When the SFN team was researching potential NC State Basketball coaching candidates, the primary criticism that we gathered related to Mark Turgeon was that of recruiting. A quick look at his history of his recruiting indicated that he had never/rarely been able to land elite recruits. Well…that trend appears to potentially be continuing.
It’s a good thing new Maryland coach Mark Turgeon began recruiting as soon as he was hired because the Terps may have a few more vacant scholarships than they expected.
According to various reports, all three of Maryland’s incoming freshmen recruits have asked to be released from their letter of intent in the wake of Gary Williams’ abrupt resignation last week. New Jersey point guard Sterling Gibbs and Baltimore shooting guard Nick Faust have said they will still consider the Terrapins, but certainly it’s more common for recruits in this position to go elsewhere rather than sign with their original school.“We just felt that it was in our best interest to just explore our options,” Gibbs told the Baltimore Sun. “Maryland is still my top priority. But I just want to make sure that it was the best fit for me.”
Next season will likely be a transition year for Maryland regardless of whether Turgeon can keep any of Williams’ recruits, but the rebuilding process will become more difficult if 2011 turns out to be an empty class.
Faust, Rivals.com’s No. 48 recruit, is Maryland’s most highly touted recruit in years and his outside shooting would fill an immediate void. Gibbs, the brother of Pittsburgh star Ashton Gibbs, is also a potential impact recruit. And German forward Martin Breunig would likely receive immediate playing time if he stayed because Maryland is so shorthanded down low in the wake of Jordan Williams’ early departure.
Maryland would be down to eight scholarship players next season if none of the recruits return, but Turgeon is doing his best to retain as many as possible. He’s spoken to each of them already
As this tweet states,
Turgeon has big mountain to climb at MD. Weak roster + losing 2011 recruiting class. Add in slow offense & MD will be hard to watch in 11-12
While we are on Twitter…gotta give a hat tip to Wilmington Star News’ Brett Friedlander for his comment on Twitter (Link)
@starnewsacc Lets see MD fans & ntl media put spin on this. Debbie’s fault? @JeffEisenberg MD in jeopardy of losing entire recruiting class
