Maryland Basketball Recruiting: Prolific local scorer wowed by "amazing" visit for Wisconsin game
The energy in the Xfinity Center for Maryland's win over Wisconsin was electric and for good reason. The Terps continue to string together wins and are riding a four-game winning streak in Big Ten play. Everything about the game stood out to a highly regarded local 2026 recruit who was in the building for the game.
The energy in the Xfinity Center for Maryland's win over Wisconsin was electric and for good reason. The Terps continue to string together strong resume wins and are currently riding a four-game winning streak in Big Ten play. Everything about the game stood out to a highly regarded local 2026 recruit who was in the building for the game.
Anthony Brown ranks as the No. 140 overall prospect in the 247Sports 2026 rankings. If he continues his tear to end the season in WCAC play, he'll have a strong case for a big rise in the next update. He's leading the elite high school basketball conference in scoring, posting 25.4 points, 7.9 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game.
"This was the first game that I went to with students on campus and it was amazing," Archbishop Carroll standout Anthony Brown told IMS. "The gym was packed, it was a win over a ranked team, the gold rush theme and every time someone made a shot, it got so loud that your ears started hurting. As a kid, that's something you dream about. Hitting a three and having the crowd go wild like that is exactly what you want. The atmosphere was amazing no matter if they were up five or down five."
After Rodney Rice and Ja'Kobi Gillespie connected on back-to-back threes to take control of the game, and the crowd erupted.
"That was one of the loudest moments in a gym that I've ever experienced in my life. I've been to college games and NBA games and that was arguably the loudest that I've ever heard a gym get. That was really cool," he said.
"Even during timeouts in the second half, the fans were into it. While Maryland would be in their huddle, the fans kept the same energy, and I think that's huge if you're a player. You want the fans to always back you and that's exactly what happened."
High school prospects focus on different things when attending college games. Point guards are usually more aware of the little things, because they've been wired to be responsible for every little action on the floor. Brown is a student of the game and took mental note of what stood out to him beyond the fan energy.
"Watching their playing style live was something I was focusing on coming into this game and Maryland does a great job using their point guards both on and off the ball. You saw them do some throw-and-go gets, zoom actions, dribble hand-offs, ball screens, flat ball screens, high ball screens, side ball screens, everything," he said.
"Playing in so many different actions make the game easier on point guards because it keeps your defender on their toes. You can tell the coaching staff knew what they were doing when they put together this roster because Ja'Kobi has shooters on each side that he can spray the ball out to and that's huge."
"The other thing that stood out to me was just how they all communicated with each other. As a player, you can tell when a team has fake interactions with each other just because they're teammates. I feel like those guys on Maryland really have love for one another and want others to succeed just as much as they want themselves to. Any time there was a timeout, guys are running onto the floor to hype them up, every time someone subbed out of the game the whole team stood up and players on the sideline would echo play calls. You have to be mindful that Maryland is loud, so any help from your teammates on the bench with sets or coverages can go a long way in winning games."
Brown also was keyed in on the staff and how effectively they interacted with one another.
"You can tell the staff is in sync with one another on each possession. They really build their players up, too. There were a few instances where a guy would have a bad stretch of plays, and they were all remaining positive to help them get back on track. It was great," he said.
After the game, Brown had the chance to talk with the coaches, which was his first real opportunity to get a conversation with each member of the staff.
"It was great talking with all of them. I eventually started talking most with Coach Willard and Coach Cox, it was all great conversations. I like asking questions, so I asked Coach Willard what a point guard has to do to play for him as a freshman. He told me about the most important thing for him is being a leader. Whether I'm on the bench or in the game, he'd expect me to be the loudest one in the gym," he said.
Brown, Willard and Cox also spent time talking about his senior season at Archbishop Carroll. Brown is leading the area in scoring and filling the stat sheet in a handful of categories at an impressive rate.
Brown plans on being back at the Xfinity Center on Feb. 9 when the Terps host Rutgers. The only other program he plans on visiting in the near future is Mississippi State, but a date has not yet been cemented.
