TerpCenter.com’s Jeff Ermann was first to uncover the story of local budding star Jordan Goodman last spring, when the little-known freshman was beginning to draw attention on the AAU circuit. Goodman, now a 6-foot-8 sophomore at Seneca Valley High in Germantown, has since become an object of desire for a handful of major college programs. We recently caught up with his father, Dion Goodman, for the  latest.

Goodman, who due to academic issues didn’t play as a freshman at Wise High in Upper Marlboro, recently tipped off his first year of high school basketball; but he's close to making a college decision. Georgetown and Maryland sit atop a list of suitors that includes Memphis, Tennessee, Southern Cal and others.

“Definitely by March we’re going to know. We’re going to see how everything goes this year and then he’s going to make a decision. I’ll help him, but he’s going to make the decision,” Dion Goodman said. “I really would like to see him stay close. He’s getting older and he also wants to stay close.”

Jordan Goodman is a uniquely skilled player considering his youth and size. He’s adept at ballhandling and shooting from the perimeter, and is viewed more as a perimeter player than he is a ‘big.’

Here’s how D.C. Assault assistant director Damon Handon described him to us in May: “He’s got a chance to be a big-time wing player. He’s sort of in the mold of Kevin Durant. But I’d say a good comparison for him at the same age was DerMarr Johnson. He’s very long and you can tell he’s going to grow another three or four inches … He didn’t play high school basketball last year so he’s still a work in progress, but you can’t teach a kid to be 6-7 and have a perimeter game. He’s just all arms and legs.”

Speaking of D.C. Assault, the powerhouse AAU program for which he plays may be the biggest factor in the Hoyas’ recent emergence into his recruitment.

“Chris Wright and Austin Freeman played for Assault two years ago. He’s talked to both of them and they have a good relationship. Georgetown’s assistant coach came out to one of his workouts and said they’d like to have my son play for them. If it wasn’t for Chris Wright and Austin Freeman playing for D.C. Assault, we might not have that opportunity to play for Georgetown,” Dion Goodman said.

Jordan, who helped lead Seneca Valley to a Montgomery County fall league title this fall, has always been a fan of Maryland and has talked about his vision of leading a “Fab Five’ type of class to College Park in 2011. He and his father recently attended practice and remain big Terps fans.

“We went out there and watched some practice. It was great because Gary Williams was talking to some o fthe high school players, giving them some pointers. We got to see the locker rooms and talk to the coaches again … Chuck Driesell, he’s the first one to show an interest in Jordan. They have let us know that if he wants to be there, they will do whatever it takes to make it possible,” Dion Goodman said.

Jordan Goodman didn’t play as a freshman at Wise because of grades. In the previous few years, his mother had passed away and he’d been in a serious car accident. He’s now back on track at Seneca Valley, doing well in the classroom and looking to establish himself as a top national player in the Class of 2011.

A major factor in his college decision, his father said, will be relating to the staff and players as well as fitting into the program’s offensive approach. He wants to make sure he won’t be pigeonholed as a post player, despite the possibility he could be taller than 6-10 by the time he enters college.

“His ballhandling skills, we’ve been really working on that a lot. At 6-6 or 6-7 he could probably come in and be a guard but you can’t be that tall, so he’ll be on the wing and that’s where his future is at. Jordan has never been a center,” Dion Goodman said. “I want him to go to a school where he fits in. Somewhere he fits into the team’s gameplan, not that they have to change it for him.

“[Georgetown and Maryland] is what it’s coming down to right now. He’s up in the air about where he wants to go. It’s always better to be a local hero.”