RJ Curington - A player on the verge of exploding

Sometimes finding out about recruiting is easy and other times you need to pay attention to the small details.  We all like to think that we know who the coaches are after but there are often big name players that fly under the radar.  Charles Mitchell & Sam Cassell Jr. are two perfect examples of MD leans that flew under our radar for a large part of the year.

Meet RJ Curington.  A 2013 SG from Dyer Indiana that has been playing locally for Oak Hill for that past few years.  Before I get into the "Star" discussion, lets talk about some of the intangibles.  6'5, 180+ lbs, 7'0 wingspan, and how about just playing for Oak Hill.  In the past three seasons, Oak Hill is 101-8, and won a National Championship last year.  Players that come from Oak Hill are already college ready and never have academic issues.  Oak Hill has more NBA players & McDonalds All Americans than any other high school in the past decade or two. 

In my opinion, RJ is on the verge of blowing up this year.  I think he is currently undervalued and there is no reason that he will not fly up the Top 100 boards this year.  Oak Hill will once again play for a national championship and RJ will be building on a Junior season where he was one of the leading scorers on the team and lead the team in 3 pt shooting. 


Here are some evaluations on RJ:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/102331/rj-curington

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-R.J.-Curington-104012

Currently a consensus 3 star wing.  Again, look for that evaluation to change drastically.

So why am I spending my time writing about RJ?  Well last night a few tweets caught my attention.  I exchanged a few tweets and then ended up talking basketball with RJ for about 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes I was confident that there was a high probability that RJ would be MD's 2013 SG. 

RJ Curington ‏@RjCurington24

S/O to @nickfaustLIVE. He pro bound, I might play with him at Maryland! #GoTerps! Follow him! He mad cool. #Follow

Retweeted by Inside the Shell

RJ Curington ‏@RjCurington24

S/O to #TerpNation..

Retweeted by Inside the Shell

Q&A with RJ:


1)  What schools are recruiting you the hardest? --


Georgetown, Indiana, Stanford, Illinois, Florida State, Miami, UVA, Depaul, Tulane, Cornell, & UCF.


2)  What are you looking for in a school (conf, playing time, etc)?


Somewhere I can make an impact early and win a conference and national championship.  Academics is big too.


3)  What coach from MD is handling your recruitment?


Coach Hill.  MD has not offered yet


4)  I know you play for a UA sponsored team.  Are you wanting to continue with that in college?

I wouldn't mind continuing to play for a UA team.


5)  What is the strongest part of your game?


I can really shoot well.  I had the highest 3pt % at Oak Hill this season.  I can also get to the basket and either draw the foul or finish above the rim.  I dunked on a 7'2 pro in China.  I can defend well too.  I am an energy guy that loves to win.  I just win.


6)  What do you want to improve this year?


I want to improve my intangibles because there is always something you can work on.


7)  Time frame for committing?


Most likely before my senior season.


8)  What made you pick Oak Hill?


Exposure and getting better athletically and academically.  I also get to play against the best players all the time. 


9) What makes you most interested in putting on a Terps uniform?


I like Maryland a lot.  A lot of good players and teams have been through Maryland and have been successful and I want to follow that path and win championships.  Maryland also has that style of play that I really like.


Other things of interest:  RJ and Pe' Howard played together at Oak Hill for one season.  RJ is also close with Nick Faust.  "If they drop an offer on me its a high chance that I'll commit there #TerpNation."

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIOHja6KA9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXg8iaGZqY


My Thoughts:

I would love to add RJ with Rysheed Jordan.  RJ is a very long athletic wing that can shoot and play defense.  He brings a local connection and also helps establish an Oak Hill connection for Turge.  The winning mentality and the love for MD really puts me over the edge.  I think that when the final rankings for 2013 are released, RJ will have found his way into the top 100 (I'm guessing in the low 80's).  Not to mention that he will be a 3-4 year player who can really grow and help build the program. 

Will this be Dalonte Hill's first bigtime recruit?  That is another question in play.