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Thursday, May 24, 2012

2013 ESPN100 debut for Mens Basketball

So ESPN has finally joined other sites and posting there initial top 100 rankings for mens basketball for the Class of 2013.  Link here.  There are some notable Maryland targets in the rankings, and many former targets that have since fallen off the recruiting charts for MD or otherwise committed to play for another school.

More after the break...

So, without further adue, lets look at the MD targets in the rankings.

At No. 3, Andrew Harrison.  No surprise here, as Andrew has been consistently in the top 5 of just about every single ranking database out there.  At 6'5, 210lb, he possesses the size and vision to see over defenders to distribute.  He is by far the best PG in his class.  Currently lists MD, Kentucky, Baylor and Villanova, but it has long been known that it is a two-horse race between MD and Kentucky.  Rumors are that he favors Kentucky...more on this below.

At No. 8 we have Andrews brother, Aaron.  Aaron is a pure scorer and, like his brother, has been consistently in the top 5-10 in the nation since they have been ranked.  ESPN takes a bit of a differing course and puts Aaron as the #2 SG in the nation, which I'm sure will just put some more fire under him to get better.  Aaron and Andrew play with such competitiveness that sometimes it may come out as a mean streak.  Like his brother, he is considering the same school and they have announced they will attend the same school.  Unlike his brother, the rumors have been that Aaron favors MD over Kentucky.  No doubt, they will decide what is best for them and attend the same school.  They have family in the MD area and have the UA connection from there AAU team, so MD has that playing for them.

See this article just published by Zags blog, which contains an interview with Papa Harrison.  Sounds like he hinted at an October 28th announcement to me.


At No. 27 is Kennedy Meeks, a 6'9, 275lb center out of Charlotte.  The trail has recently gone cold a bit with Meeks with the 2012 class bringing in many players that fit the same mold as Meeks, so naturally he would begin looking other places to find better playing time.  Never the less, Meeks has a MD offer to go along with about 15-20 others at this point.  Things could change (Len to league, perhaps Dodd doesn't come after all), but it appears that MDs priority in 2013 won't be another Center.

At. No. 37 is Rysheed Jordan, a 4 star PG out of Philly.  Rysheed is closer to a combo guard than a pure point, but has all the necessary skills to become the PG that Turgeon values in his system.  He has consistently pushed his announcement back from July to before the season starts now, but it has been reported by his AAU coach that he wants to stay on the east coast close to home.  He visits Temple frequently but the Terps have been putting there work in as well.  According to his AAU Coach, Temple and MD are the top 2 for him at the moment, with Kansas just putting in an offer.  With the news that he wants to stay on the east coast close to home, you have to think that this is a 2 horse race at the moment between MD and Temple.

At No. 45 is Kris Jenkins, a true combo forward at 6'5, 250lb.  Jenkins has the skillset to bang inside and the shot to live out on the wing, but his body is built to play the 4.  The major questions for Jenkins is whether he grows a few inches to become a powerful, yet undersized 4 with a solid face-up game, or whether he can slim down and play closer to the perimeter as a catch and shoot player.  MD has yet to offer Jenkins but they have been out to watch his games and shown interest.  If Jenkins doesn't grow a few inches and maintains his current body physique, expect him to go the mid-major route and be a key contributor.

At. No. 69 is Kameron (Kam) Williams, a 2 guard out of Baltimore who plays for Baltimore Elite.  Kam is wire thin at 6'2, 175 but has a deadly shot.  If you leave him open, he is draining it.  Kams problem is that he doesn't have the frame that allows him to put on the muscle needed to play at the high-major level, but he does have the shot to do it.  The Terps are keeping tabs on him, but have yet to extend an offer.  He is currently projected as a immediate starter at the mid-major level or a role player at the high-major level.  We all know how wrong these ratings can be, and Kam has all summer to prove them wrong.

At No. 77 is Rashawn (Pookie) Powell, a 6'0 PG out of Florida.  Pookie has somewhat been the backup options to Andrew and Sheed, but he is quickly rising on many boards.  He is exceptionally quick off the dribble and shows the ability to make a shot in the lane if cut off or pass out to hte arc to the open man.  His upside is very high, but his skills are somewhat raw at the moment.  He could benefit from a year playing backup to someone in college before taking over the Point full-time.  MD has yet to offer, but remains very interested in Pookie.  I unfortunately don't see an offer going his way until the Harrisons and Sheed make there moves.

That finishes up the top 100 listings, but a few Terp recruits were curiously left out.  Junior Etou, a 6'9 face-up PF was left out after being ranked #48 in the Top 60 rankings for 2013 up to the release of the top 100.  Roddy Peters, another late riser on many boards who just started playing for DC Assault this summer missed out on the list, but don't be surprised if he gets on there by the time the AAU circuit is over.  The last player left off that could be making his debut by summers end was RJ Currington, who Charlotte previewed earlier this week. 



21 comments:

  1. Finally Kam Williams gets some love he is going to be a beast he works to hard not to be.

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    1. The man can score, he just needs to put some weight on. From the sounds of it, he has the same problem as me, can't put on any weight no matter how hard he tries.

      I'd love to see Turge go after Kam though if he thinks that he fits. At the least he could be an awesome role player to come in and be a spot up shooter on the wing, which this team sorely lacks.

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    2. Kam may be a victim of poor timing. With an expected 2-3 schollies available for 2013, two unproven guards already on the roster in Allen and Cassell, and the need for a true PG, I question whether there is roster space for another role player.

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  2. Bmore in the house.

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    1. Some more from Baltimore, I just focused on 2013 in this post, but Dwayne Morgan got his fifth star and is ranked 21st in the initial Top 60 rankings for 2014.

      Phil Booth also came in at #39 in the Top 60 for 2014 as well. Two solid wing players at the 2 and 3 in 2014 that could be awesome gets for Maryland. By 2014, Faust will be a senior if he is still at MD, SC Jr a junior so the team will need to start re-loading. Great timing.

      For 2015, Paul IX Freshman forward Marcus Derrickson is ranked at #10, 5 star, in the initial top 25. Going to be a nasty player.

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  3. Disagree with your outlook for Kris Jenkins and Kam Williams. There is absolutely zero chance that either of these kids end up going to a mid-major. Kids from this area can ball, especially these two in particular, and every team around the country knows that by now. They will both end up at high-majors and be contributors.

    I love Kris Jenkins but I don't see how he'd fit on our team with a similar player in Charles Mitchell. I would definitely keep an eye on Kam though. Kid can score, and although he may not be big, he's got that Bmore toughness.

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    1. Agree that Kris and Kam will both end up at high major schools, but I don't think Kris is much like Charles Mitchell. They are both undersized but the similarities stop there. Kris has a legit outside jump shot, and Mitchell plays much closer to the basket.

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    2. I think both could end up at high majors, but it really depends on what they want to do. Do they want to start right away, or do they want to be role players and develop?

      Kris Jenkins has a harder time than Kam. Jenkins is like Mitchell, but even shorter. Right now he's best suited to play the face-up 4 spot, but he's too short to do that at the high major level. Which is why I said, if he can grow a few inches or slim down some so he can play further out on the wing, then he has a better chance to excel at the high major level.

      Kam has a good shot at the high major level. I could see him playing at MD too, since Turgeon rotates players A LOT. He could rotate in and be that spot up shooter that has tortured us in the past, or he could develop further and prove me completely wrong. I'd prefer that he does, but right now being 6'2, 175 he seems to be extremely thin to play high-major ball.

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  5. Just how thin is Kam? If he's a SG does it matter that much? Steph Curry was rail thin but no one could stop him. Dixon started out pretty thin, too. Not that I'm saying he'll be the next Curry or Dixon, just trying to make the point that muscle mass may not be a prohibitive factor. If this kid's jumper is a good as described I don't think the lack of muscle should matter as long as the quickness is high major level

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    1. 6'2, 175. For comparison, I'm 5'11, 175 and I am thin by all accounts.

      Granted, a SG doesn't need as much muscle on his frame as a forward or center, but you want to see a player with the frame to add to it. The muscle mass becomes a factor in high major ball when you are trying to finish in the lane and to a lesser extent you want to see him with a little more muscle to defend.

      I agree with you that if our first few options don't work out we should really look hard at Kam. As cuterp mentioned above though, this may be bad timing for him to become a Terp because we have needs at other than a 2 guard that are more pressing. We need a true PG, not just project players who may pan out (Allen). We could also use another 4 for liability purposes (Len going to the league or Dodd not coming after prepping). I think a 3 may come higher on the priority list as well before another 2 guard incase Faust leaves after his junior year. Just my opinions though, the only thing we know for certain is that a PG is #1 priority for the staff.

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  6. Should we be worried about SMU for the twins? Have you guys heard anything?

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    1. I'm guessing you are Terpfan09 from TT, but no I don't think there is any reason to worry. They were more of accompanying there friends on there AAU team than actually taking an unofficial visit and being interested. No harm, no foul. It is Texas, so it is probably like an all-day trip if not two days, but they're taking advantage of as many college visits as possible if the opportunity is there.

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  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  8. Okay thanks. Alex Kline retweeted something about SMU being in their top 5

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    1. Don't really believe it. At one point everyone was reporting Georgetown was in there Top 5 too because they made a stop there while they were in the area. I think they just take advantage of unofficial college visits if they happen to have the chance to do so. As far as I'm aware, the last "top" schools for the Twins that was announced by there camp was MD, Kentucky, Villanova and Baylor. At one point in time they were considering Arizona as well but that seems to have went cold.

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