Official Maryland Terps Thread 2.0

[Wizardspride]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...uiting-insider

H.D. Woodson All-Met Kenny Crawley de-commits from Tennessee; considering Auburn, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, others

Weeks after starting to waver in his commitment to Tennessee, H.D. Woodson senior All-Met defensive back Kenny Crawley decided this week that he no longer wanted to attend the school and re-opened his recruitment on Thursday, according to his high school assistant coach, Wayne Johnson.

Once Johnson, who handles the recruitment of H.D. Woodson players, told Tennessee of Crawley’s plans, an assistant coach was in Washington the next day to make a final appeal. But, according to Johnson, Crawley felt he had committed too early in August and wasn’t pleased with what he had read about Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley initially refusing the release of a current Tennessee player seeking a transfer to be near his ailing father in Michigan.

“[Crawley] seen the writing on the wall,” Johnson said.

Maryland has re-entered Crawley’s options with the recent hiring of Mike Locksley, a Ballou graduate with strong ties to area high school coaches, as offensive coordinator.

“It’s really important,” Johnson said of Locksley’s impact. “He got a relationship with these guys, he’s truthful and he’s straight up. He knows his business with his players and the kids like him.”

[Wizardspride]

From ESPN insider.

Maryland seems to be coming out of its shell.

A 2-10 record isn't keeping the Terrapins from making a strong recruiting push. During the Under Armour All-America Game last week, they landed three-star tailback Wes Brown from Olney (Md.) Good Counsel, but there could be much more going on behind the scenes with some nearby prospects.

There has been recent chatter that the Terps are in good position to land five-star defensive tackle Eddie Goldman from Washington (D.C.) Friendship and four-star athlete Stefon Diggs, Brown's teammate.

Brown has said emphatically that he wouldn't help the Terps recruit other prospects, but his decision on its own could have enough of an impact, especially since it came on a nationwide telecast.

The next nearby domino that could fall is be four-stat athlete Albert Reid, Goldman's teammate.

Friendship head coach Aaazaar Abdul-Rahim said Reid won't take any more official visits and is almost ready to announce his college decision. Once a West Virginia commitment, Reid is now primarily considering Maryland, Vanderbilt and Iowa.

A source close to his recruitment said Maryland is in “good shape” with Reid, who could play tailback or defensive back in college.

Diggs is primarily considering Maryland, Florida, California, Auburn and Virginia. He has recently been in contact with Maryland coaches.

Goldman is a bit more of mystery. He didn't immediately name Maryland last week when asked what schools he was primarily considering, but then he said there was good reason to choose the Terps, namely to be closer to his mother so she could more easily see him play.

Also, Maryland's early evaluation and subsequent scholarship offer to Mike Madaras from Good Counsel has proved to be well founded. The four-star prospect locked down the starting left tackle spot for his team in the Under Armour All-America Game.

Maryland has 22 commitments but, with only two four-star commitments, could use some more star power. Reid, Diggs and Goldman would certainly provide a boost. Diggs and Goldman are expected to announce their decision on national signing day on Feb. 1.

[Wizardspride]

Mike Locksley putting in work.

http://www.testudotimes.com/2012/1/12/2 ... #storyjump

Maryland Picks Up Commitment from Highly-Touted D.C. RB Albert Reid

three/four-star D.C. running back/athlete Albert Reid, formerly a West Virginia commitment, picked the Terrapins today over Vanderbilt, Iowa, and Illinois, plus offers from Cincinnati, Stanford, and others. (Side note: eat it, James Franklin. That's two running backs in a row we got that you wanted. Ha.) Anyway, Reid, who's drawn some rave reviews for his play-making ability, should do well to complement Brown's more powerful running style.

It seems to me to be a bit of a case of Locksley Magic. When Locksley was officially hired a few weeks ago, Reid was still committed (at least officially) to the 'Eers, and had given Maryland hardly any consideration early in the process. After he decommitted Maryland was in his top three, and then of course he just pulled the trigger today. The Terps were working on him before Locksley's arrival, but the Locksley connection looms large, not least due to the D.C. connections.

Reid is really classified as an "athlete," meaning he could end up multiple areas, in particular defensive back. If he's found himself low on the depth chart or the Terps have a DB crisis, changes could always be made. But I'd think he's a running back first and foremost.

Reid seems a potential impact player. Of course, the big throughout all of this commotion that can't be overlooked is the cumulative effect of recruiting: this is the second big player in the D.C. area to commit to Maryland in two weeks, and that sort of movement won't go unnoticed among area coaches and elite prospects. For every big local that stays home, Maryland's chances get that much better with Eddie Goldman, Ronald Darby, and Stefon Diggs. Not to mention that Reid is teammates with Goldman and 2014 standout Jalen Tabor. I don't know how close that trio is, but having one on-board could only help matters with the others.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Watched the MD Wake game live last night while taping the Wiz... first time in a long time I've chosen college over pros. But dang, it is nice to watch a team that has a big man with a 0 WTF rating and at least one shooter that doesn't make me cringe every time the ball leaves his hand.

Maryland is another scorer away from being pretty darned good... but this rebuild is going very, very nicely.

[MDStar]

Agree 100% on the rebuild. I thought Terps basketball was going to be as bad as Terps football but they really seem to be a middle of the road, outside shot if they get a couple breaks, to make the tournament, which would be just Amazing for this year. Add in a protypical SF in Layman, who has great size (6'8", 190) who's still improving as a senior but already has a nice shot which extends to the 3 point line. In addition to Shaq Cleare, who projects to be better than Jordan Williams, we actually have a very bright future.

A three guard rotation of Stoglin, Howard and Faust. You've got Len, Cleare, Pagent and Pankey down low. Then round out the sqaud with Layman and Parker, both 4 star, big time recruits. Not too bad at all! Then who knows, we get the Harrison twins and it might be back to the top 10 with champonship aspirations.

I know, im drinking the kool aid.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I didn't see the Terps. I was glad to see the box score. Wake's big man had 8 blocks and it appears Alex Len must have been muscled a bit. His stats were underwhelming. Good seeing this IMO, because the key to Maryland coming all the way back as a program is for Len to stay in school at least one more year. That might not happen.

http://www.foxsportscarolinas.com/01/10 ... eedID=7628

Like so many European players, Len is comfortable away from the basket, but his gifts suggest he can develop into a dominant force in the lower blocks, he just has to give it time. The folks at Maryland hope Len does that, because it means he will stick around College Park for at least one more year.

Although not at all polished and with limited experience, Len is considered a future lottery pick when he comes out, given he smoothes out some rough edges, and the best place for that is in college. Len already maxed out his development in the Ukraine, where he averaged 16 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in the Under-18 European Championships last season.

According to Europeanprospects.com, Len is currently rated the No. 7 overall European prospect and the No. 2 European center for the 2012 NBA draft.

Len doesn’t speak English very well, and Turgeon doesn’t want him answering questions about the draft, so Len hasn’t been available to the media yet.

[FAH1223]

I was at Comcast last night, had a lot of fun. First half was superb basketball by the Terps, they defended well and finished on the break effectively. They got stuck in the 2nd half and let Wake back in it, I wish Len got more touches as he rolled to the basket a few times and was wide open but Stoglin/Howard didn't see him. I hope they utilize Len a lot more to get him in a rhythm around the basket but he was getting pushed out of his spot a bit.

[Wizardspride]

Click on the link to read the rest.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-baske ... ten-streak

Maryland back in mix with nation's best



Two years ago, Maryland coach Brenda Frese knew that reinforcements were on the way, but that her Terrapins were going to take some lumps. Which they did, finishing 21-13 and losing in the WNIT's third round to Providence.

Not awful, but … well, come on. This is the program that won the 2006 NCAA title and has established high standards. Falling to the Friars? Even being in the WNIT? Not a year to remember.

Last season, the freshman class that Frese was sure would have a big impact arrived, and Maryland was definitely much more Maryland-like. The Terps went 24-8, yet didn't finish that strongly. They lost to Georgia Tech in the ACC tourney quarterfinals, then to Georgetown in the NCAA tournament second round. The 79-57 defeat at the hands of the Hoyas came on Maryland's home court, and it stung.

But all of that was part of the process, painful as it was at times, of getting Maryland back to where Frese wants the program to be: in the mix with the best teams in the country. And the No. 5 Terps (16-0) are there now.

Like most squads, Maryland still has plenty to work on. But what the Terps have to work with is quite impressive.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Might be blasphemous for me to say this, but IMO Maryland's Coach Frese is a terrific, terrific recruiter but only an average coach at best. The Lady Terps have tons of talent, but they won't go that far if Coach Frese doesn't coach this team up.

I remember the team that won it all. I saw that coming as far back as December before they won it all. They were pretty young, Langhorne, Tolliver, and Coleman. They had a nice shot blocker, Laura Harper. The whole team fit. I predicted they would win it because they had great chemistry and balance.

This Lady Terps team looks a bit unbalanced IMO. They've got more talent than the other team, but Coach Frese is already playing a short bench. Certain young women on the team aren't playing at all, but they could help in the backcourt by providing depth. Likewise, the frontcourt has a couple pretty talented players who aren't playing.

I see the past years' player defections, the Lady Terps defensive deficiencies over the years, and the past close games and feel like Coach Frese isn't going to take this team as far as it could go.

[Wizardspride]

Might be blasphemous for me to say this, but IMO Maryland's Coach Frese is a terrific, terrific recruiter but only an average coach at best. The Lady Terps have tons of talent, but they won't go that far if Coach Frese doesn't coach this team up.

I remember the team that won it all. I saw that coming as far back as December before they won it all. They were pretty young, Langhorne, Tolliver, and Coleman. They had a nice shot blocker, Laura Harper. The whole team fit. I predicted they would win it because they had great chemistry and balance.

This Lady Terps team looks a bit unbalanced IMO. They've got more talent than the other team, but Coach Frese is already playing a short bench. Certain young women on the team aren't playing at all, but they could help in the backcourt by providing depth. Likewise, the frontcourt has a couple pretty talented players who aren't playing.

Fwiw, I folIow the Lady Terps and I gotta disagree with you about not utilizing the bench.

If you're interested, here's a link showing the distribution of the minutes.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/ ... _final.pdf

Bench:

C Linetta Kizer avg mins: 22.9

G Brene Moseley avg mins: 18.9

F Whitney Bays avg mins: 11.5

G Kim Rodgers avg mins: 11.1

C Essence Townsend avg mins: 7.7


Also, you have to take into account the fact that both Bays and Moseley are coming off major knee injuries in HS.

Bays in particular, seems a little tentative at times.


One more thing: You mentioned that we've had some defections and while thats true....I wouldn't worry about.

Honestly, we have much better players coming in anyway.

And I mean MUCH better players.

[Wizardspride]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/rec ... ng-insider

Potomac (Md.)’s Ronald Darby meeting with Maryland, schedules visit to Florida State; Clemson, LSU and Notre Dame still in mix

Potomac (Md.) speedster defensive back Ronald Darby is tentatively scheduled to meet with Maryland offensive coordinator and super-recruiter Mike Locksley on Thursday night and will take an official visit to Florida State this weekend. But Darby is not expected to make his college choice until the beginning of college football's letter-of-intent signing period on Feb. 1, according to his high school coach Ronnie Crump.

Crump said that Darby may schedule an official visit to Clemson and that LSU is making a push for the senior. The Tigers, though, have yet to offer a scholarship.

Crump also said he was uncertain if Notre Dame is completely out of the running for Darby, even though the player recently de-committed from the Fighting Irish. Darby verbally committed to Notre Dame last April.

"I think it's probably going to go down to signing day," Crump said.

[P'Oed]

Definitely holding back optimism as far as making the tournament goes, but I'd just like to give some major props to Turgeon for the 12-4 (2-1) start. If anything, this team is showing some major potential and I think that, in a few years, they could really have a shot at doing some damage. Stoglin reminds me a little bit of a shorter mid-2000s Gil Arenas and I see great things ahead for Len if he can pack on some pounds a learn how to stay out of foul trouble. Really liking the fact that we could all be saying a collective "Jordan Williams who?" in a year or so.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Might be blasphemous for me to say this, but IMO Maryland's Coach Frese is a terrific, terrific recruiter but only an average coach at best. The Lady Terps have tons of talent, but they won't go that far if Coach Frese doesn't coach this team up.

I remember the team that won it all. I saw that coming as far back as December before they won it all. They were pretty young, Langhorne, Tolliver, and Coleman. They had a nice shot blocker, Laura Harper. The whole team fit. I predicted they would win it because they had great chemistry and balance.

This Lady Terps team looks a bit unbalanced IMO. They've got more talent than the other team, but Coach Frese is already playing a short bench. Certain young women on the team aren't playing at all, but they could help in the backcourt by providing depth. Likewise, the frontcourt has a couple pretty talented players who aren't playing.

Fwiw, I folIow the Lady Terps and I gotta disagree with you about not utilizing the bench.

If you're interested, here's a link showing the distribution of the minutes.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/ ... _final.pdf

Bench:

C Linetta Kizer avg mins: 22.9

G Brene Moseley avg mins: 18.9

F Whitney Bays avg mins: 11.5

G Kim Rodgers avg mins: 11.1

C Essence Townsend avg mins: 7.7


Also, you have to take into account the fact that both Bays and Moseley are coming off major knee injuries in HS.

Bays in particular, seems a little tentative at times.


One more thing: You mentioned that we've had some defections and while thats true....I wouldn't worry about.

Honestly, we have much better players coming in anyway.

And I mean MUCH better players.

WP, the minutes distribution was fine before the ACC schedule. Townsend doesn't play. Rogers hardly plays. Bays shouldn't play IMO but does. Sequoia Austin never does. She IMO should.

The Lady Terps were fortunate to win 2 games before the one they lost at Miami. Coach Frese is someone I have followed since before they won the NCAAs. That class stayed and got worse under Coach Frese. They didn't defend well.

The loss to Miami was one where the Lady Terps got killed by three-point shooters and smaller guards. My post preceded the loss. That game Thomas had 8 turnovers. The game before, Barrett had 8 turnovers. If you look at the minutes played, both players played heavy minutes.

This is the type of thing I'm referring to. A very deep team with lots of players should have one player with 8 turnovers IMO. Bet it NEVER happens at UConn. Not to be critical, but I don't think Frese is as good a coach as she is a recruiter.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Definitely holding back optimism as far as making the tournament goes, but I'd just like to give some major props to Turgeon for the 12-4 (2-1) start. If anything, this team is showing some major potential and I think that, in a few years, they could really have a shot at doing some damage. Stoglin reminds me a little bit of a shorter mid-2000s Gil Arenas and I see great things ahead for Len if he can pack on some pounds a learn how to stay out of foul trouble. Really liking the fact that we could all be saying a collective "Jordan Williams who?" in a year or so.

I'm already saying it.

The Terps have a really good coach.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Maryland must pay close attention to Florida State's Deividas Dulkys
Seminoles guard scored 32 points on 12-for-14 shooting in upset win over North Carolina

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terp ... 4886.story

Once the North Carolina game began, it was as if Dulkys — whose parents were watching the game on ESPN from their home country of Lithuania — was still swishing practice jumpers. He made 12 of 14 shots and scored 32 points in a contest that ended with a 90-57 Florida State victory and was capped by fans rushing the court.

Dulkys' performance against the Tar Heels — then ranked third in the nation — included eight 3-pointers, a Florida State record for an ACC game. "Somebody call the chief of the fire department — he's burning the nets down!" Vitale hollered. "He's making like Steve Nash. Are you kidding me?"

Dulkys' performance is a concern for a Maryland team that has won nine of its past ten games but will be playing just its second ACC road game. The Terps faced a quick turnaround — one day between games — after beating Georgia Tech at home on Sunday.

"Whenever you've got a guy coming off a hot game, you want to pay attention early so he can't get going again," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said Monday.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... 1201210577

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Khalif Wyatt and Ramone Moore each scored 20 points to lead Temple to a 73-60 win over Maryland on Saturday.

Juan Fernandez added 14 points and Aaron Brown had 12 for the Owls (13-5), who won for the seventh time in nine games. The Owls had a 10-point lead sliced to one in the second half until Wyatt and Moore hit consecutive 3-pointers to give them some needed breathing room.

Terrell Stoglin made a string of big buckets in the second half to rally the Terrapins (12-6) and finished with 20 points. Pe’Shon Howard scored 15. Maryland lost its second straight game.

The Terrapins lost center Alex Len to an ankle injury in the first half. Maryland could not recover from 16 turnovers and missed 12 of 16 3-point attempts.

This could be troubling if Len's injury is serious.

Terrell Stoglin is starting to score well enough to be considered an NBA prospect.

[Wizardspride]

Lady Terps @ Duke

When: 1/22/12

Time: 3:30pm

Watch: ESPNU or ESPN3

[whataknight301]

with or without len, this team just isnt good enough period. It pains me to see murray state; MURRAY STATE being in a better position that us these days.
its alarming when you lose to an average temple team by double digits after getting smacked by hot fsu team. fsu's recruting has been good the last 3 years. Snaear was a blue chip.
However I see no reason losing to temple and there weak recruting class over 3 years.
hopefully next year, we get the horses that we need. We have clear, layman, and allen can be good.
It would be great if we can some how still amil jefferson from the hoyas.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Temple beat Gary Williams' Terps, too.

The Big 5 schools in the Philly area have a strong recruiting base. Temple, Villanova, and St. Josephs (PA) have guys playing in the NBA. Losing at Temple is no disgrace at all IMO, whataknight301. Gary didn't leave Mark Turgeon a lot of front court talent and the team is pretty young.

The Terps will be better next season, and I expect them to compete this season, despite a thin roster.

[Cramer]

They're already much better than I thought they'd be this year.

Better days are coming.