Last year it was Gonzaga's Max Kenyi. This year it's Landon's Christian Webster. Regardless of who is next, Harvard's Tommy Amaker is turning Crimson basketball into one of the best programs in the Ivy League one recruit at a time. Although Harvard is only in its second year under the direction of Amaker, the Falls Church native has made his impression felt in the D.C. area.
"From the beginning of my recruiting process, Harvard was always there and stuck with me through the good and bad, until the end," Webster said. "So, I guess you could say Harvard has been a possibility ever since the beginning. At Harvard, I have a chance to come in and make an impact right away and that was important to me."
Webster has every right to believe he can make an early impact. Kenyi, who graduated from Gonzaga in 2008, played 35 minutes and scored 17 points in Harvard's first game of the season. Webster knows Kenyi from playing together on the D.C. Blue Devils a few years ago.
"We are good friends and I talk to him almost two or three times a month," Webster said. "We talked about the possibility of playing together at Harvard, and it's going to happen next year."
Webster's road to Harvard didn't come without its bumps and bruises. Landon, which is one of the best lacrosse schools in the country, was not known for its basketball history. Webster changed that by the time his work was done at the Bethesda, Md., school.
"My sophomore and freshman year our team was awful," Webster said. "I think we won a total of 12 or 13 games. Being a competitor, it was terrible for me. I just wanted to win. I tried to do anything to help the team win games, but it was a hard time and I was seriously considering transferring to another school."
Webster ended up staying at Landon and his decision benefited everyone involved in the program. After a six-win season during Webster's sophomore season, Landon won 11 games last year and finished in fourth place in the IAC. During Webster's senior season, Landon won 18 games and won the IAC regular season and tournament crown as Webster averaged over 23 points per game.
"The thing that will always stick with me the rest of my life is helping to lead the basketball team to an outright championship," Webster said. "That's very special to me and everyone at Landon."
Webster scored 33 points in a double-overtime victory against Episcopal. Although Webster had always been a great scorer, he never always received the recognition he deserved.
"The fact that I was a good player on a losing team hurt me a lot," Webster said. "People would say, 'the only reason you score all those points is because nobody on your team can score and you have to shoot'. That just motivated me to work harder in the summer and prove to myself that I had the ability to be an all-around good player and lead my team to win a lot of games, not just be that kid at Landon who scored a lot of points."
Webster shouldn't worry about his legacy any more. In addition to being one of the program's most prolific scorers, Webster delivered his school its first outright IAC crown since 1968.