Terps Basketball Recruiting Update

Terps football starts this weekend, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what Maryland basketball is up to and how Mark Turgeon’s team is shaping up for the future.

So far Maryland’s 2022 class is slow to get going. With zero commitments to date, Turgeon and his coaching staff have been spending their summers scouring the AAU circuits and honing in on their top targets in hopes of landing one that will open up the floodgates for the recruiting class.

While Maryland did initially receive a verbal commitment from 2022 four-star point guard Paul Lewis out of Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), Lewis decommitted from the Terps in June, leaving Maryland’s current class bare.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Unfortunately, the recent Maryland basketball recruiting news isn’t much better. Don’t shoot the messenger, but here is what some of the most recent activity looks like:

• Cam Whitmore, a local four-star product from Archbishop Spalding and Maryland’s top 2022 target, announced his top three Aug. 30 and it did not include the Terps. Maryland was thought to be a serious contender here, but clearly not as serious as Illinois, North Carolina, and Villanova, which comprise Whitmore’s top schools. Definitely a tough pill for Turgeon and his staff to swallow, as Whitmore appeared to be the guy they could build the 2022 class around, but it was never going to be easy to pull the 6-foot-6 wing given the competition.

• Monday just wasn’t a good day for the Terps. Not only did they lose out on Whitmore, but they also received news that Rowan Brumbaugh, another top 2022 target, committed to Northwestern. Brumbaugh is a four-star point guard from Massachusetts who said his choice was swayed heavily by academics. He’ll remind you a lot of a former Wildcats floor general who had plenty of success at Northwestern, Bryant McIntosh. The Terps were a finalist for Brumbaugh along with Northwestern, Kansas, Texas, Oregon, and Miami.

• This past week hasn’t just been unkind to Maryland’s 2022 efforts, but it also included some less-than-stellar news for the 2023 class. One of Turgeon’s top targets for next year’s recruiting cycle was Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.) four-star power forward Malik Bowman. The Terps were on Bowman’s early shortlist and Maryland appeared to be in a good spot here, but the 6-foot-8, 205-pounder decided Aug. 31 to go pro and sign with the Overtime Elite league.

Now for some better news as we take a look at some of the remaining 2022 and 2023 targets that the Terps are still in the running for.

• Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah) 2022 four-star small forward Chris Bunch picked up an offer from Maryland at the end of July and could now become the priority with Whitmore and Brumbaugh out of the picture. The coaching staff went to see Bunch play on the EYBL circuit this summer and the talented wing who is originally out of California impressed enough to be offered a scholarship. He also holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Creighton, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Seton Hall and USC. So while this won’t be an easy one, Turgeon and his staff certainly have the time on their hands now to go after Bunch aggressively.

• The Terps recently made the final eight for 2022 three-star shooting guard, T.J. Caldwell, who picked up an offer from Maryland around the same time as Bunch. The rest of Caldwell’s top eight includes Arizona State, USC, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and TCU. The Texas native would be a nice backcourt piece for Turgeon to add.

• Sticking with 2022, why not shoot for the stars when you’re a program like Maryland? It might be too late to really make an impression with most of the top talent in the 2022 class, but five-star small forward Jarace Walker did recently include Maryland in his top seven along with Auburn, Houston, LSU, Texas, and Alabama. Originally from Alabama but playing at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Walker would be a homerun if the Terps can land him. But the chances don’t look great at the moment for Maryland, as Auburn, Alabama, or the NBA G League appear to be the likeliest landing spots.

• Elmarko Jackson, Jahnathan Lamothe, Amani Hansberry are all names to keep an eye on for Maryland’s 2023 class. The Terps have made inroads with these prospects early and should be in a good spot come decision time, which likely won’t come for some time for most of these players. Jackson and Lamothe are four-star guards from Richland, Pa., and Baltimore, Md., respectively. Lamothe plays at St. Frances and would be a nice local target to land. Maryland’s biggest need in 2023 though will arguably be point guard, which could make Jackson even more of a priority. Hansberry is also a local product from Baltimore. He is a three-star center who is still developing, growing, and likely garnering more recruiting attention. The 2023 class is very talented, especially locally, but these guys seem to already have Maryland squarely on their radar.