Maryland Basketball (some football) recruiting news (Shaq, Layman Commits!)

Well ever since the retirement of Gary Williams a few months ago, I have fallen deeply into Maryland basketball recruitment and have been posting news every once in a while in his thread from back in May. So I thought there would be some interest if I tried to keep some news on here every once in a while to some fellow Terp followers.

Well supposedly July is a HUGE month for tourneys all over the nation for all the AAU teams and really the first chance to A) See the top talent in the nation (mostly region) play against one another and Find unheralded talent that has yet to be contacted by the majority of coaching staffs

Well here is the the first of hopefully good news in the real beginning of recruiting season.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1239183

Andrew Harrison, PG, Houston Defenders- How good is Harrison? Well, he thoroughly dominated Showtyme Elite and led the Defenders to a blowout win in a game that featured plenty of pregame trash talk. The thing is, he did so without needing to score a single bucket. Instead he abused defenders off the dribble getting into the lane at will and setting up teammates for easy buckets. Later in the day, he knocked home some deep jumpers, continued to get into the lane. A physically impressive kid, he creates with or without screens, sees the floor and isn't going to give up his top ranking without a fight.

Aaron Harrison, SG, Houston Defenders- While his brother Andrew is ranked just a little bit higher, Aaron is a five-star prospect himself and was killing it on Sunday. Playing the point himself for stretches, he was much better than expected off the dribble and used his ability to escape defenders to the left or right to free himself and then convert on ridiculous finishes over defenders. A shooter as well, he was canning them from long range. He and his brother both saw head coaches from Maryland, Kansas, Texas A&M, TCU, SMU, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Villanova and many other places in the crowd to see them.

Another Houston Defender having a pretty good day was Shaquille Cleare. Having claimed Maryland as his leader, it wasn't a surprise to see Mark Turgeon. stalking him from the bleachers of Duncanville High

Have the twins list Maryland first is huge as Andrew will likely be a top 10-15 player in 2013s recruitment class with his brother, Aaron being a top 50 player.

As for Shaq, Maryland has been a front runner for him for what seems have been since the arrival of Turge and is really seems ready for a commitment once an official visit with his family before signing day in November.

If we get Cleare, McGary, Moto, and Allen for the '12 class, I would be ecstatic.

Mark Turgeon and Maryland have been very active in the 2012 basketball recruiting scene, targeting a lot of very, very high profile prospects. As it stands, however, they only have one commitment in the class – guard Seth Allen. The Terps have now offered a scholarship to another prospect, King Philip Regional (Wrentham, Mass.) small forward Jake Layman, according to Alex Kline of the Recruit Scoop.

Layman has also been offered by Boston College, Providence and UMass, and is one of the top 2012 prospects in the state of Massachusetts. Small forward is one of the positions Maryland needs a lot of help in (and by that we mean anything but point guard or shooting guard), and Layman has good size that could help out the Terps. He’s 6’8″ and 200 pounds and is rated by Rivals as the #32 small forward in the country and the #150 player overall in his class. ESPN, meanwhile, has him as the #40 small forward in the country, and all three recruiting services has him at three stars.

From the recruiting resources, it seems like he’s got a lot of tools – he’s a great athlete with a ton of length (which translates to defense) who dunks well and can shoot threes. Essentially, everything you want in a small forward. Maryland is desperate for height, as well, and with their current setup 6’8″ definitely counts as height

http://www.testudotimes.com/2011/7/10/2269232/terps-offer-layman

Picture a near 6-foot-8, long and rangy forward at the top of the press for teams that value length and defense. That's [Jake] Layman. Now factor in that he's somewhat of a late-bloomer, isn't done growing, owns a jump shot and you've got not only a future ESPNU 100 player, but someone whose stock we're comfortable touting as very high. Layman is scratching the surface and hawks the ball as well, or better, than most stretch 4-men in his class.

Dave Telep on Jake Layman

http://www.testudotimes.com/

---------- Post added July-12th-2011 at 02:41 AM ----------

If we get Cleare, McGary, Moto, and Allen for the '12 class, I would be ecstatic.

+1

A 6'8" combo forward, Layman has been growing by leaps and bounds this spring. Offensively, he has range to the 3 point line and can also use a few dribbles and finish high above the rim. On Defense, he mans the front of BABC's vaunted press and uses his incredible length to give opposing back courts fits. Once thought to be a mid-major prospect Layman has clearly elevated himself to high-major status and should have a long list of suitors by the end of July.

http://www.testudotimes.com/2011/7/13/2273778/terp-centric-peach-jam-day-one-recap-fringe-targets-impress-turgeon

Click on the link to read the rest. http://maryland.247sports.com/Article/DC-Assaults-Curtis-Malone-Talks-Turgeon-Terps-Recruiting--31172

Malone: New Staff A "Game-Changer"

INDIANAPOLIS __ For D.C. Assault director Curtis Malone and his staff, it was strange seeing Dalonte Hill, one of their former players and coaches, wearing a University of Maryland shirt as he sat amongst the thicket of college recruiters in the stands at the Adidas Invitational.

It wasn't the fact that Hill had been a member of Kansas State’s staff for five years before landing at Maryland in May that made it an odd sight; it was foreign, rather, because of the relationship – or lack thereof – between the powerhouse AAU program and Maryland’s basketball program since Assault’s inception in 1993.

Never a fan of the grassroots basketball evolution that shifted a slab of importance from high school programs and coaches to their AAU counterparts, Gary Williams declined to build personal relationships with most AAU coaches – most notably Malone, whose program has produced countless college stars and several NBA players, making him one of the major players in the talent-gorged Washington, D.C.-area basketball scene.

There were years of chatter about a cold war between Williams and Malone, whose program has featured prized recruits like DerMarr Johnson, Keith Bogans, Jeff Green, Michael Beasley, Nolan Smith, Joe Forte and Quinn Cook, among many others. Such talk was over-stated, Malone said, adding that he’s never told a player not to go to Maryland.

“Me and Gary never really had a problem. We just never really knew each other,” he said. “I don’t get as involved in the recruiting as everybody thinks.”

That changed a bit a couple of years ago, when Malone joined then-Assault/DeMatha star Quinn Cook on a visit to College Park and the two sat down and had an extended chat, squashing whatever discomfort existed.

“He’s a great guy,” said Malone, who along with Assault vice president Damon Handon, has built one of the most recognizable names on the ever-growing grassroots basketball circuit.

“I had always respected him as a coach.”

Under Williams, Malone said, Maryland simply hadn’t gone hard after many of those players, and when the Terps did so, they were sometimes late to the party. Arinze Onuaku (Syracuse) and Dante Cunningham (Villanova), for instance, had already become highly sought prospects by the time Maryland’s staff began to pursue them in earnest as rising high school seniors.

The lone players with Assault ties to sign with Maryland – Travis Garrison (2004) and Lonny Baxter (1998) only played for Malone’s program sporadically. The Terps came close to landing DeMatha star Austin Freeman in the Class of 2007, Malone said, but Georgetown won a close battle because Freeman’s family shared a strong bond with Hoyas assistant Kevin Broadus.

“We’ve never really had a player go to Maryland. Maryland’s been involved with a couple kids but none of them ever chose Maryland. I just never thought that the Maryland staff spent a lot of time watching and recruiting our kids,” he said. “And they probably thought that they couldn’t get some of them.”

When Mark Turgeon was hired to succeed Williams in May, Turgeon immediately prioritized rebuilding and developing such ties. His hiring of Hill, a heralded recruiter with strong ties not only to Assault, but to many other grassroots and high school programs, signaled a major sea change at Comcast Center.

“It is [strange]. It’s something I never thought would happen. But then again, I never thought that Gary would retire anyway, especially so soon,” Malone said as he watched his 17-and-under squad compete at the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis last Friday. “It’s a great thing, just the relationships he has. He’s familiar with the area and he’s worked with a lot of the coaches in the area.”

This is hardly breaking news, of course, to those who closely follow Terps basketball and recruiting. But it does have a foreign feeling to those who’ve long followed a program that despite a largely successful tenure by Williams, was oft-criticized for failing to secure more of the area’s hoops prodigies.

It was no secret that Maryland’s head coach often delegated the program’s recruiting efforts to his assistant coaches -- a tough task for any assistant in today’s hoops climate; with ever-increasing attention being paid to recruits, most sought-after prospects expect to deal with the head coach as well.

Malone has noticed the sudden surge in energy on the recruiting trail at Maryland following the arrival of Turgeon, who along with Hill and fellow assistants Bino Ranson and Scott Spinelli, has the Terps involved with a laundry list of top prospects. Maryland is among the top choices for Gonzaga (D.C.) point guard Nate Britt, a rising junior who is Assault’s current star.

Maryland has a basketball team?

Maryland has a basketball team?

Yes, and if they recruit like I think they will, you'll KNOW that they have a basketball team very soon.

Yes, and if they recruit like I think they will, you'll KNOW that they have a basketball team very soon.

LOL. I hope they do good, at least beat Duke. I'm a UNC fan, we should be pretty tough this year and favorites to win it all or at least in the talks.

LOL. I hope they do good, at least beat Duke. I'm a UNC fan, we should be pretty tough this year and favorites to win it all or at least in the talks.

I have a healthy respect for UNC but Duke makes me want to....:puke:

I have a healthy respect for UNC but Duke makes me want to....:puke:

Agreed. I hate Duke. Kentucky looks pretty scary again though, loaded as well. The only advantage is UNC has veteran leadership with two top recruits over 4 top recruits for KY, very young team like UNC last year.

http://www.testudotimes.com/2011/7/15/2277422/2011-peach-jam-maryland-leads-for-layman-going-strong-after-jefferson

One final note: Amile Jefferson says the schools recruiting the hardest are N.C. State, Villanova, and, yes, MARYLAND. State and Nova are supposedly making big pushes for him, and the competition there is going to be pretty stiff. That said, if that's a top three of sorts, you have to be happy to be in that fight without any of the traditional "big schools" as competition.

Adequate recruiting in the DC area at the very least means the Terps will be ranked every year.

I swear, the talent that has come out of here over the last couple of years has been incredible. I love you Gary, but god damn...seriously.

Harrison Twins to Visit College Park, and Nate Britt Garners Maryland Offer, Too

Wow, talk about choices at the guard spot. It looks like Maryland is in at least decent shape with probably the two top point guards in the class, and perhaps the best in the country right now regardless of class.

Local Nate Britt, who had a breakout performance at the NBAPA, was told by Mark Turgeon that the Terrapins' new coach wanted to see him in action before handing out an offer. He got to watch him at the adidas Invitational in the open period, and it would appear he liked what he saw. Per Josh Barr:

Finally, on Sunday, Turgeon called Nate Britt Sr. on Sunday and formally offered the younger Britt a scholarship.

"He wanted to make it clear that he wanted Nate, that was his guy," Nate Britt Sr. said. "Of course, they have the [Harrison] twins and they're recruiting those guys also, but he made it clear he wanted Nate to come to Maryland. He wanted to make sure we understood that. I had it clear."

And about those Harrisons ... InsideMDSports says they'll be visiting Maryland. Which, the older of you may remember, would be the second time they did so.

2013 PG Andrew Harrison, the No. 7 player in his class, will visit Maryland again w/his twin brother Aaron. http://bit.ly/queaIu #terps

I suppose there are two ways to look at this. The optimist view: choices, choices. The pessimist view: you know this means we'll lose out on both, right?

Turgeon seemed to try to make it clear that Britt was his guy, which I imagine the Harrisons won't take too kindly too, though I'm sure he's assuring them the same. Perhaps he can pull off recruiting them both and just taking whichever likes Maryland; sometimes with highly-ranked players, though, that doesn't work. One will likely take precedence over the other at some point. Keep in mind, too, that Maryland is just starting to forge connections with both of these high-producing AAU teams; keeping up good relations is paramount.

Of course, from a fan perspective, there's not really a losing situation, so long as Maryland can grab one of the two (three?). It'll be a rollercoaster of a recruiting season for 2013, that's for sure.

http://www.testudotimes.com/

so maryland and kentucky are opening the new stadium in brooklyn! definitely going!

@MIDATLANTICHOOPJide Sodipo

Maryland leading for the service of @MitchMcGary33 according to source!

MIDATLANTICHOOPJide Sodipo

Duke, KY are making a major push for @MitchMcGary33 during this evaluation period according to our source!We are told #Terps r the 1 2beat

http://twitter.com/#!/MIDATLANTICHOOP

---------- Post added July-21st-2011 at 12:59 AM ----------

Coach believes Maryland, South Carolina could be near top of list for Good Counsel wide receiver Stefon Diggs

All-Met wide receiver Stefon Diggs seems to have narrowed his college choices and Good Counsel Coach Bob Milloy believes there is a chance his 6-foot-1, 185-pound star player could end up at Maryland.

“I know Maryland is right up there [with] Florida, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Miami and South Carolina,” Milloy said. “Those are the ones I keep hearing. South Carolina a little higher up than Miami, his mother likes [Game****s Coach Steve] Spurrier. But I think she likes [Maryland Coach Randy] Edsall best of all. That might win out over all, you know.”

Diggs has visited all of the schools Milloy mentioned and all are among the more than three dozen teams to have offered a scholarship to the speedy rising senior. During a recent trip to Blacksburg, Diggs said he will be taking an official visit there this fall.

“He’s been taking some weekend trips because he’s in summer school,” Milloy said. “He’s trying to visit everybody so he can get it done and get on with it. I hope he gets it done by [the start of practice on] August 8, but I doubt it.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/recruiting-insider/post/coach-believes-maryland-south-carolina-could-be-near-top-of-list-for-good-counsel-wide-receiver-stefon-diggs/2011/07/20/gIQAeym1PI_blog.html

WR Amba Etta-Tawo commits to Maryland Terrapins over Virginia

One of Georgia’s fastest wide receivers committed to Maryland on Wednesday night.

Amba Etta-Tawo, a 6-foot-3, 178-pounder from McEachern High School, said he picked the Terrapins over Virginia out of around 10 football scholarship offers.

“Maryland’s offense is a great fit for me,” Etta-Towa told the AJC. “The type of scheme they run is perfect for the type of receiver that I am.”

What type of wide receiver is Etta-Towa? A fast one. He was a member of McEachern’s 400-meter relay team that finished runner-up for the Class AAAAA state championship and he has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.4 seconds.

“All the coaches were fired up about the commitment,” Etta-Tawo said.

Etta-Towa is the fourth Georgia player to commit to Maryland, following Marist OL Nick Brigham, Luella DB Alvin Hill and Chapel Hill WR AJ Liddell.

•Lithonia High School’s Joe Harris will announce his college decision between South Carolina, Clemson, Mississippi State and Alabama on July 27. He also claims offers from UGA and Georgia Tech.

http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/07/20/wr-amba-etta-tawo-commits-to-maryland-terrapins-over-virginia/

so we get the two old geezers out and maryland is becoming a powerhouse love it! i called for both of their firings once i started at UMD in 2004

Eric Bossi on the Rivals national board said he got the sense that Maryland is the team to beat for the Harrison twins after talking to college coaches at some recent AAU tourneys. Also, a poster on IMS premium who works for DC Assault said that Nate Britt loves Maryland and wants to come here.

Take it for what it is worth

From what I have read is that Britt and the twins CANT stand each other but It would be interesting to see a 3 Guard set up like Villanova had a few years ago with Shaq and Layman

scoutsfocusJoe Davis

2012 PG Sam Cassell jr has new offers Maryland, Texas Tech, Villanova and Washington

http://twitter.com/#!/scoutsfocus

I saw that last night and would be a good rotational guy off the bench for the Harrison twins/ Britt.

@insidemdsports

Jeff Ermann

247’s Will Gunter: “Mark Turgeon with an assistant now checking out McGary. Turgeon as close to SYF bench as legally possible.” #Terps

YaBoyRuss Russ Allen

SYF takes the court for warm ups & McGary is rockin UA shoes

“Good media session w/Mitch McGary. Wide open right now, planning November decision. SYF gets the win over Southern Phenoms.” -William Gunter

Watching some games today. The twins and Shaq look amazing.

insidemdsports Jeff Ermann

Shaq Cleare on potentially playing for #Terps: "“I need to try and get a win against Duke. That's a big part of the Maryland heritage ... "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/recruiting-insider/post/football-dematha-staff-feels-rift-with-marylands-new-coaches/2011/07/29/gIQAklmKhI_blog.html?wprss=recruiting-insider

Football: DeMatha staff feels rift with Maryland’s new coaches

In his short time as the new football coach at DeMatha High, Elijah Brooks has heard from several dozen college football coaches. The Stags annually send 10 or more seniors to college on football scholarships and have plenty of prospects for the next few years. The team’s annual spring gym workouts attract college recruiters from across the nation.

Which all leaves Brooks puzzled as to why coaches from the school located less than two miles from DeMatha never attended those workouts and have yet to establish a relationship with him.

“We think that Maryland is a great school, we send a lot of kids to Maryland and we want to continue sending many kids to Maryland [like] Kenny Tate and Edwin Williams and Josh Wilson,” Brooks said. “But we’ve reached out and we haven’t yet heard anything. We’re concerned because we want to maintain a relationship or at least establish a relationship with Maryland so our players can [potentially] have a bright future there like past players.

“It’s odd. We have kids there that are successful currently. We’re right down the road from Maryland. I am bewildered that we haven’t established some sort of relationship “

According to Brooks, he has not received any correspondence from Maryland, including the standard motivational posters or schedules that colleges regularly send to high school programs.

The last dealings DeMatha had with Maryland came in May during the last week of the spring recruiting period, when Maryland assistant coach Lee Hull, who recruits the area for the Terps, visited DeMatha and spoke with assistant coach Justin Cunningham. Brooks was not able to be present because he was teaching a class.

“He said he didn’t want to see any kids, that they didn’t have any [DeMatha] players on the radar and that they had offered enough kids,” Cunningham said. “They had offered [rising senior linebacker Sam] Lebbie when Ralph [Friedgen] was there and they pulled the offer, said they were recruiting a different kind of kid.

“We’re here all spring, they have a six-week open period. They come the last week and say point-blank, ‘We don’t want to see any of your kids’? ”

“I understand year in, year out we might not have the type of player they’re looking for in that particular year,” Brooks said. “But the odds are, in the future, we will have players they are interested in. So I am definitely bothered there is no relationship attempted to be made, for future players at the least.”

Brooks said he has not called anyone at Maryland to ask about what he perceives as the lack of contact.

“I know schools have a lot going on,” he said.

Cunningham said it was a confusing situation because during the Terrapins’ spring practice period, he felt like DeMatha’s coaches were welcomed at Maryland. “Maybe [Hull gave] off the wrong impression … because when I met him before at Maryland, he was cool with us,” Cunningham said.

Maryland Coach Randy Edsall said that Hull visited DeMatha twice this spring, once when the evaluation period began (before Brooks was hired) and then on the day when he met with Cunningham.

“It’s our decision to go by, based on the schedules we have,” Edsall said. “We went by two days. The first day out, my coaches were at DeMatha. [The second time] Lee left a message for Elijah to call him and Elijah hasn’t called him. I don’t think there is a problem. We’ve had [DeMatha] coaches up to [our spring] practice, had their kids at camp, kids have been up to our junior days, kids have been to everything.”

Edsall declined to comment further.

Hope this is true. :cloud9:

I'm hearing Cleare / Parents and the Twins will be on campus with Harrison Sr. as well. While I think this is the final piece to the cleare commit its quite interesting that the Harrisons are tagging along.. I would think them coming to UMD First after saying "I think I know who it is" is only more good news. I wouldn't expect a twins commit but if we weren't in their top 2 or 3 I don't think this would be transpiring. I'm very eager to see how solid this lady friend of mine is when it comes to inside info. I'll keep you guys posted if I get a date to see just how legit this is.