Official Maryland Terps Thread 2.0

[Wizardspride]

MT @DeMathaHoops: @MooMoo25 [Jerami Grant] will visit Rutgers unofficially tmrw and may attend the MD/Miami game Mon. Decision next week

[Wizardspride]

Per Inside MD Sports: Layman, Jefferson, and Grant will all be here this weekend. Also said Britt is sitting down with Turgeon this weekend.

[Wizardspride]

@TheRecruitScoop
Alex Kline
Maryland will have Amile Jefferson, a 2012 forward from Friends Central (PA), on campus this weekend.

[Wizardspride]

Evan Daniels (National Basketball Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com) thinks that its between MD and Ohio St. for the services of Amille Jefferson.

[Ruzious]

Per Inside MD Sports: Layman, Jefferson, and Grant will all be here this weekend. Also said Britt is sitting down with Turgeon this weekend.

Scout.com has Jefferson ranked 20th in the nation, Layman 41, and Grant 50. In a July 21st article on Grant, MD was not listed in his top 5. Layman and Jefferson sound more likely to go to MD, and they're higher ranked. Layman sounds like the only pure wing of the group, and he's regarded as an outstanding shooter, so I'd lean toward hoping they get him - with Jefferson a close 2nd. Jefferson's got some other school visits scheduled after MD, so it might be an opportunity for Layman to announce for MD before Jefferson's ready to make his decision.

[Wizardspride]

How good is Maryland’s mysterious new Ukrainian 7-footer?

Since Maryland announced the late addition of 7-foot-1 center Olexiy Len on Monday, there has been breathless speculation regarding the potential impact the mysterious Ukrainian big man can make next season.

One report quoted an anonymous coach who called Len "a lottery pick" and "the best recruit in America." Another raved about the "off the charts" athleticism displayed by Len at the U-18 European Championships last year.

In an effort to gauge whether the hype for Len is legitimate or not, Yahoo! Sports reached out to an Eastern Conference front office executive who is familiar with the Ukrainian 7-footer's game. The executive described Len as an unconventional center with impressive athleticism and leaping ability, but when asked about the idea of him as a sure-fire lottery pick, he bluntly responded, "Hell no."

"He's an athlete, a big-time athlete," the executive said. "Think of Tyson Chandler when he was young, that kind of skinny, athletic body. He'll do some crazy stuff: Reverse dunking, behind the back dribbling. He has athletic ability that you don't see [from a] Euro Ukrainian, who are usually blessed with a lack of verticality. I don't know that he's a really good basketball player yet, but he's a pogo-stick right now. Down the road, he has a chance to be very good."

If indeed Maryland has added a big man who's still very raw but has the potential to play at an all-conference level in a couple years, that should qualify as mostly good news for the Terrapins.

Yes, Len may not solve all of Maryland's frontcourt woes caused by the early departure of Jordan Williams this past spring, but the Terrapins weren't likely to contend in the ACC this season anyway. Instead, Len will receive ample playing time this winter in hopes that he'll be an impact big man in a year or two when Maryland's young backcourt has matured and coach Mark Turgeon's first recruiting classes have arrived.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...n=ncaab-wp4591

[MF23]

UMCP football program and Under Armour are serious. Genius, Don Draper's submitting a resume right now!

[Halcyon]

We're getting Jake Layman!

[Wizardspride]

We're getting Jake Layman!

EvanDanielscout Evan Daniels
A lot of movement at the top of the 2012 class rankings today. Maryland is a top 10 class now. Probably in the 5 or 6 range

http://twitter.com/#!/EvanDanielscout

[Wizardspride]

DaveTelep Dave Telep
Layman cancelled visits to Florida, Louisville and Syracuse. Story posting tomorrow. MD visit blew him away

.

[Ruzious]

Very nice - getting the small forward I wanted. From the 3 recruits he's gotten for 2012, it looks "clear" that Turgeon is focusing on skills players over pure athletes. Temper enthusiasm by realizing none of them are 5 star types. Layman and Clear are top 40ish types. Seth Allen isn't even ranked in the top 100 yet by Scout.com - though I think that's a Stoglin type situation - where the player just hasn't gotten the national attention he should have. Actually, he's a lot like Stoglin as a player. It's already a successful recruiting class, but for it to be really big-time, Turgeon's probably got to get the stud - Mitch McGary.

[theboomking]

Very nice - getting the small forward I wanted. From the 3 recruits he's gotten for 2012, it looks "clear" that Turgeon is focusing on skills players over pure athletes. Temper enthusiasm by realizing none of them are 5 star types. Layman and Clear are top 40ish types. Seth Allen isn't even ranked in the top 100 yet by Scout.com - though I think that's a Stoglin type situation - where the player just hasn't gotten the national attention he should have. Actually, he's a lot like Stoglin as a player. It's already a successful recruiting class, but for it to be really big-time, Turgeon's probably got to get the stud - Mitch McGary.

Any updates on McGary? How likely are we to get him? You'd have to think that landing Layman probably helps, at least a bit.

[Wizardspride]

Maryland's 2012 class is now up to #9 per ESPN.

[Wizardspride]

Jake Layman commits to Maryland

"Right when I saw the Comcast Center I was amazed," Layman said. "It's huge compared to some of the other schools I've seen. At the end of my visit they actually had me and my parents watching a video. They took us into the Comcast Center with a spotlight shining on a bunch of chairs in a circle (at mid court) and we sat down and talked. It was cool."

Layman had no plans of committing before the visit began, but like his high school and AAU career, he proved to be full of surprises. Following an unlikely trip to the state championship game as a junior, Layman found himself empowered with the confidence to ramp up his game.

"It was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone else," Layman said. "I knew I'd work hard but I'm surprised.

"

[Zonkerbl]

How about those terps beating Miami? Does Miami suck this year?

[edit: Looks like Miami was pretty undermanned:
"It was a valiant effort by the Hurricanes, who were without eight players who were suspended for accepting extra benefits, including three defensive linemen, star linebacker Sean Spence and standout safety Ray-Ray Armstrong."]

[doclinkin]

The twitterverse is killing the Terp football unis, but I like them jonts.

[theboomking]

The twitterverse is killing the Terp football unis, but I like them jonts.

I liked them too. Pretty new fangled though. I'm not sure they are to everyone's taste.

[pineappleheadindc]

In my office, it was really split 50-50.

One thing though, there were no minor opinions. Everyone either really liked them or really hated them.

[Ruzious]

I don't get much into unis, but I didn't care for them. In general, it's a bad idea to incorporate a flag onto a uni - unless it's somehow tastefully done. This was gaudy, so... plech. But again, I don't get very upset about unis - I just want the team to be successful.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The twitterverse is killing the Terp football unis, but I like them jonts.

I liked them too. Pretty new fangled though. I'm not sure they are to everyone's taste.

The shoes were the bomb, but I just couldn't handle the "dueling halves" helmet.

Maybe it was the asymmetry or maybe it was the fact that the state flag reminded me both of a racing checkered flag, and also of the logo of Black Flag insecticide. I just wasn't down with the helmet. OTOH, I loved the shoes. You could where those on a basketball court as sneakers or if you dress pimped out you could wear that design and color in dress shoes to church.

The shoes looked like pimp gear (in a good way) to me.