This story was corrected on June 26, 2009. An explanation of the correction is at the end of the story.

Whenever Prince George's County residents tune in to watch their favorite pro sports teams, chances are they will see someone from close to home.

The county and the greater Washington, D.C., area have a reputation for producing elite athletes, but over the past decade the number of Prince George's County players in the pros has noticeably risen.

More than two dozen current National Football League, National Basketball Association, and Women's National Basketball Association players spent their youth and high school careers with the same schools and club teams where the current generation of county athletes now train.

"It's amazing what's happening in Prince George's County and entire D.C. area," said longtime DeMatha High football coach Bill McGregor. "I think we sit in a hotbed of athletics right now. Take a look at the colleges that are recruiting in the county now – Stanford, UCLA, the entire Big Ten [Conference], Miami – these places were not recruiting talent out of here not too long ago. I think the entire D.C. area has always been a basketball area. You can see that it's branching off into more than just basketball."

Clinton natives Sam Young (University of Pittsburgh) and Tywon Lawson (University of North Carolina) are about to become the latest in a long line of recent pros from Prince George's County. Many projections have both players being selected in the first round of tonight's NBA Draft.

County athletes who have made it to the pros say intense competition and quality coaching have created a golden era for Prince George's sports.

"I think the competition level is one of the reasons," said San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, a Frederick Douglass High School graduate and Upper Marlboro native, who was named the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. "You grow up in the neighborhood playing street football and playing against these athletes. It starts from the pee wee league and the athletes play and grow up with that mentality that they are going to be great."

The area has some of the most organized athletic training programs in the country. The Amateur Athletic Union – the largest youth athletic governing body in the nation – runs extensive competitions in multiple sports, and Prince George's athletes regularly win national championships in basketball, boxing and track.

Sacramento Monarchs forward and Oxon Hill graduate Rebekkah Brunson said her upbringing in the local club scene played a pivotal role in her making it to the WNBA.

"It was definitely a great experience playing in the Boys and Girls Clubs and in AAU," said Brunson. "It definitely helped groom me to be the athlete that I am now. I was fortunate to play in the programs like the Oxon Hill Roadrunners [Boys and Girls Club] and the Beltway Cougars."

The county has gained an especially strong reputation in basketball. An ESPN Magazine article last year singled out Prince George's highly competitive AAU scene as a primary reason for the continual flow of college and pro prospects.

One of the best to come from the area in years is Seat Pleasant native Kevin Durant, who was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2008. Durant said the area's competitive atmosphere gives players the physical and mental toughness necessary to succeed.

"Guys just work hard," said Durant. "We have guys here that are unique kinds of players. You have to develop that mean streak and be able to be tough just to stick around in the pros or around in the neighborhood."

New Orleans Saints cornerback and Upper Marlboro native Usama Young said athletes owe much of the credit to those who taught them the game. Young, a Largo High grad, said the level of instruction in Prince George's County has helped put college programs from across the nation on notice about the area's talent level.

Young – one of several pro athletes to hold sports camps annually in the county – said the visibility of pro athletes in the county also has an influence.

"We've got great coaches and great schools here," said Young. "All of their kids have their minds on right because of all the lessons and support they get from their coaches, parents and other mentors. I gotta say that it's a talented county. It's crazy how competitive all the football leagues and divisions were. We always had a lot of athletes going to college and producing and slowly but surely all of the bigger [college] programs started to recruit the area."

In baseball, which is far less popular in the county than basketball and football, Mitchellville native L.J. Hoes is currently with the Baltimore Orioles' Class A affiliate, the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Participation in county high school baseball has declined by 20 percent since 2001, according to Prince George's Schools Athletic Office figures. Hoes said if county athletes develop an interest in baseball, they would have a good chance to succeed.Hoes said if county athletes develop an interest in baseball, they would have a good chance to succeed.

"I think a lot of people around here have a lot of athletic ability," said Hoes, who attended high school at St. John's (D.C.). "Baseball is changing and scouts are leaning more toward the athletic guys. A lot of kids in Prince George's fit that description. If they get the teaching that I got, I'm sure that some of those kids would be able to do better than me."

Prince Georgians in the pros

Athletes from the county currently playing in the NFL, NBA and WNBA:

NFL: Leigh Bodden (Hyattsville, New England Patriots); Derrick Harvey (Upper Marlboro, Jacksonville Jaguars); Shawne Merriman (Upper Marlboro, San Diego Chargers); Daniel Muir (Lanham, Indianapolis Colts); Chad Nkang (Hyattsville, Jacksonville Jaguars); Quinn Ojinnaka (Seabrook, Atlanta Falcons); Josh Wilson (Upper Marlboro, Seattle Seahawks); Usama Young (Upper Marlboro, New Orleans Saints); LaMont Jordan (Suitland, Denver Broncos); John Owens (Washington, D.C., DeMatha High, Seattle Seahawks); Brian Westbrook (Fort Washington, Philadelphia Eagles); Madieu Williams (Lanham, Minnesota Vikings); Jared Gaither (White Plains, Eleanor Roosevelt High, Baltimore Ravens); Kyle Arrington (Accokeek, Tampa Bay Buccaneers); Julian Peterson (Temple Hills, Seattle Seahawks); Omar Cuff (Landover, Tampa Bay Buccaneers); Derrick Burgess (Greenbelt, Oakland Raiders).

Selected in 2009 NFL Draft: Derrick Williams (Upper Marlboro, Detroit Lions); Wil Davis (Greenbelt, Arizona Cardinals); Lawrence Sidbury Jr. (Cheltenham, Atlanta Falcons).

NBA: Delonte West (Greenbelt, Cleveland Cavaliers); Jarrett Jack (Fort Washington, Indiana Pacers); Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Indiana Pacers); Kevin Durant (Seat Pleasant, Oklahoma City Thunder); Jeff Green (Hyattsville, Oklahoma City Thunder).

WNBA: Rebekkah Brunson (Oxon Hill, Sacramento Monarchs); Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Washington Mystics).

Why has the county produced so many recent pro athletes? For more on this story visit www.gazette.net/pgsports.

E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.

Correction: A previous version of this story omitted Derrick Burgess from the list of pro athletes from Prince George's County.