Crawmer heard he was a hot commodity — there’s not too many 14-year-olds standing 6-foot-4 and playing a versatile brand of basketball. So, the coach went to see Shoffner in person at several Urbana Middle games and immediately came away impressed.

“Just physically imposing. He’s 14, and he looks like a grown man already,” Crawmer said.

Shoffner played like one, too.

He was at least six inches taller than everyone else on the floor, dominating around the rim, on the glass and on defense. And after several months of discussion, Crawmer convinced Shoffner to come to Urbana High.

It’s a move that’s paid off for both sides.

Not even two months into his freshman season, Shoffner is starting every game and has asserted himself as one of Frederick County’s most exciting players. He’s moved to the top of the scoring leaderboard, averaging 15.3 points per game entering Friday, just behind teammate RJ Roche for second in the county.

It’s one of the best starts to a season for any freshman in county history. Rarely do ninth graders get a chance to even start for a varsity boys team, let alone even make the squad. Shoffner is one of five county freshmen on a varsity roster this season, and one of two who regularly starts.

“I wanted to show myself that even though I’m a freshman, I can still make an impact,” Shoffner said. “I just wanted to prove that I’m one of the best even though I’m one of the youngest.”

His rise has been quick, and he’s only been playing competitive basketball for five years.

Shoffner first became interested in third grade when he started watching college and professional games. He started practicing with his father, Rodney, and the next year, he joined a rec league and dominated thanks to his height.

Shoffner said he’s always been tall for his age, as are a number of his family members. That includes twin brother Ben, who is 6-foot and leading the Hawks’ junior varsity team in scoring.

“I’m waiting on a growth spurt,” Rodney Shoffner said of Aaron with a hearty laugh.

It was a boon for Aaron, who towered over his peers and could dominate inside with his sheer physical advantage. In fifth grade, he joined local AAU squad Team Takeover to face tougher competition.

That also led to more exposure, and by seventh grade, private schools were already reaching out to Shoffner and his family in an attempt to pull the budding star away. Crawmer knows the challenge of getting top players to stay in public school, as private schools from all over the region heavily recruit and have begun encroaching on Frederick County in recent years.

So, he made his pitch to Shoffner.

“We thought that what we had coming back was really good, but he could be the missing piece for us,” Crawmer said.

The coach also convinced Shoffner’s family of how imperative it was to maintain a sense of community during this Hawks rebuilding project. That was particularly important, Rodney Shoffner said — the family has lived in Urbana for all of Aaron’s life, and he would still be able to play with people he’s known for much of his life.

So, with several private schools still hanging around, Shoffner decided to go to Urbana and began attending summer workouts.

Crawmer was initially concerned about Shoffner’s outside shooting — since he was so imposing inside, he got all his points around the basket and never had to pull up for a long 2 or a 3. But within a few workouts, Shoffner was hitting triples with ease from all over the floor.

The bigger concern, though, was catching up to the speed of the varsity game.

“I don’t care how good you are athletically, it’s a huge jump,” Crawmer said.

Indeed, it took Shoffner until he saw game action to adjust. But he’s a quick study and a “coach’s dream,” as Crawmer put it.

Shoffner showed steady improvement through the summer and tryouts. He continued to find his footing during the opening weeks of varsity practice and impressed enough to get the start in Urbana’s Dec. 6 opener at Middletown.

Being named a Day One starter as a freshman was a sign of confidence from Shoffner’s coach, and it gave him an additional mental boost.

“I felt confident right before our first game. Right there, I felt like I was ready for the season,” Shoffner said.

Then, he went out and dropped 26 points in a win over the Knights.

“It just felt like another game,” he said. “There was no question. I’d already done the work before the game, so I was just ready for it.”

Shoffner had arrived, and he continued to light up area competition over the season’s opening weeks. That included a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double in a holiday tournament win over Arundel.

The freshman was dominating, and the Hawks were piling up wins.

“He does it so efficiently, it’s almost quiet,” Crawmer said. “There was a game early in the year where … Aaron had 16 [points], and I don’t remember any of the 16. I maybe remember one jumper in the corner. But he really picks his spots, and he’s super efficient.”

That’s the kind of potential the coach saw in him when he first went to those middle school games a year ago. There’s still a few growing pains, though.

He’s learning to understand floor spacing — “He leads the county, I’m sure, in long 2s because his foot’s on the line constantly,” Crawmer said — and teams have recently schemed to take him out of plays. As a result, his eye-popping early scoring numbers have leveled off in recent weeks.

But Shoffner’s work ethic helps make him a polished player at a young age, and it’s continuing to turn heads as much as his on-court exploits.

Some of those same private schools that initially reached out to Shoffner are still periodically checking in with him even though he’s at Urbana. He said he presently has no plans to transfer, and he knows he can build his legacy with the Hawks.

“I kind of like where I’m at, but I want to keep going,” Shoffner said. “I don’t want to settle.”