• Former Maryland center target Gilvydas Biruta has asked Rutgers for a release from his letter of intent.

We should know more about Gilvydas Biruta’s situation next week after the Fred Hill situation clears up. The 6-8 Biruta lost his high school coach (Dan Hurley) and his prospective future college coach (Hill) in the same week and his future remains up in the air.

• The Washington Post named UM point guard target Quinn Cook its All-Met Player of the Year.

Matched his career-high with 30 points in the WCAC title game victory over No. 3 Gonzaga, then had 28 against Ballou. Averaged 20 points, 5.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds.

• Terps women's small forward signee Alyssa Thomas was honored by the Associated Press this week when it selected a Pennsylvania all-state team.

Thomas, a Maryland recruit who scored 777 points and pulled down 409 rebounds, was honored as the Class AAAA Player of the Year.

• Maryland combo guard commitment Natasha Cloud also made the AP's all-state team for Pennsylvania.

Cloud, who is headed to Maryland to play college ball, was a four-year starter for coach Linus McGinty. The 6-0 senior contributed 12.5 points and 5.1 assists a game, but more important was her defense. McGinty could put her on a 6-2 forward or a quick 5-7 point guard and know she could do the job. She was an all-Catholic League first-team selection for the past two seasons.

• Before the McDonald's All-American Game in Columbus, UM shooting guard recruit Laurin Mincy and other game participants visited the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio.

“It was an eye-opener for me,” said 6-foot Maryland-bound guard Laurin Mincy (University Academy Charter HS, Jersey City, N.J.). “That made me grateful for my blessings to see some kids not being able to walk or have certain disabilities. It made me feel very grateful.”

Football recruiting

• The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., checked in with Wake Forest-Rolesville offensive lineman Ryan Doyle, who committed to the Terps last week.

"Maryland is a fantastic school," Doyle said Tuesday morning. "Its architectural school is ranked among the top 25 in the country, and that's what I want to study.

• ESPN.com this week checked in with DeMatha offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, who claims 25 scholarship offers.

"Some of the schools that have already offered are Alabama, FSU, Tennessee, USC, LSU, Cal, Maryland, Pitt, West Virginia, Boston College, Iowa, among others. I don't have any top groups or anything right now. I plan to travel around this summer and see some schools. I have been to Virginia, Maryland and Pitt already."

• Phil Kornblut has notes on several Terps targets, including Tyler Cierski, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound running back from Hoschton, Ga.

[He] has an offer from Maryland and is hearing from USC, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among others. He says his favorites are USC, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He was scheduled to visit Maryland over the weekend. Cierski attended junior days at USC and Georgia.

• Curtis Grant, a linebacker from Hermitage High in Richmond, Va., could take a trip to College Park this summer.

Grant said he plans to check out at least North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Florida, Clemson and West Virginia when he gets a chance, but he doesn't have any kind of list of favorites yet.

• Maryland safety pledge Matt Robinson was selected to the Howard County Times' All-Howard County boys basketball team.

Named Defensive Player of the Year in football, he finished the winter leading the Raiders' basketball team in five different statistical categories. In fact, his final averages in points (15.0), rebounds (10.2), assists (4.0), steals (3.8) and blocks (1.5) each ranked him among the top nine in the county. He notched a double-double in the Raiders' last six games and led the team to a berth in the 3A East regional final. In three of his final four high school games, he scored at least 20 points.

• Terps offensive guard signee Sal Conaboy and his brothers have been involved with their school's Relay for Life program for the past seven years.

Sal Conaboy, a 19-year-old senior, served as logistics chair for three years, beginning as an eighth grader as a shadow for his brother John, 22. John also held the position for three years.