In the past two years, Mark Turgeon and the Terps have made a big splash in their recruiting classes. Beginning with the top 10 class in 2014 led by Melo Trimble and now with the addition of Diamond Stone for 2015, Turgeon is bringing talent to College Park. The team for the 2015-16 season has taken form, but the Terps have now set their recruiting focus towards the 2016 class.
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The Terps have already landed a commitment from 4-star point guard Anthony Cowan from Bowie, Md. Cowan, another D.C. Assault product, will likely be the replacement for Trimble if he enters the NBA draft after next season. When he arrives to the Terps, Cowan will be an exciting player for the Turgeon.
Cowan is an explosive point guard who has tremendous speed with the ball in his hands. He can do numerous things for the offense, whether its distributing for others or creating offense for himself. Similar to Trimble, Cowan is aggressive when attacking the basket and can finish with contact around the rim. He has great court vision and will make some incredible passes for the Terps, but mixed in will be some turnovers because he is not afraid to take chances with the ball.
One thing that Cowan will need to improve on when getting to Maryland is his physical size. He needs to add more muscle which will only increase his ability to absorb contact at the rim. Other concerns that have been mentioned about Cowan is his shot selection. There are times he can be too aggressive and have a “shoot first” mentality that is not always desired in most point guards.
The Terps are still pursuing multiple players from the 2016 class and their next big target from the class is 4-star guard Markelle Fultz from DeMatha. The heavily recruited combo guard from Upper Marlboro, Md. is ithe top recruit in the state of Maryland and is a prime target for the Terps.
Fultz is 6-foot-5 and can be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses when playing point guard. He has a good shot from the outside and his size allows him to get shots off over the defense and see over the defense to find open teammates. When in the open floor, Fultz can appear almost unstoppable at times, especially when attacking the rim.
One area of improvement that scouts are looking to see is his play in the half court. According to ESPN Insider’s Scouting Report, Fultz is described as a raw talent that is only scratching the surface of his potential.
Several major programs are in pursuit of Fultz. He is the No. 55 overall player on ESPN and is known to have interest in Maryland, but Fultz is also considering Kentucky, Arizona, and Kansas.
Another name that the Terps have been linked to in the 2016 class is Joe Hampton from Oak Hills Academy. He originally played at DeMatha, but transferred to Oak Hills last summer. Hampton initially committed to Penn State, but decided to open back up his recruitment in early March. He is still looking at Penn State, but also giving consideration to Maryland and Virginia Tech.
Hampton is listed as a power forward, but he is not a traditional stay in the post big man. Paul Biancardi, ESPN.com’s National Director of Recruiting, likes what Hampton can potentially bring to a team.
“He’d be a terrific inside out player,” Biancardi said. “He wouldn’t be a star level guy, but he’s a guy who can really be a heavy contributor to a high level program because he has a soft touch from the outside and he has a body that go inside, not just to the paint, but to the elbow and foul line too. You can’t leave him open from three either because he’s got a sweet stroke.”
Shooting guard Curtis Jones from Huntington Prep in West Virginia is another name linked to the Terps. 247Sports predicts that the Terps will eventually land the sharpshooter, but he has also gotten offers from Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, and NC State among others.
Jones is viewed as a prolific scorer that can fill it up from all over the court. He has been known to play point guard in stretches, but his strength is scoring the ball, so he’s better suited for the shooting guard position. Jones also has great athleticism and a long wingspan that makes him a solid defender on the perimeter.
Within recent weeks, the Terps made an offer to small forward Lamar Stevens from Philadelphia, Pa. The 6-foot-6 wing is an intriguing prospect for the Terps. He would give them a slasher that can attack the basket and score in bunches. Stevens is a strong and versatile player that can rebound and defend multiple positions.
Because of his aggressive nature on offense, a weakness for Stevens is he’s viewed as a ball stopper. When the offense is in the half court, Stevens can sometimes look for his own shot too much and prevent the rest of the offense from finding a rhythm.
Stevens is listed by ESPN as the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania and No. 15 overall small forward. 247Sports lists Indiana as the favorite to land Stevens, but he is also being recruited by Villanova, Iowa, Rutgers, and Penn State.
With the exception of Hampton, it appears that most of Turgeon’s recruiting targets in the 2016 class are perimeter players. There is a possibility that Stone and Robert Carter Jr. could return for the 2016-17 season, but the Terps will still have Michael Cekovsky, Damonte Dodd, and Ivan Bender in the front court. Guard depth and high volume scorers seems to be the focus for Turgeon with this class.
Turgeon’s recruiting success at Maryland is continuing to build and landing a major prospect like Stone for the 2015 class, brings more attention to the Terps. Getting a guy like that on board puts the program on the radar of other top tier recruits.
“When you get a guy that is highly ranked and highly rated, it opens the eye of other high profile recruits, their families, and their coaches,” Biancardi said. “It allows you to begin a conversation with those players to get involved with other players of that magnitude, but the test is going to be how Diamond will do.”
Seeing players like Stone and Trimble come to the program and flourish will only help Turgeon’s recruiting efforts moving forward. If Turgeon can develop the players he brings into the program, more potential recruits will see that and be confident they can reach succeed with the Terps.
“College coaches get the praise and criticism for how players develop,” Biancardi said. “So at the end of this season, I think Maryland can utilize the improvement of Stone, but if he does not project to his ranking, then I think people won’t look at them as favorably when getting recruited by Maryland.”
Turgeon’s ability to develop talent was in question after the disappointing production from players like Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare in the past. Trimble seemingly put an end to that thought with how he performed last season. Now it will be Stone’s turn to continue to make those thoughts on Turgeon a thing of the past.
The Terps’ success from last season helped them land Stone and how they play next season will impact their ability to add another top player like Fultz or Stevens. How the team performs next season will have major implications on the program’s future with the 2016 recruiting class and beyond.
Chris Garman attended Mount St. Mary’s University where he studied in Communications. He is a native of Steelton, Pa. and has covered Maryland Men’s Basketball and Football for PressBox since 2012. Chris previously covered High School Football for The Patriot News in Harrisburg, Pa. He can be reached by email at: crgarman103@gmail.com.