Season recap: Terrell Stoglin
Even before he suited up for Santa Rita's varsity team as a freshman, Terrell Stoglin was no secret to high school basketball followers in Tucson, Ariz.
Stoglin was a middle-school phenom at point guard who many expected to have a special high school career. Just how special, however, would have been difficult to predict.
"He came in as a freshman and it was obvious he was ready for the varsity level," said Santa Rita coach Jim Ferguson. "I wasn't expecting him to have a great year his freshman year. I was expecting that he would have a good year. But he made us very good. Every year he was here, we made it to the state championship game."
For three straight years, Santa Rita came up one game short of a state title. Last month, Stoglin made sure he went out on top in his final high school season. The Maryland-bound senior led the Eagles to the Arizona 4A-II state championship. Along the way, Stoglin broke the Tucson city scoring record, and finished his career as the state's second-leading scorer for big schools behind Atlanta Hawks point guard Mike Bibby. Stoglin averaged 29.4 points, 6.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals as a senior, and shot 54 percent from the floor.
Ferguson's expectations of Stoglin were lofty from the start, but the Eagles' longtime coach did wonder about his point guard's athleticism. Stoglin, however, answered those questions in a hurry.
"I questioned if he would be athletic enough to play at the highest DI level," Ferguson said. "But between his freshman and sophomore year, he went to a personal trainer. To Terrell's credit, he worked really hard to develop his body and get really athletic. And at this point, he's extremely strong and very explosive. I questioned whether he would dunk the basketball. Now he just flies out there. He's just dunking the ball with ease. And I didn't know that he would be able to do that. I would say that he's still not a spectacular athlete. When I talked to the coaches at Maryland, the only reason they say he's not a Top 25 player is because he doesn't have that 'wow' factor. He doesn't wow you with his jumping ability."
Watching Stoglin's record-breaking career unfold has been a mixed blessing for many Tucsonans. On one hand, the community has been extremely supportive of Stoglin's success and is excited to see him become the city's first ACC player. There are others, however, that can't help but wonder how Stoglin would look in an Arizona uniform, and speculate on what might have been.
"There are some people that are really disappointed that U of A didn't really go after him hard. Quite honestly, they didn't with all the coaching turmoil that was going on," Ferguson said. "Reggie Geary at the time was in charge of their recruiting, and I talked to Reggie about Terrell. [I said], 'What's going on with you guys? You haven't really spoken to Terrell much.' Just some token conversations. And he said, 'We're really not convinced about Terrell.' I just about fell out of my chair and said OK. And that was kind of it. I shared that with Terrell. But I think a lot of people are upset. People that have seen him play [know] that he can play for UA right now, and I think be their best player. I think he's better than [Arizona senior point guard] Nic Wise right now."
When Sean Miller got the Arizona job last April -- less than a week after Stoglin committed to Maryland -- the former Xavier coach called Ferguson to assess his point guard's situation.
"Miller said he respected Gary Williams. He knew him and he wasn't going to interfere with Terrell going to Maryland," Ferguson said. "But he wanted to let Terrell know that if he had interest in going to the U of A, he would be happy to talk to him. But he would leave it up to Terrell to make the phone call. And Terrell just said, 'No, it's too late. I'm committed to Maryland. I like the coaching staff, and that's where I want to go.' So a lot of people are upset that the U of A didn't get on him very early. But also, he's gotten a lot of positive publicity from people in Tucson. I think the community is going to be very anxious to follow his career and see how he'll do in the ACC."
There will be plenty of playing time available at point guard for Maryland next season with the graduation of Greivis Vasquez. Adrian Bowie will return for his senior season, and the Terps have also received a commitment from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy combo guard Pe'Shon Howard. The Maryland staff, however, has big plans for Stoglin, according to Ferguson.
"I think they expect him to start, and I have no doubt that he can do that. He's ready," Ferguson said. "He's going to have to have a mindset that he needs to play defense and just focus on that. He's got the athleticism and fundamental skill to do it. He's just got to make [that a priority]. Offensively, he's ready. From what the Maryland coaches have told me, and looking at personnel, I think he's going to be the guy running the show for them next year."
Comments
Great stuff, love the competitive sound of this kid and the desire to be better. I'm getting a Juan Dixon feeling about Stoglin.
Posted by: Tony | March 11, 2010 12:20 PM
Matt,I see you did some time in Tucson. Did you get to see Stoglin play much ? You must think it strange that both you & he have come to MD.
Posted by: BaltJohn | March 11, 2010 12:36 PM
does are some great senior stats, wow i am pumped
Posted by: OBafemi | March 11, 2010 12:55 PM
BaltJohn -- I was definitely surprised to see a Tucson kid commit to Maryland. Stoglin was a freshman when I was there, and save for covering the now infamous Arizona Cactus Classic AAU tournament, I didn't write a ton about hoops back then. But everyone I know from my Tucson days has nothing but positive things to say about Stoglin.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | March 11, 2010 12:57 PM
Sounds like we got lucky here - great work by the coaches to get him early and I applaud him for sticking to his commitment. I hope he's not disappointed if/when he doesn't start. Most frosh don't for Gary and I'm 90% sure next year's starting line-up is going to be very senior heavy:
1 - Bowie
2 - Tucker
3 - Mosely
4 - Gregory
5 - Williams
Posted by: Mark Davis | March 11, 2010 3:20 PM
I wouldn't be shocked if he was the starting PG next year. Bowie doesn't strike me as a true PG. And remember, both Steve Blake and Terrell Stokes started at PG as freshmen.
Posted by: Mr. Deez | March 11, 2010 3:49 PM
I see him starting, without a doubt.
Stoglin
Bowie
Mosley
Gregory
Williams
But not right away
Bowie
Mosley
Tucker
Gregory
Williams
Posted by: John | March 11, 2010 4:27 PM
What should not be overlooked in this submission, aside from Stoglin's great character in honoring his commitment to the Terps, is Sean Miller's overall apparent "class" in refraining from any poaching attempt for Stoglin. I realize that he called Stoglin, but as the new coach to the state's university, he likely had an obligation to UA's fan base to introduce himself to Stoglin and inquire as to the firmness of his commitment--it was only a week old at that time. It sounds like, if he had chosen to, he could have exerted alot of pressure on him. Expressly leaving it up to Stoglin to initiate any further communication demonstrates a great deal of character on his part. Not exactly something you regularly, or ever, hear about from the Calhoun's, Calipari's, Self's, Pitino's, etc. in this world.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | March 11, 2010 5:07 PM
I would also like to see Tucker play the 2. I wonder, if that happens, is there enough ball handling/control ability to have one of the 3 combo guards (Stoglin, Bowie or Pe'Shon) handle the PG position by himself? Maybe you need 2 combo guards in at once?
Don't get me wrong, it would be great to see Tucker in there, playing lots of minutes. I just wonder if that's possible, while keeping turnovers under control? I realize Cliff does a pretty nice job handling the ball.
Posted by: EdDC | March 11, 2010 7:05 PM
Hey Terp'n Texas, Should Coach K be included in the class with Calhoun and Calipari because of the Terrance Ross thing? Although Ross sounds like another head case who will be a problem regardless of where he goes. Sorta like Gus Gilchrist.
Posted by: John | March 11, 2010 7:30 PM
Terp'n Texas, You give the coach credit as having class when he called a kid one week after a commitment? He wasn't calling to wish him well. If Terrell gave him one foot in the door he was going to try and steal this recruit away from MD. I think it was slimy and showed NO CLASS on his part.
Posted by: coach4life | March 11, 2010 8:14 PM
A week or so ago I was listening to Rivals radio. They were discussing the Terps class for next year. During the discussion they made mention of the Ross decommitment. I swear I heard them say he was inelligible next year. Is there any truth to that, or did I miss what they were saying?
Posted by: shreds123 | March 11, 2010 9:53 PM
Ross is eligible next yr. They were saying he is ineligible for the rest of his Sr year of HS due to his move. I am excited about Stoglin. It's Bowie's Job to lose. I see tucker being our #1 offensive option next year so there's no way you'll have a starting 5 of Bowie/. Stoglin. BTW pronounced StOHglin.
Posted by: Sephtical | March 12, 2010 12:17 AM
Ross will most likely NOT qualify for college next year since he left H.S. in the middle of the year. His grades were already terrible when he came to Montrose Christine. After leaving school in the middle of the year, there is very little chance he has enough credits and grades to qualify for college. Then again, he might miraculously qualify for schools like Kentucky, Memphis, Cincinnati, south Florida....etc.
Posted by: ST | March 12, 2010 11:23 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/13/AR2010031302292.html
Check out this Sunday's Washington Post front page article and see how GW's aloof attitude toward Mr. Abraham is going to cost the Terps a much needed 6'9" 235lb leaper to back up Jordan. GW would rather spend his time wooing a mediocre kid from Iceland but what else is new? He gets the best out of what he gets but he could be getting a better player if he had a personality adjustment. However, he can coach as proven again this season. Just think how well he could do with prime-time players.
Posted by: Phil | March 14, 2010 9:29 AM
From what I've read from 2 different rec sources, UMD wasn't interested in Abraham. He averages 9pts a game, not tearing it up. Yanda's portrayal of aloof Gary smells fishy. Speaking of fishy, isn't John Thompson senior being all over this kid some sort of violation?
Posted by: The Dad Report | March 15, 2010 8:36 PM
Let me set the record straight here. I'm an Arizona alum, I live in Phoenix, and I've seen Stoglin play in person more than once.
There is no doubt in my mind he can play in the ACC, and I would've loved to have seen him suit up for the 'Cats. But Jim Ferguson is DUMBER than he looks if he really believes that Terrell Stoglin would "...be [Arizona's] best player," or is "...better than [Arizona senior point guard] Nic Wise right now."
I realize that coaches, whether they be from high school or AAU, absolutely have to pay lip service to "sell" their players, but in this case, Ferguson has gone off the deep end. I would love nothing more than to see Terrell Stoglin chase Cal's Jerome Randle or Washington's Isiah Thomas around the court for 40 minutes and still have the wherewithal to score 30 points and be the leader of his team. Because that's what Nic Wise did.
Sometimes, coaches need to realize you can accomplish more by saying less.
Posted by: George | March 17, 2010 1:04 PM
My name is Jaqwan Johnson a friend of terrall. i have played with and against terrall. It was a great. terrall has always want to compete on the highest basketball level he could. We were middle school playing against high school kids and blowing them out of the gym. Stoglin is ready for D1 and one step away from the NBA
Posted by: Jaqwan Johnson | August 17, 2010 4:46 PM