In December 2009, Luther Page and Darren Washington were transfers on the Father Gabriel Richard bench, waiting through the first half of their junior basketball seasons to become eligible.

When they did, both seemed out of sync with their new team, never really excelling the way one might expect a 6-foot-6 forward (Page) and 6-foot-9 center (Washington) would.

That tough season seems like forever ago now to Washington and Page, who both recently received full Division I NCAA scholarships. After de-committing from Eastern Michigan, Washington signed a letter of intent to play at Robert Morris while Page will play at Alabama State.

“What stood out to me was their non-conference schedule and the fact that they’ve made the tournament three out of the past four years,” Washington said of Robert Morris. “That helped a lot.”

It wasn’t long ago that Washington was stressed over his college situation. He signed a letter of intent with Eastern during the early signing period, but when coach Charles Ramsey was fired, Washington didn’t feel like he was part of new coach Rob Murphy’s plans.

Eastern released him from his letter of intent, allowing him to explore his options again.

“Dr. (Derrick) Gragg was very professional. It was not a battle, Dr. Gragg understood…you want to be somewhere where you were recruited,” Darren’s father, Leslie Washington, said of Eastern's athletic director. “It was a stress-free release, everyone was very professional.”

Though Darren said he was initially stressed out about the prospect of being back on the market, it ended quickly when Robert Morris and several other schools began to contact him.

First-year Robert Morris head coach Andy Toole was interested in Washington last summer, but Washington fell off his radar after signing with Eastern. When the coaching change happened, Toole had a scholarship to spare and his interest in Washington hadn’t waned.

“We have a great need for a player like him and with our recent success, that certainly helped us,” Toole said, adding that he expects Washington to contribute immediately. “With his size, motor and ability to run the floor, he can have an impact right away.

“As he matures physically and refines the offensive parts of his game, that impact will be even greater.”

Washington’s size is an obvious X-factor in the level of interest shown to him, whereas Page -- who falls in that tricky in-between category -- caught coaches’ attention after averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds with nine double-doubles his senior season.

“Page was known, but really enhanced his stock this year with the way he played against a tough Catholic League,” said Gabriel Richard head coach Pete Schoch.

Schoch also noted the impact Gabriel Richard assistant coach Don Spencer had in getting both players noticed.

“He does a great job of communicating to coaches about getting kids at the next level. He puts in a ton of work,” Schoch said.

That hard work was especially helpful in Washington’s case.

“Although we thought it was done deal, (Spencer) is so organized that he was ready to go,” Schoch said. “From the minute Charles Ramsey was fired, Don jumped on it right away, knew the right people to talk to. He easily must have contacted about 140 to 150 schools on the kid's behalf when it was all said and done.”

Robert Morris is located in Moon Towship, Pa., 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, and competes in the Northeast Conference. Alabama State, a historically black college in Montgomery, Ala., is a member of Southwestern Athletic Conference.

“It’s fantastic, I’m really proud of both of the kids,” Schoch said. “I’m looking forward to going to watch them play, and I think as a program it looks good for us to have players continue to succeed and move on to the next level.”

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.