Weekly recruiting roundup
Boston Amateur Basketball Club forward Jake Layman was one of many Maryland targets that impressed this week at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.
Rivals.com's Eric Bossi noted that the Wrentham, Mass., native is drawing quite a bit of high-major attention.
One of our contemporaries dubbed Layman "40-love" because he moves like a jumbo sized tennis player. Boston College and Providence have been well represented for him and Maryland appears to be making a push while Texas is looking to get involved. He shoots, moves extremely well for a 6-foot-8 guy and seems to have high upside.
Layman spoke to Adam Zagoria at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League event and named Maryland his favorite. Check out the video below.
• Maryland center target Prince Ibeh opened some eyes with his play defensively at the Peach Jam.
Offensively, Ibeh is very raw and doesn’t try to do much beyond layups and dunks. On the defensive side of the ball however, Ibeh is a force challenging everything that gets anywhere near the rim. He tallied 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in this contest and those blocks are coming against top 20 players nationally in Brandon Ashley and Aaron Gordon. He didn’t back down from the star studded Oakland Soldiers frontline and forced them to think before just punishing the rim.
Ibeh spoke to Zagoria about his recruitment.
• The Washington Post's Josh Barr reported this week that Episcopal forward Arnaud Moto has a scholarship offer from Maryland.
“Within 72 hours of me sending [film] out, [Mark Turgeon] received them, watched them and left me a detailed message … and they offered him a full ride,” [Episcopal coach Jim] Fitzpatrick said. “Obviously [assistant coach Dalonte] Hill followed up with me and they’ve been recruiting him hard since.”
Moto missed the Peach Jam this week with an injury.
Team Takeover has been playing short-handed because forward Arnaud Adala Moto (Episcopal) has been sidelined this week with a dislocated kneecap. Stevens said he’ll return in two weeks.
• Philadelphia forward Amile Jefferson told The Recruit Scoop that North Carolina State, Villanova and Maryland are recruiting him the hardest.
• Team Takeover forward and Maryland target Jerami Grant was a Wednesday standout at the Peach Jam.
The lean combo forward played strong around the rim and dominated the paint as an interior scorer. If he couldn't muscle in a shot, he got to the free throw line (18 times) and the usually poor free throw shooter did a good job of making important charity tosses. He finished with a team-high 26.
• Terps center target Robert Upshaw was named a Top 10 performer at the Hoop Mountain Southern Showcase in Atlanta last weekend.
The 7'0 center from California played well on Saturday with several Pac-12 coaches in attendance to see him. He's got nice hands, rebounds well, and finishes in the paint pretty well.
• Isaiah Zierden, a 6-foot-2 guard from Minnesota, had a huge first day at the Peach Jam.
Isaiah Zierden made 9 three-pointers, scored 49 points, and hit 12 of 12 free throws on day one.
Zierden told Golden Valley Patch that he's on Maryland's radar.
Zierden: I got some calls from (sic) Califronia, Creighton, Wofford and Manhattan. Maryland said that they want to come watch me at the Peach Jam. The schools want to come watch me play.
• Detroit Country Day wing Jodan Price, who has received some Terps interest, also had a strong opening at the Peach Jam.
An intriguing prospect because of his length and deep range as a wing prospect, Price hit for 25 points on 6-10 shooting from three in his first outing.
• UM guard targets and Houston Defenders stars Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison were both standouts at last weekend's adidas Invitational.
[Aaron] Harrison (like his twin brother) can play either of the three perimeter positions. That versatility is a major strength and he can score and distribute. He is probably best on the wing but he can definitely be a combo guard. He is a streaky shooter with range to 22 feet and an excellent slasher thanks to his skill set and strong body.
Football recruiting
• Pittsburgh Central Catholic athlete Anthony Nixon has committed to the Terps.
Nixon, who is 6 feet 2 and 192 pounds, was recruited as a defensive back and is the second Central Catholic player to commit to Maryland, joining quarterback Perry Hills.
Check back with Recruiting Report later for more on Nixon's commitment.
• Owings Mills Patch this week profiled Maryland-bound defensive end Roman Braglio.
"About a week ago, (McDonogh football coach Dom) Damico pulled me into his office and told me that he will probably make me a team captain," Braglio said. "That's part of the reason that I've been working out so hard this summer. I want to make the next step and be a leader on next year's team."
Comments
Matt:
Per usual, good stuff. Thanks.
Pretty exciting activity. While Turgeon and his staff continue to work, I guess we just now have to sit back and watch who and who doesn't commit to Maryland. It appears, as it should, that the "carrot" of immediate, or near immediate, playing time being dangled in front of these potential recruits is luring their attention. Hopefully, that will be understood to mean that playing time, ultimately, must be earned but that a very real opportunity exists for these players to see court action early on if their effort and production are present.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | July 15, 2011 1:58 PM
Matt:
Always a good read. Any news on Cleare, or is no news good news?
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Josh: Thanks a lot. I think it's status quo on Cleare. The open period seems to be more about evaluations than commitments. -- Matt
Posted by: Josh | July 15, 2011 2:41 PM
Great post of information, Matt! I really look forward to reading these updates whenever you post them. Hope the Terps can secure some of these solid looking recruits!
Posted by: T-Siz | July 15, 2011 3:40 PM
It's really amazing how well this staff has positioned themselves with so many top recruits. Fun times ahead.
Posted by: Ben | July 15, 2011 4:30 PM
Is there a maximum amount of offers that you can extend to recruits? I do not recall us ever extending this many offers. Also,how does it work, first come first serve? You would have to think McGary, Carter, Ledo and Jefferson will probably wait till later in the signing period. It definitely will be interesting to see how it unfolds. I have always loved the recruiting aspect. Although in past years we had all of our hopes pinned to one or two highly recruited prospects. I have lost count of how many we have now. Hope we can keep Hill and Bino around for more than a couple years.
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Rob: They can extend as many offers as they'd like. It's a delicate process in terms of who they take and who they defer, but the old staff occasionally had those dilemmas as well. Sean Mosley vs. Chris Turner comes to mind. -- Matt
Posted by: Rob | July 15, 2011 7:05 PM
Very happy to see Nixon signed. About a month ago you posted a story on Hillis and if you check out the video on him throwing the ball all over the field, the guy who really stands out downfield is Nixon.
Worth looking at the tape again and finding #3:
http://tinyurl.com/67oe72d
Posted by: Shas | July 16, 2011 8:27 AM
Matt, just wanted to add a little realist perspective. I've been a Terps fan since the 70's. I've seen the best and worst of Md sports. Although I'm excited about coach Turgeon, and the recruiting whirlwind, I realize that there are about 30 schools, each with winning traditions, that have been bringing in these highly sought after recruits on a regular basis, yet every year at least 29 of those teams end the year with a loss in March. I recently read one fans prediction of 5 or 6 national championships under Turgeon. Lefty used to get great recruits, but never won the trophy. Bringing in these highly ranked recruits, brings a whole new set of problems, one and done recruits, transfers due to lack of playing time, attitudes that disrupt teams, and possible violations by athletes who feel they are so good that rules don't apply to them. To win a national championship you need to have good recruiting,excellent game coaching(,Lefty lacked this) Quality players, TEAM CHEMISTRY, and luck. As long as the Terps beat Duke twice a year, I'll be happy.
Posted by: mark gesue | July 16, 2011 11:40 AM
Mark Gesue,
Since you've been a fan since the 70's and Lefty's era; you'll remember that His chances to even been in the 'dance' were limited. Since expanding the field to 64, teams that came in second (or lower) in their conference have had a chance to win the tourny and have done so. Imagine how many tourny's Lefty would have won if he had been under the same rules? Who knows?
Posted by: OrioleFan | July 16, 2011 11:43 PM