TEANECK, N.J -- The final night of the adidas ABCD Camp was reservered for the best of the best. But, the most exciting five minutes of Thursday night featured a pair of underclassmen, and not the rising seniors on stage a little later in the evening.

It was a quick glimpse at 2004's potential, as Sebastian Telfair and fellow rising junior Darius Washington went one-on-one at the point. And, while five minutes may not seem like enough time for either to get warmed up, the encounter heated up quickly.

	A composed Telfair's game did the talking Thursday night.

With the top underclassmen in camp rotating every five minutes in five-player groups, Telfair (Lincoln H.S./Brooklyn, N.Y.) had already strutted his stuff in the all-star game against other guards. Telfair was on a roll, having already roasted Duke-bound rising senior DeMarcus Nelson (see: Camp Chatter) earlier in the day. But, when it finally came time for Washington to match up with Telfair, we thought we were in for something special.

Washington was the only guard in the game who had a chance of making things interesting against Telfair. Leading up to Washington taking the court, Telfair had mainly been dribbling and jacking up shots as everybody along press row groaned, "Oh no, not again!" But Washington wasted no time challenging not only the best guard, but the best player in the Class of 2004.

Washington (Edgewater H.S./Orlando, Fla.) went right past Telfair to the basket. But Washington then drew the biggest buzz all night from the capacity crowd at Fairleigh Dickinson's Rothman Center when he picked Telfair clean. Telfair had the ball on the wing, tried one of his patented crossover dribbles, but Washington's quick hands knocked the ball loose, drawing a roar that nearly brought down the house.

At this point, Washington had already started talking trash to Telfair and gesturing to the crowd. It was obviously a moment Washington had been dreaming about; a chance to take down the golden child on a high-exposure stage in front of a packed crowd of coaches and fans in Telfair's neck of the woods.

Telfair, who had looked totally bored while gunning it up earlier, handled it well. He was smiling, trying a little harder, seemingly enjoying the challenge and the competition - which was getting him into the game more. His offense took a brief holiday, but he kept competing.

Washington meanwhile, could have had the crowd eating completely out of his hand, but instead he had to keep giving Telfair the glare-and-stare routine, along with the talking.

Benezra and Mayemura Scorecard
It was obvious that Washington's speed was a little more than Telfair could handle. Even though Washington kept going to his right, Telfair didn't adjust. Only once did Telfair force Washington to go to his left, and Washington wound up with nothing. Washington was trying to beat Telfair with dribble moves, but his handle isn't very sophisticated and he doesn't have the same control with the ball that Telfair shows. All his juking and jiving with the ball just slowed down Telfair, and then Washington would eventually come straight at him. But, his speed did allow Washington to blow by Telfair a few times.

The talk and looks translated into a double foul. And finally, it looked like Telfair had had enough, as he drained one of the sweetest stepback jumpers on the planet. But, we have to actually give the edge over the entire five minutes to Washington, who had it going and was pumped.

However, we want to note here that Telfair did defeat Washington in another area. He showed his character and his class by resisting the taunting and talk as long as he could. He was thriving on Washington playing hard and aggressively, and was enjoying the fact that not only was Washington playing really well, but that it was forcing him to try and raise his own level of play.

Telfair showed us his class while Washington unfortunately only showed his ... well, you fill in the blank. Washington is an athletic talent who has a chance to become a special player if he works at it. Telfair is a special player already and showed his character. Washington could learn a few things from him.

David Benezra and Mark Mayemura cover the national college basketball recruiting scene. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call (818) 783-2244 or (818) 783-2212 for subscription information.