Despite Poor Camp, Telfair Makes Point
BY MICHAEL THIER, Newsday STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Teaneck, N.J. -- Another all-star game ended in a tie last night, but when you're considered the No.1 guard in the junior class, a tie is as good as a loss.

After the final buzzer sounded on what Sebastian Telfair admitted was the worst of his three trips to adidas ABCD camp at Fairleigh Dickinson's Rothman Center, he had to share his unprecedented second straight underclassman MVP honor with his newfound rival, Darius Washington Jr.

 Telfair, who has been considered the best in the nation for his age since the sixth grade, had lost some of his mystique. Washington, a 6-foot junior from Orlando, Fla., outplayed Telfair, a 5-11 junior from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. Washington scored 22 points as his team won, 121-117. Telfair scored 26, hitting 11 of 27 field-goal attempts; Washington went 8-for-12.

"There's no gap," said the usually brash Telfair, who entered the camp as the jewel of the class of 2004. "He proved he's at least as good."

After they posed for a photo with Telfair's second cousin, Phoenix Suns guard Stephon Marbury, a two-time ABCD MVP, Washington contended he is the best point guard in the nation.

"They've been trying to hide him from me," Washington said of Telfair. "I finally got him the way I wanted him. I won the whole battle from start to finish. This time I wanted to leave no doubt in his mind. I wanted to kill him."

ABCD founder and director Sonny Vaccaro settled the debate diplomatically. "Darius and Sebastian are two of the best players in America," Vaccaro said. "Whatever gap existed doesn't exist now. This was the first of many duels for a long time to come on every possible level. You'll get a result in about 10 years."

Telfair acknowledged his poor showing but found a silver lining. "I had a bad camp, but this is the time to show it," Telfair said. "It was my job to take what's mine. And I want another [MVP award] next year."

Although Telfair excelled before the largest audience, most of the important eyes - those belonging to college coaches - were gone after the third day. Still, recruiting experts agreed even an atrocious performance here wouldn't have damaged the name Telfair has created on the adidas circuit.

"Forget that," said Tom Konchalski, one of the top talent evaluators on the East Coast. "He's trying too hard to impress people. He doesn't need to impress anyone."

Telfair disagrees. He believes he has a heightened need to prove himself to college coaches because of speculation he will enter the 2004 draft. How many recruiting letters has Telfair received? "Not as many as you'd think," he said. "A lot of people are hearing that NBA thing and that hurt my recruiting."

Last night seemed to heal most of those wounds.