Terps Basketball Recruiting Q&A with Michael Bohlin, 247Sports

On Tuesday Night, the 2014-15 University of Maryland Terrapins delivered their latest and loudest statement of the year with with a 59-53 win over #5 Wisconsin. With that victory the Terps improved to 23-5 overall, and are now 11-4 in their first year in the Big Ten. There are three regular season games remaining, to be followed by the Big Ten Tournament, and Maryland’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2009-10 season.

The arrow for the program is clearly pointing up. What will sustain this upward trend is recruiting, and adding the next waves of talent infusion.

When this season ends, Maryland will see the departures of Dez Wells, Evan Smotrycz, Richaud Pack, Jonathan Graham, and Varun Ram.

After sitting out this year following his transfer from Georgia Tech, Robert Carter will be eligible. Ivan Bender joined MD in January, but is still recovering from an ACL injury sustained in 2013. He will be in the rotation next November. Currently the lone member of MD’s 2015 Recruiting class is JUCO PG Jaylen Brantley.

Should there not be any unexpected departures, this has MD’s 2015-16 Depth Chart currently looking like:

2015-16 Terps
Guards: Melo Trimble, Dion Wiley, Jaylen Brantley
Wings: Jake Layman, Jared Nickens
Bigs: Robert Carter, Damonte Dodd, Michal Cekovsky, Ivan Bender

Baltimore Sports and Life thanks Michael Bohlin (a Basketball Recruiting Analyst) from 247Sports for providing some of his thoughts on Maryland’s chances with prospects in the 2015 and 2016 Classes.

(This can be discussed on the BSL Board here.)

Baltimore Sports and Life:  Currently, the lone member of Maryland’s 2015 Recruiting class is JUCO PG (Odessa Community College) Jaylen Brantley. Brantley – who will have 3 years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at College Park – has been described as having a quick first-step, and being a good creator for others in the scouting reports I’ve seen. Have you seen him, does he project as someone eventually capable of starting at the Big Ten level?

Bohlin: It has been over a year since I last saw Brantley play in person but the scouting reports you’ve found to this point give a solid description. He’s the type of player that is more than capable of scoring the basketball but doesn’t have to put the ball in the bucket to be effective due to his ability to facilitate the offense.

Baltimore Sports and Life: A pseudo member of MD’s Class of ’15 is Ivan Bender, who enrolled into Maryland in January. The 6’9 Bosnian native was eligible to practice immediately, but is still recovering from an ACL injury suffered in 2013. The reports I’ve seen suggest he is an athletic shot-blocking 4, with a decent shot. Once healthy, what type of ceiling do you believe he has?

Bohlin: I am less familiar with Bender’s game as he was a bit of a surprise addition to the 2015 class upon enrolling this past January. Of the two Bender’s, his younger brother is the better long-term prospect. However, from all accounts Ivan should be able to continue to develop into a serviceable big man, at the very least, for Mark Turgeon.

Baltimore Sports and Life: Diamond Stone (6’10, 255lbs Milwaukee, WI) remains MD’s leading priority, and seemingly the final piece to their projected roster for next year. UConn, Oklahoma State, and the hometown Wisconsin Badgers are also in play for the consensus 5 star Center. Where do you see him ending up? What are his primary strengths, and what are his current limitations?

Bohlin: I currently have Stone projected to sign with the Connecticut Huskies but his Crystal Ball currently has the in-state Wisconsin Badgers as the team to beat for his services. In the end, I believe those are the two schools in the best position to secure a commitment from the five-star center. He’s a distinct low-post threat for any team he plays on that can also face up from the high post and be effective. He’ll need to continue to improve his conditioning and explosiveness going forward as those are areas where Stone still has room for improvement.

Baltimore Sports and Life:  It was reported this past week that Thon Maker plans to reclassify into the Class of 2015. Like Stone, Maker (7’0, 210 lbs) is an elite Center prospect. While he has visited MD, the Terps do not appear to be near the top of his list. Where do you see Maker going, and whose game do you like better – Maker or Stone?

Bohlin: Maker has a more developed face up game out to the perimeter than Stone does and this versatility is one of the things that makes Thon such a highly touted prospect. It is hard to get a sense as to which turn his recruitment will take next as some have floated the possibility of Maker doing a post-graduate year of high school before declaring for the NBA Draft. In the end, going the college route will be the best thing for him and the schools in the best position appear to be the Kansas Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats.

Baltimore Sports and Life: A 3rd 2015 Center we’ve seen Maryland linked to is Yankuba Sima (6’11, 215 lbs). Thoughts on his game, and MD’s chances with him?

Bohlin: Of the big men that Maryland has been linked to, Sima looks to be the one that is most likely to give a commitment to Mark Turgeon at this time. The Terps have been recruiting Sima going back to September of 2014 with the four-star big man having already visited College Park once. Sima is a skilled forward that will only continue to improve as a player as he becomes more and more comfortable with the physical style of play in the United States.

Baltimore Sports and Life:  Maryland’s first commitment of the 2016 Class is PG Anthony Cowan. The Washington D.C. native seems to be gaining steam in the recruiting rankings. What do you like about his game, what do you question?

Bohlin: He’s a true leader and a player that should have no issues running an offense to get looks for himself and others. I like the way that Cowan plays with no fear despite, more times than not, being one of the smaller guards on the floor. While it isn’t a trend by any stretch, Cowan has struggled at times when matched up against bigger guards and that is something I would keep an eye on going forward.

Baltimore Sports and Life:  Some other names in the 2016 Class we’ve seen MD connected with include Tyus Battle, Brandon Robinson, Mamadi Diakite, Tone Carr, Curtis Jones, and Barret Benson. Who stands out to you among that group?

Bohlin: For obvious reasons, Tyus Battle is the name that sticks out immediately as he’s established himself as one of the top talents in the class of 2016 regardless of position. While I haven’t had as much of an opportunity to see him play as a junior, I was very high on the ability of Curtis Jones while he was playing locally at Paul VI this past season.

Baltimore Sports and Life: Who else in either the 2015 or ’16 Classes could you see being a possibility for the Terrapins?

Bohlin: I would keep an eye on players like Malik Ellison and Maurice O’Field in the class of 2015 while some other names that jump off the page in the 2016 class as possibilities are Markelle Fultz and Cassius Winston.