't going to play college if you played at North County."

Liddick, in his sixth year as North County's head coach, believes that stigma is erased.

Marice Royster (Tennessee State), Will Ritter (Marrist), Quinten Jones (Mount Union, Ohio), Kyvory Henderson (Lafayette) and Demetrio Fleet, Reggie McIntyre and David Fountain - all of whom are playing for Division III Wesley - are representing the Knights well.

Royster is expected to start at outside linebacker for Tennessee State, and Ritter will be starting at right tackle for Marist - both Football Championship Subdivision schools, formerly known as Division I-AA.

Wesley, a Division III school, is ranked No. 2 in the preseason top 25 in the USA Today Sports Weekly College Football Preview - its highest ranking in school history.

Henderson, who will play linebacker at Lafayette, opted to play football after receiving a full academic scholarship.

"To me, it shows that the program has come a long way," Liddick said. "For two years, they really didn't have kids going to college when they went 0-10 and 0-8. I think the program has advanced, and the kids now are more dedicated to what they are doing and focused on achieving that goal of going to college."

Southern center Raquelle Jones went to the Keystone State Invitational Basketball Camp at Albright College in Reading, Pa., with one goal in mind --to get better.

CENTER STAGE: Jones believes she did just that, and so did the camp's directors. She returned from her mid-July workouts crowned as the Best Inside Player in the scholastic division, consisting of approximately 100 players.

"I tried to work harder," Jones said, "and it really paid off."

The girls played 3-on-3 games and coaches taught different techniques - on both sides of the ball - at workout stations. The centers worked on boxing out, posting up, footwork and their ball-handling abilities.

Jones, who started in her sophomore after coming off the bench as a freshman, said her post game benefited most.

"When I play future games, I'm going to use what I learned," Jones said.

BASEBALL TRYOUTS: Under Armour and Baseball Factory will be hosting an open tryout for high school players in Delaware.

The tryout, organized by the Baseball Factory organization, will take place at 1 p.m. Aug. 12 at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Del. All high school baseball players ages 13-18 are encouraged to attend.

"It is a great opportunity for them to be evaluated by pro scouts and to learn how to take their game to the next level," Baseball Factory director of player identification Josh Sunday said.

In 2007, more than 100 players from the region competed in front of Baseball Factory scouts.

Baseball Factory's staff of professional scouts, former professional players and former college coaches will evaluate players on the field and lead a college recruiting question-and-answer session. Those in attendance will learn about the college recruiting process and the steps players should take in order to increase the chances of playing college baseball and receiving a scholarship.

Baseball Factory is rated the No. 1 College Recruiting Service in the country by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Since 1994, Baseball Factory has helped more than 20,000 high school players reach their dream of playing college baseball. More than 2,000 players have been drafted and 186 have gone on to play in the majors.

BACK TO BACK: Broadneck edged Arundel, 43-36, to claim its second consecutive Anne Arundel County Summer Basketball League championship last Tuesday at North County.

Taquon Colber led the Bruins (9-3) with 16 points, and Darnell Jackson scored 10.

Dererick Rhodes paced Arundel with 16 points, and R.J. Harris added 11.

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mpeters@capitalgazette.com