Weekly recruiting roundup
After Tony Mitchell backed out of his commitment to Kansas State last month, Maryland was one of many schools to offer a scholarship to the three-star forward from Grand Prairie, Texas.
The Terps hope to receive a visit from Mitchell, whose stock is on the rise, according to Rivals.com’s Jerry Meyer.
There are similarities between Mitchell and Perry Jones. Both are elite athletes with size and talented but raw skill games. They both have helped their stocks tremendously in Vegas. Jones has gone from borderline elite prospect to potential No. 1 prospect. Mitchell has established himself as a five-star prospect and bona fide NBA prospect.
At 6-foot-7 and with a live body, Mitchell is a legitimate small forward with an explosive first step. He is a developing three-point shooter who also has a post up game. And on the glass, he can rebound with the best of them.
• MaxPreps.com’s Jason Hickman had good things to say about Terps point guard commitment Terrell Stoglin after seeing him in Las Vegas last week.
Saw Stoglin just once, but the Arizona guard kept Pump-N-Run Elite in the game against Grassroots Canada with big threes and competent ballhandling against unrelenting pressure in pool play. The Maryland verbal is more combo guard than true point, but his scoring comes within the flow of the game and he does look to set up teammates.
• Testudo Times’ Ben Broman introduces Terps fans to 2011 shooting guard prospect Deuce Bello, who he would like to see paired with California point guard Cezar Guerrero.
Bello is, like Guerrero, a top 2011 prospect, only this time from North Carolina instead of LA. Maryland is generally mentioned in connection with Bello, though I must admit I have no idea how far in the Terps are with him. I would disregard the Rivals, Scout, and ESPN lists (even though ESPN has him listing the Terps) - they are becoming more inaccurate by the day. I would be fairly surprised, however, if Maryland hasn't had a decent amount of contact with him yet.
• South Carolina leads for Fayetteville, N.C., power forward Damontre Harris, but Phil Kornblut reports that the four-star prospect is still considering several other programs, including Maryland.
Harris is looking to make a decision before his season. He has visited USC and Wake Forest and wants to visit Connecticut, Maryland, VCU and Boston College.
• Adam Zagoria reports that Queens, N.Y., shooting guard Omar Calhoun Jr., a 2012 prospect, is already hearing from the Terps.
“He’s getting a lot of college interest,” said Omar Calhoun Sr. “Villanova and St. John’s have offered. He has interest from Maryland, Pittsburgh, Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana and Rutgers.”
Football recruiting
• Georgia’s decision to pull their scholarship offer to Columbus, Ga., athlete Devin Burns (which resulted in Carver High banning Bulldogs coaches from their school) could benefit Maryland.
But Burns will definitely land on his feet. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound quarterback is still holding scholarship offers from Maryland, Vanderbilt, Miss. State, Southern Miss, UAB, Louisville and Troy and remains on the radar screen of numerous other major Division I teams.
• DeMatha safety Lorenzo Waters told Rivals.com that he’s most interested in Miami, Michigan, Wake Forest and Maryland.
“As for Maryland and Wake Forest. I’m interested in Maryland because it’s close and people can get there. Wake Forest is smaller and I like that.”
• Corky Blake of The Express-Times in Bethlehem, Pa., thinks quarterback Tyler Smith made a good choice in committing to Maryland.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Tyler Smith's decision to attend Maryland was right on. I don't know how it will play out, but at least there's a connection in College Park, Md. James Franklin is the Terps' offensive coordinator. He's a former East Stroudsburg University quarterback, just like Wilson coach Bret Comp.
Comments
Awesome as always Matt. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Dave | July 31, 2009 4:06 PM
Matt,
When do you think we will start hearing decisions from UMD recruits? Is there a timeline to when they usually start annoucing their decisions? What's the latest with Smith and Parker?
Thanks!
Posted by: Rob | July 31, 2009 4:50 PM
Rob -- My guess would be September. That's when official visits start up again, depending on the day school actually begins for each recruit. Smith has mentioned Duke frequently, but also Maryland, Georgetown and a couple others who escape my memory at the moment. Parker initially was talking about waiting until the spring, but that could be moved up to the fall. Maryland was his leader as of about a month ago, but Virginia was also in the mix with a couple others.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | July 31, 2009 5:03 PM
Mitchell, Parker, Smith...While it's nice that each seems to have an interest in Maryland, it appears they all play roughly the same position. So, although each possesses his own skill sets, I would think the Terps would only take one of these guys, (unless, of course, more than one wants to commit and no other positional need can be filled with an equal or better talent.)
Matt -
This is the first I've ever heard of Mitchell. Do you know if Maryland was ever involved in recruiting him before he committed to KSU? He seems to be one of those late "risers" that Maryland has had some recent luck in recruiting--Williams and Padgett this year; Vasquez, Bowie and Tucker before that.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | July 31, 2009 11:04 PM
One other question: do you have any feel for how serious, if at all, Terrence Jones is about Maryland? Understanding that he's highly coveted and the Terps only really began pursuing him in earnest after Ross committed, I have to think that he represents little more than a "pipe dream." One can dream, however, as I think he bears a striking physical resemblance to another former Terp "Terrence", Morris, that is.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | July 31, 2009 11:10 PM
“As for Maryland and Wake Forest. I’m interested in Maryland because it’s close and people can get there."
Wow, what a ringing endoresement!
Posted by: Fort Liquordale | July 31, 2009 11:10 PM
Terp'nTexas -- I'm honestly not sure if Maryland was involved with Mitchell before committing to Kansas State. If Smith and one of the other two wanted to come, I think it would be very tough to turn that down (especially since Smith is like 6'8). On Jones, I would only be speculating on his true interest in Maryland. There are just so many other power programs involved, so it's really hard to say. Doesn't hurt having Ross singing the Terps' praises, but it's hard to tell if there's more interest than that.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | August 1, 2009 9:32 AM
Rivals is saying Devin Burns verbally committed to MD today.
Posted by: Roy | August 1, 2009 4:20 PM