Rock Canyon standout Wilkins Dismuke, right, has earned a national profile in boys lacrosse. He will play next season at Johns Hopkins University.
File photo by Tim Visser
Colorado has produced big-time lacrosse players for the better part of two decades. Just not a lot of them.
More and more, however, the state is becoming something of a mini-hotbed for churning out Division-I prospects.
Wilkins Dismuke is one of the reasons why, a pure example of the level of player the state is producing.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) attackman is headed to the fabled Johns Hopkins University men's program, and here's the thing: Dismuke was regarded so highly by one of the nation's premier programs that he was locked in over the summer before his junior season.
Now a senior, the left-handed shooter is coming off a season in which he produced 67 goals and 20 assists as the ascending Jaguars finished 13-4 and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Dismuke recently selected as one of the nation's top 25 recruits by MaxPreps.
"He's incredibly skilled and has an incredibly strong IQ for the game," Rock Canyon coach Louis Goldin said. "He constantly hones and works on his skill set to try to get better. And he's just a fierce competitor."
Johns Hopkins first noticed Dismuke in the 2011 summer, when he played in the prestigious Battle of the Hotbeds tournament in Maryland. He played well enough to earn a spot in the tournament's all-star game, where he was noticed by Johns Hopkins coaches.
That summer, he was invited to play in the ESPN's Warrior 40, which was broadcast on ESPNU. Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala took notice and contacted Dismuke through his coaches.
"That's when it all started," Dismuke said. "I gave him a phone call, we organized a visit, and when I went out there I kind of just fell in love with the school and all the staff out there. He offered me a position out there and it was a pretty easy decision."
Dismuke has had the rare luxury of playing two high school seasons without having to worry about his future, without wondering who is in the stands or who is requesting game film.
That hasn't prevented him from continuing to work. When analyzing himself, he believes his strengths are finishing at the net and dodging defenders, particularly in one-on-one matchups. But that doesn't mean he is purely satisfied with his game three games into his senior season.
"One thing is my physical stature," Dismuke said. "I'm just trying to get as big as I can before college, because I'm going to be playing against guys who are pretty much men at 22 and 23 years old. I have to get a little bit bigger.
"And the other thing is keeping a cool head. If I make a bad play, just move on to the next play because there are so many plays in the game of lacrosse. You can't really focus on one bad play, like miss a shot and say, ‘Oh man, I should have made that.' Being able to move on to the next play is a huge thing that I'm trying to work on right now."
Goldin, whose Rock Canyon roster is starting to become more populated with college-bound players from Division I on down, places Dismuke on the shortlist of upper-echelon players to come through the state in recent seasons.
Goldin believes his skill set is comparable to athletes such as Matt Florence, a senior at Kent Denver last year, and former Regis Jesuit athlete Tanner Scales. Both now play at Viriginia. Dismuke also has drawn comparisons to
Wheat Ridge senior
Pete Aplet, who will play at Notre Dame next season.
"We have a good team and it's not just a one-man show," Goldin said. "That being said, Wilkins makes everyone around him better, and he hates to lose."
Rock Canyon's only previous Division-I recruit was Parker Jackson, now a sophomore midfielder at Air Force. Jaguars sophomore midfielder
Colton Jackson already has given a verbal commitment to the University of Denver, leading a cadre of athletes who figure to continue on with the sport after high school.
"We've always had good talent here," Dismuke said. "It was just a matter of putting it on the field and putting it all together. The lowest point of my career was a (first-round) playoff loss to Monarch my freshman year. But throughout the years we've built the team, got some strong coaches on board, and now I feel like we have a pretty strong program."
