Matt,

Did you see this article? In it he mentions that Greivis said he's "staying in." Is this legit or did he forget to add some verbage to the sentence? Something like "Greivis is staying in for now?" Thanks for the info.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/scott_howard-cooper/06/05/stoudemire.notes/index.html?eref=sihp

Matt, Good find on Stephenson, though you did throw a bit of a curve with that "(m)onths of silence and speculation ended..." lead-in (LOL). I found something interesting in a comment Zagoria made in a blog response:

"Do a Google news search for Lance Stephenson and you will find the following keywords as a sampling to describe him: 'chemistry killer,' 'program killer,' 'problem,' 'petulant,' 'can’t keep his hands to himself' and other, harsher comments that I won’t mention here.

"Most, if not all, of these articles and blogs were written by white reporters, some of whom have never met Lance or his family.

"This is an 18-year-old high school student with many accolades we are talking about here. Is it really appropriate to use these terms to describe him?"

I bring this up because no a few readers to your blog and "Tracking the Terps" keep bringing up how bad Stephenson's "attitude" would be to the Terps' program. Where are they getting that idea? Certainly not from Gary Williams, so maybe, as Zagoria suggests, they shouldn't believe everything they read.

Charles -- I hadn't seen that article, thanks for linking. I think that's speculative. Our Terps reporter, Jeff Barker thinks he might stay at Maryland. Barker's checking on this everyday, so he'll be all over it when it's officially announced.

Ken -- Good call on the lead. I think a lot of those comments on Stephenson stem from his legal issues, and the fact that he's still on the market. Plus, college sports fans are often fickle, irrational and quick-to-judge by nature (myself included when it comes to my alma mater). But I thought Zagoria's point was a good one.

Matt - Ever hear of a kid named Grant Jones? He's an OT for Liberty Christian Academy here in Lynchburg. A huge kid at 6'6" 300 at age 16. He told me a couple of days ago that he has been getting some interest from Maryland, PSU, WVU, and NCSU among several FCS schools. I know he's good, but I am surprised at the level of interest so early. He just finished his sophomore year in HS. Just wanted to know if you'd heard of him or if you knew he was on the Terps radar.

Terpin -- I haven't heard of him, but I rarely hear of players that young in football. If he's that big, it wouldn't surprise me if schools like that are sending literature. And as we saw with Bennett Fulper, Maryland's well aware of the talent in that area.

Matt- Do you feel sorry for Lance at all with how he is portrayed? EVERYTHING seems to stem from this case which seems to be TOTAL BS.
In fact, the guidance guy from that school said in the one interview that he has know idea who most people are talking about when Lance is brought up. That he is one of the more polite and nice kids in the class.
I mean, who really KNOWS this kid?
He is 17, not 38.

Scout.com reports both Bartons to Memphis. Going to a second tier school thats about to get nailed by the NCAA...not a wise move.

I heard that the Barton brothers just committed to Memphis.

zagoria writes that barton chose memphis

Matt- The Barton's committed to Memphis. I think I may be done with basketball now. I stopped the NBA a few years ago.
I mean, what is with MD recruiting? They can not land 1 top local kid. Not 1.
Gary must really be doing nothing.
I find it funny because I blame the kids too a little. I hope Memphis gets a post season ban for a decade.
Look at this situation. Its amazing. Memphis lost their coach. They are at the center of tons of contraversy and the targets are from MD. It totally blows me away.
All kidding aside, MD has to be 1 of the worst recruiting programs in the country, right? When you look at what they have done and where they play, conference and exposure, etc.
I heard rumblings that the Ross kid is thinking of changing his mind too. Whats the scoop on that? A change is definitely needed. Start from scratch.

Vasquez coming back. Lance will sign with Terps. Terps will make a run at the final 4 and will sign the top rated class in 2010. Remember I told you so. The Terps are back..

Aren't the Bartons in the same class as the 2 guards already committed to Maryland? It would have surprised me if the Terps signed 4 guards in the same recruiting class. 2 are already committed, and the Barton's were to be a package deal. That would've been a foolish move. They need a big man or 2 as a part of the class.

Will Barton is the No. 1 shooting guard and N0. 7 overall recruit. Antonio Barton is in the same class as out 2 recruits, but Will is much better. GW has to do a better job on the Baltimore recruits. Go full tilt on Roscoe Smith.

I've ripped GW on his lack of recruiting effort as much as anyone else on here, but there wasn't much he could do about this. He had no interest in Antonio Barton and this was going to be a package deal or no deal. Once Stoglin committed, he wasn't going to waste a scholly on Antonio.

Smith, Harris and Parker are still on the board. If we get one of them, then it's a solid class.

“Maryland is going through their process where they want to pick a player and they’re not putting any rush on us,” Lance Sr. said. “They want Lance to be sure if he does want to go to Maryland, that he really wants to be there. Maryland has been really patient in working with the family.”

Translation: Everyone is waiting on Greivis.

Look on the bright side... Probably neither of the Barton brothers could have gotten into MD. Will would have been one and done if he did get in due to the NBA or academics. Both would have probably cost us a scholarship by lowering us below the acceptable graduation rate. They also chose Memphis over Kentucky, Kansas, and Cuse. They also did not go to another ACC school.

Have faith in Gary, he is going to pull it out, he has to. One of these stars from MD is going to wise up one day and commit to UMD and become a legend. I also think this week we are going to get some good news on the recruiting front...we are due!

I have to say that the recruits now that want to go to college have mentors (agents) if you will that steer them in the direction of exposure not National Championships. It wouldn't matter if John Calipari went to what the hell state university, he is recognized for getting top draft picks not national championships. Look at it for what it is when is the last time that Kentucky or Memphis won a title? The offense that Gary runs is not a glamorous one but he is a good coach on the other hand these other schools run offensive systems that showcase an individuals talent not to just exploit a teams weakness. One of the biggest stages in college basketball is the ACC tourney and MD has one it but how many top draft picks do they produce? These kids want to go pro if possible and if the school doesn't have a history of turning out very many then the school becomes on of those if all else fails selections. It is no longer enough to have a good coach anymore. MD hasn't gotten a top ten recruit in over 15 years, and have not had a top ten recruiting class that I know of so we shouldn't be suprised on the outcome of local top ten talent going elsewhere. Gary has to get a couple of top tier talent guys to rejuvenate the MD recruiting efforts in the future or you will never change the fact that Maryland players will look outside the state for the college bb careers. One last thing all these MD recruits have watched the MD basketball games during their time in the state of Maryland and some have even come to the Comcast Center to see them in person, they are given the exposure to the school and they still chose to go elsewhere. It's not the school, it's not the basketball team as a whole but instead it's their future beyond college which I think ultimately determines their final decision.

I'll take Gary Williams over the Calipari's of the world any day. He's a hell of a good coach and teacher.