The future is Now for Maryland Basketball

It has been over a decade since the Maryland Terrapins basketball team—led by Juan Dixon and 12 other unheralded recruits—won the national championship. They remain the only group in NCAA Tournament history to win a National Championship with no McDonald’s High school All-American players on the roster.

Over the last 10 years, the fans and the media alike have criticized Gary Williams for not bringing in top talent, though amidst the criticism, he always found a few diamonds in the rough. Jordan Williams was a 3-star recruit—ranked 87 overall—who is in the NBA after 2 short years under Gary. Terrell Stoglin ended up as the ACC’s leading scorer in just his second season last year, despite not being considered good enough to play for his home-town Arizona.

When Gary retired last summer, the Terps hired Mark Turgeon and fans had no idea what to expect. Less than one year later, Turgeon has recruited one of the best classes in the nation and has ESPN citing the Terps as a powerhouse program once again.

We’ve seen a promising trend developing since Turgeon’s arrival: when a recruit visits Maryland, they almost always commit before they leave. Maryland’s biggest problem over the last few years was not having any inside presence or 3-point shooters and they have addressed both with this latest recruiting class. It’s an exciting time to be a Terps basketball fan.

The Terps hit on almost everyone they targeted. Of course, a few high-ranked players went elsewhere, but every recruit they put high priority on (at least publicly), they signed. The class is ranked 17, overall, by ESPN and 15, overall, on Scout.com.

And, because it’s fun to point out, the class is ranked far higher than Duke. 

 

Below is a breakdown of the 2012 Maryland Terrapins recruiting class.

     *All ratings are from ESPN; the grades are just like you would get in school. For example MD’s top rated player is rated 96 out of a possible 100*

The Studs: Shaq Cleare (Center- 6’9’’ 270 Lbs, rated 96 overall) and Jake Layman (SF 6’8’’ 190 lbs rated 93 overall)

The two studs of the class for Maryland are, physically, freaks of nature. The Terps targeted them both immediately and drew their commitment early in the process. Cleare is a hulking, super-athletic 270-pound center from Houston, TX, who is expected to compete for a starting spot right away. He satisfies the Terps biggest needs—size and strength—and he’s a finalist to make the McDonald’s HS All-American game, which only 26 HS players in the county can make.

Layman is a 6’8’’ shooting guard / small forward (not a typo) who is mostly known for his 3-point shooting and his defense. The guy is simply a match-up nightmare for opponents on both ends of the court. His length gives opposing players nightmares on the defensive end and allows him to shoot over the top of smaller defenders on offense. Despite being 6’8,’’ he can handle the ball very well. He will likely end up playing SF, but he has the talent to play SG as well.

Just outside the top 100: Charles Mitchell (6’8’’ PF 250 lbs rated 90 overall), Seth Allen (6’1’’ 190 lbs Combo Guard rated 89 overall), * Sam Cassell Jr. (6’4’’ 170 lbs Combo Guard rated 90 overall)

*Sam Cassell Jr.’s has committed but has not signed his letter of intent yet. His former NBA-playing father is asking him to take a few more school visits—Cassel Jr. canceled two other visits and committed before he left Maryland’s campus.

Charles Mitchell is a very athletic power forward who finished just outside of the top 100 in ESPN’s player’s rankings. He was rated higher (4 stars) on Rivals.com, but I stuck with ESPN and Scout who both had him just outside the top 100. He will add much needed depth at PF and is expected to contribute right away.

Seth Allen blew up last summer and many believe he would easily be in the top 100 had he not missed his whole AAU season with an injury. Allen can get to the hoop at will and score with ease. He worked with John Wall this summer on becoming a better PG and insiders say that Turgeon wants him to be the PG of the future.

Cassell Jr. is a big-time scorer from the Baltimore area who has a nice 3-point shot and can drive the lane when he wants. He shot up the rankings this season and a ton of teams had him on their radar, but he decided he wanted to be a Terp. As long as his father, Cassell Sr. (the ugliest man alive), doesn’t screw it up, Cassell Jr. figures to help early with scoring off the bench and starting a few years down the road.

The Transfer: Evan Smotrycz (6’8’’ PF, played at Michigan last 2 seasons)

Big news came in yesterday that Evan Smotrycz is transferring from Michigan to Maryland. A PF who shoots 40 percent from 3 and over 50 percent from 2, Smotrycz is expected to make a serious impact for the Terps in the future. Unfortunately, he will have to sit out next year due to transfer rules. But with big guys clogging up the lane, a 6’8’’ true PF who is a lights-out shooter can really change the game for the Terps.

The Project: Damonte Dodd (6’9’’ 230 Lbs Center)

It was a surprise when Mark Turgeon announced the signing of Damonte Dodd because no one had 

ever heard of him before. But we are starting to learn already, “In Turgeon we trust”. His stats are insane, albeit against very low-level competition. The Terps and Georgetown found out about him almost accidentally and both made a push for him instantly, but in the end Maryland won out. All we know is that he is big, athletic and very raw—but very talented. Dodd is likely going to be on the bench for a few years but may be a guy that really surprises you down the road. Turgeon is convinced that he can mold Dodd’s natural talent into dominant force and I have no reason to doubt him at this point.

There has never been a more exciting time to be a Maryland Basketball fan. This will be the highest ranked class in years and is expected to turn to the program around immediately (with Cassell Jr. ESPN had them in the top 12 overall). One thing is guaranteed, it will be fun to watch this team grow up together. Of course not every recruit is going to work out. A few of these guys might not last on the team, but that’s the nature of recruiting and college basketball.

With this recruiting class, the Terrapins have taken a step in the right direction. They are finally attracting the local players and highly ranked prospects that the storied program deserves.

This is for a whole different article but I think I should mention that the Terps are 1 of 2 teams being considered by the Harrison Twins next year (the #2 and #5 players overall for 2013). But that story is for another day and (shorter) article.

Just for fun, here’s a list of some players who have MD in their top 5 in the class of 2013: 

Andrew Harrison - #2 
Aaron Harrison - #5 
Rysheed Jordan - #12 Dominic Woodson - #27 
Kennedy Meeks - #58 
Kris Jenkins - #60 
Stanford Robinson -#88 
Junior Etou - #91 
Roddy Peters - #108 
Daquan McNeil - #123