Montrose Christian's Terrence Ross picks Terps
The Maryland men's basketball program landed its second commitment of the 2010 class today, and it was a big one.
Montrose Christian shooting guard Terrence Ross pledged to the Terps this afternoon. The four-star prospect was reportedly recruited by Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Washington, Louisville, Georgetown, Villanova and several others.
“He actually told Gary today around noon,” Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter said. “He’d been thinking about it for awhile and he has been impressed with the University of Maryland, the way they play and the coaching staff. He decided it was best to make the decision now so he could concentrate on his academic work and becoming a better basketball player."
Ross, the No. 31 player in the 2010 class, according to Rivals.com, is originally from Portland, Ore. The 6-foot-5, 180-pounder transferred to Montrose before this season. He was Montrose's second-leading scorer at around 15 points per game, according to Vetter.
“One of the reasons why he decided to go to Maryland was that he’s very happy at Montrose,” Vetter said. “He wanted to stay near the Montrose family and decided that he really liked the fact that he could still keep his ties to Montrose playing at the University of Maryland. That was one of the determining factors.
“He also wanted to get the recruiting process over with because a player like him would be recruited by every school in the country. The amount of focus that was starting to generate around him [was crazy], so this was an opportunity to get the recruiting process over with and just sign with a school that he really has enjoyed this past year.”
Vetter called Ross a versatile shooting guard that plays above the rim and has outstanding athleticism. Vetter said the Terps are getting the total package in Ross.
“Maryland did an outstanding job of recruiting him,” Vetter said. “They came on strong in the spring recruiting period. [Terps assistant] Robert Ehsan and Gary Williams did a great job of recruiting and showing him the advantages of staying close to Montrose and again, the other players we have at the University of Maryland (Greivis Vasquez and Adrian Bowie) also did a good job of convincing him that Maryland’s an outstanding place for him to come and play.”
Ross joins Tucson (Ariz.) Santa Rita point guard Terrell Stoglin in Maryland’s 2010 recruiting class.
Comments
Land one big one and the rest will start to follow. Don't be surprised to hear a couple more big names signed in the next month.
Gary's got his intensity back. Good things are going to happen at MD.
Stephenson, Painter, Barton, Smith and Harris...join the party!
Posted by: Rob | April 24, 2009 4:36 PM
Matt, any word on Painter? I'm hearing the Terps are pushing hard and he has the Terps high on his list.
Posted by: jim | April 24, 2009 4:36 PM
ACC! ACC! ACC! ACC!
Posted by: Jacob | April 24, 2009 4:51 PM
This kid is nasty. Watched the Oak Hill Montrose game on TV and found him to be the most impressive player on the floor. Amazing athlete, explosive jumper. Huge signing for the Terps assuming he keeps the committment.
Posted by: Sam | April 24, 2009 6:10 PM
Great pick up - Ross is the real deal. Combine him with Stoglin - things are looking good.
Way to go Gary and Rob! I agree that this may be the start of something here as far as recruiting. Good, solid, quality players.
This is excellent news.
Posted by: Eric - Winston-Salem | April 24, 2009 9:02 PM
Eric we're not done yet my friend. I would bet in the next three weeks we land another big recruit.
Posted by: Rob | April 24, 2009 9:16 PM
Its about time. Thank you Gary, you have restored my faith in you that you can recruit with the best. This kid is the real deal, and i think getting him, Stoglin, and another big or two will put us back in the Final Four. Things are finally looking up in college park.....................
Posted by: Josh | April 24, 2009 11:08 PM
See, this is why Maryland fans from Maryland > Maryland fans from the DC Metro area. You would not believe the B.S. that got slung around re: Gary can't recruit, and other associated ridiculousness.
Or maybe you would. Which, again, comes out to: Actual Marylanders for UM > "Fairweather" Maryland Fans.
Good job, Coach. Keep on keepin' on.
Posted by: rockcreek | April 25, 2009 1:40 AM
Wow, obviously this kid doesn't read the Sun's blogs. I used to think that Gary Williams was a great coach, who could develop players into pros, get the most out of his team, and even win a national championship along the way. That was before I learned from some of the posters on this site what a demented maniac he is and what a fool any parent would be to send his or her kid to Gary's program. Somebody better tell Ross before he suffers the same fate as Walt Williams, Joe Smith, Steve Francis, and Juan Dixon.
Posted by: Smitty | April 25, 2009 7:49 AM
Shocker! Zags blog is reporting UMD is out of the reace for lance! How many times has this happened. Now they are saying that just because of this signing with Ross that Lance thinks Maryland is too structured offensively and now is looking at the west coast. I think it is a bunch of bull because Arizona said they were not actively recruiting him.
This all is very confusing.
Posted by: Mike | April 25, 2009 9:10 AM
Ross' signing should have no effect on Stephenson's decision. Ross is 2010 signing and Lance sounds all but assured of being a one and done player. Now, if we could only land a true center one of these days!
Posted by: GPT | April 25, 2009 9:56 AM
The comments about Gary's system being too structured were originally reported by Zagsblog a couple of hours before Ross' commitment became public. And as GPT posted Ross' signing has no effect on Stephenson because Lance would be in-and-out of UMD before Ross ever showed up.
Lance ain't coming to College Park, we should all move on with our lives.
DeShawn Painter is visiting Virginia Tech this weekend. Then he'll visit NCSU and then he'll visit UMD on May 15th or 16th.
Nice article Matt
Posted by: Russ | April 25, 2009 10:15 AM
who cares about lance anyway his is overrated and he would have committed to MD already if he wanted to go there!!!
Posted by: terptime | April 25, 2009 11:25 AM
Excellent pick up. The old dog Gary still has a few tricks left.
Posted by: Adam B. | April 25, 2009 12:48 PM
heck of a pick up by the staff...
Ross and Stoglin can both really score from distance; It's an element we haven't had consistently in a long time.
Shake them haters off, Gary!!! *lol*
Posted by: terp soldier | April 25, 2009 1:59 PM
Matt,
Does the pick-up of Ross have an implications on our recruiting of Barton? Was not sure if these two play the same position and what effect this might have. Any further word on J.D. Weatherspoon? This would be quite coup if we could pull this off.
Posted by: Rob | April 26, 2009 5:46 PM
Rob -- Ross and Barton are both shooting guards, but I think with their size, playing the 3 wouldn't necessarily be out of the question for either. I'd expect the Terps to continue recruiting Barton. On Weatherspoon, we'll see if Ohio State offers.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | April 26, 2009 6:46 PM
GREAT pickup. T. Ross is about as talented as a 2G gets. If he works hard the sky is the limit.
Matt,
I still hope the Terps can pickup Barton. What about Roscoe? Is there any chance he will consider Maryland? The pieces are coming together nicely in 2010. He wouldn't have to be "the man" as there is going to be a lot of talent in CP.
Posted by: Twine | April 27, 2009 1:00 AM
Assuming Greivis comes back (and before introducing someone like Painter), the rotation come tournament time should be nine deep. Tucker's a bit of a wild card -- he'll be in the rotation -- but it seems likely that he won't see consistent minutes until he's a senior. Everyone else will probably get pretty consistent run. Not a bad group; not bad at all.
Add in Stoglin and Ross, and there's good reason to be a Terp fan. Things are looking good.
Starting Lineup:
Bowie
Vasquez
Mosley
Milbourne
Williams
Bench:
Hayes
Gregory
Padgett
Tucker
Deep Bench:
Pearman
Goins
Burney
Kim
Posted by: Brian | April 27, 2009 2:58 AM
Twine -- I think RS will consider Maryland, but I'd be surprised if he ended up there.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | April 27, 2009 10:19 AM
adding painter now means that there is a glut in the front court. especially since they will be true power forward centers. gregory will keep at least one of these guys on the bench due to knowing the system and his hustle. burney will be on for defense. williams and padgett were set as starters less than two weeks ago- where does painter fit? everything else is great, except for a glut in the backcourt as well... bowie, hayes AND tucker.
-2010 looks to be a great year for the terps. stoglin, ross. regardless of what happens, i am looking forward to padgett and wiliams in o9-1o
Posted by: space | April 29, 2009 2:50 PM