Matt-

Why on earth is it impossible for MD to land a top big? It's what keeps them from regaining elite status, and its incredibly frustrating.
It's obvious that Gary wants one, he just can't land them.

Top bigs are very hard to come by. How many guys are 6"9 plus who are agile, can shoot and pass. Not a lot. The guys are in super high demand and I would imagine that most come with an AAU coach/street agent who have their own agenda. I am happy that GW finds the occasional underrated gem like Jordan Williams.

It certainly bothers me as a MD fan that a kid like CJ Leslie would have Oregon and NC State on his final list and not MD which would seem to be a great fit for him.

I am also happy GW finds the occasional underrated big man, since it seems those are the only ones we can sign. Gary relishes the role of the underdog and seems to pursue players based on maintaining that mindset. The problem is for every Jordan Williams there are plenty of Shane Walkers, Hassan Fofunas, Steve Goins, etc. I would guess you get fewer busts when you pursue higher rated talent, and when they are busts they still average 12 and 7. When your projects turn out to be busts they sit on the bench for 2 consecutive years and have people asking questions like "Is he still on the team?".

Uh, Hassan Fofana was a four star recruit who was ranked #62 nationally so I think you might want to rethink your argument. He was an elite recruit (remember there are ONLY 25 five star recruits every year) who just never panned out. He was actually an example of a player who was a bust EVEN THOUGH he was an elite recruit and his recruitment by Gary is evidence that cuts against the point you are trying to make.

I agree with Diego. MD has recruited plenty of big men with stars and without stars behind their names. The ones that succeed are the ones that share the work ethic and enthusiasm of their coach.

I'm not at all frustrated with the recruitment of bigs. They're not everywhere. That's pretty obvious by now. And, I don't want just any big. I think Gary has learned from the recent path that you've got to find a kid that really wants to be a Terp and that is willing to work hard/and ride the pine a little and wait his turn. Not everyone wants to do that. JW could have easily gotten little to no PT if Dino had started and played well at the beginning of the season. Everyone seems to have really forgotten about JP. Remember, at the beginning of the season, he was tearing it up in practice. Once he becomes more consistent, he has the body and the hops to really thrive in GW's system.

It's obvious that Gary knows what he's doing, so let's just have a little trust in him. Fear the turtle!

so we're going after Dieng from WV but Gary allegedly never went to see Moses Abraham play (per WaPo) in his own back yard and conceded to let Georgetown snatch him up? The kid was 6'9'' with a 40 inch vert!!! Again, per the WPost, Moses loved his recruiter but never connected with GW. Is there more to this story (handler issues, kid lacks skill) than we should know about or does Gary just not try hard enough recruiting kids? Just seems to be echoed time and time again that GW does not put in the effort with recruits. GREAT coach, needs coaching in how to win kids over...

So I checked...Hassan Fofona apparently was pretty highly regarded. In fact, the entire 5 man class of 2003 are/were all rated as 4 star prospects on at least one site I looked at. For those that don't remember, that class consisted of Jones, Strawberry, Fofana, Bowers, and Ibekwe. Will Bowers, 6'11", the 17th ranked big man coming out of high school that year. Fofona, 6'10, 270 lbs, 13th ranked coming out of high school, and 6'9 Ibekwe, the 9th ranked power forward. Yikes. No wonder we only recruit 6'6 swing men now. That sounded like a heck of a front court, based on recruiting. Any idea what that class was ranked?

Regarding Abraham and does he have a handler. He plays for DC Assault. So yes, he has handlers; people that GW won't associate with.

what is his deal with AAU? Only he, the program and its fans suffer from this standoff. I'm not saying pay the guys off but it is today's basketball and you have to cultivate those relationships. You can be cordial and come across an AAU coach that will recommend UMD because its in the best interest of the player, but this blanket shunning of the system that is not going away seems to be a failure of his duties. I would guess 85% of high major prospects play AAU ball, if not more! LUV GW, but learn how to deal with it without compromising values.

Shreds123:

That class was actually #2 in the country according to Rivals and believe it or not, Mike Jones was the #2 ranked SG (and 5 star recruit) in the country behind none other than LEBRON JAMES (if you factor in that LJ never played in college, MJ was #1). Strawberry was the only guy lower than a 4 star and he was a 3 star guy.