Below is a list of the big names I've confirmed will (and won't) be at Maryland Madness.
Mario Kegler - At this point, outside of No. 1-ranked Josh Jackson, Kegler is the top remaining priority for the Maryland staff. Kegler has already been on official visits to Arizona State, Baylor and most recently Mississippi State. He'll be at Maryland this weekend and then will finish off his visits at Indiana.
In talking to his guardian, they are really excited about visiting for Maryland Madness and getting to see the facilities and watch the team practice. He said that while getting to attend big-time football games was nice, it's really not something they care about. They are all basketball and all business. Maryland is squarely in play here and a big visit could go a long ways. After this weekend he'll trip to Indiana then look for a decision not much longer after that.
Jacob Larsen - As I reported Wednesday night, Danish 6-10 big man Jacob Larsen is expected in College Park this weekend after visiting Gonzaga last weekend and Marquette during the week. As is the case with another Euro currently taking visits, Lauri Markkaken, they have to squeeze all of their visits into a very short period of time as it's not feasible to do these visits individually as they still live overseas. Duke is another school that pursued Larsen pretty hard, but I'm told that he will choose between a final three of Gonzaga, Marquette and Maryland. Not really sure of a decision timetable, but with Maryland being the final visit, I would think it won't be long.
Anthony Cowan - Not a whole lot to add here. Cowan was Maryland's first commit in the 2016 class and has been helping the staff recruit guys ever since. He told TSR that he'd be taking his official visit during Maryland Madness back in September.
Kevin Huerter - The Terps' second commit in the Class of 2016, Huerter tweeted that he'll be coming down and be in attendance as well. Huerter was a big addition for Maryland as he's capable of playing both the 1 and the 2. He's 6-5 with good length and a nice looking stroke as well as excellent vision. As Cowan has tried to help recruit, getting to know guys on their visits, it's interesting to note that both Cowan and Huerter will be here for Kegler's visit. I'm sure both will be telling him how great the three of them could be on the floor together.
Prentiss Hubb - The sophomore Gonzaga guard picked up a Maryland offer when he was on campus back on Oct. 3 before the Michigan football game. Hubb is a big-time shooting guard prospect who we saw down in Charlotte at the Under Armour All-America Camp and he more than held his own. He's a big Maryland fan and a heavy Terps lean.
Jalen Smith - The sophomore Mount St. Joe's big man also picked up a Maryland offer back on Oct. 3 before the Michigan game. Smith is a good defender, cleans up around the rim and runs the floor very well for his size. Rivals currently has him ranked No. 23 in the 2018 Rivals150. Again, Smith has told us that he's a huge Maryland fan and is also a heavy Terps lean. Adding Smith and possibly Hubb to start the 2018 class would be huge and could give Maryland a big leg up.
Makhi and Makhel Mitchell - The Mitchell twins, who play their AAU ball for DC Premier and are now freshmen at Bishop McNamara, have been on Maryland's radar for quite some time. They actually attended last year's Maryland Madness and I saw them getting a tour of the facilities during the event. They have long been considered two of the best forward prospects in their class as both stand around 6-foot-7 and are extremely skilled.
Che Evans - As I mentioned above, the Terps hosted several 8th graders last year and they will host another big-time 8th grader, Che Evans, this year. Evans plays his AAU ball for Team Melo out of Baltimore and is widely regarded as one of the top wings not yet in high school.
Dajour Dickens - As was originally reported by my colleague at the Virginia Tech site, Dickens will be attending Maryland Madness. Dickens is a big-time forward prospect who's stock really climbed this past summer. I had a chance to see him play at this year's Vic Oladipo camp and he was a nice looking prospect. He holds a number of offers including Texas and Virginia but the Terps are yet to extend one. It sounds like the Terps are currently near the top of his list and could climb even higher with a solid visit this weekend.
Myles Douglas - I ran into some Takeover coaches last night and was told that Douglas will be at Maryland Madness. Of course, Douglas picked up a very early Terps offer last year, but it will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out. He has transferred from Friends School in Baltimore to Paul VI of the WCAC, so he's going to see a huge step up in competition this season. Douglas has all of the tools, but for me, he needs to show a little more aggression on the offensive end of the floor this year and show he can be a leader on the court. Maryland is going to have quite a few options on the wing in 2017 so it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Noah Locke - Locke is a prospect we wrote about not too long ago as he's a player that's really been on the rise over the past couple of months. Right now he's an undersized shooting guard, but he can really fill it up offensively with developing point skills. If he continues to improve his lead guard skills while continuing to grow, he could end up a highly sought after prospect at the national level.
Melo Eggleston - While he hasn't been a name mentioned a whole lot recently with the Terps, Maryland coaches were watching him closely last season before suffering an injury. A change in AAU teams this past summer again had him sort of flying under the radar. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy and have a big year this season as a junior. If he does, he could definitely pop back up as a major player on Maryland's radar.
Ajiri Johnson and Antwuan Butler - WER1 has become one of the top AAU programs in the country and Maryland is heavily recruiting multiple players including Trevon Duval and Quade Green. And while neither Duval or Green are expected to attend Maryland Madness, they will be bringing two of their top sophomore in Johnon and Butler. Johnson is the higher rated prospect of the two. He came to the United State last year from Nigeria after just picking up the game. At about 6-foot-8 and good length, his upside is very high. He started to really come on last summer and is a name to keep an eye on.
Chauncey Sterling - This 2018 PG out of St. Anthony's in New Jersey is attending Maryland Madness per Adam Zagoria. Sterling is actually brother's with a player Mark Turgeon tried recruiting recently as a transfer - Eli Carter.
Prentiss Hubb told me last night that he will be joined by freshman Gonzaga teammate Anwar Gill. Gill, like Hubb plays for DC Premier and is actually AAU teammates with the Mitchell twins. He's an up and coming wing guard in a similar mold as Hubb.
Finally, as Pat reported the other day, big-time NY four-star wing forward Jordan Tucker will not be able to make it down for Maryland Madness. The hope is that he'll be down for a game later in the season. He's an extremely skilled forward somewhat in the mold of UNC's Justin Jackson. Bino Ranson was up in New York to see him last week and Maryland should continue to show interest throughout.
Mario Kegler - At this point, outside of No. 1-ranked Josh Jackson, Kegler is the top remaining priority for the Maryland staff. Kegler has already been on official visits to Arizona State, Baylor and most recently Mississippi State. He'll be at Maryland this weekend and then will finish off his visits at Indiana.
In talking to his guardian, they are really excited about visiting for Maryland Madness and getting to see the facilities and watch the team practice. He said that while getting to attend big-time football games was nice, it's really not something they care about. They are all basketball and all business. Maryland is squarely in play here and a big visit could go a long ways. After this weekend he'll trip to Indiana then look for a decision not much longer after that.
Jacob Larsen - As I reported Wednesday night, Danish 6-10 big man Jacob Larsen is expected in College Park this weekend after visiting Gonzaga last weekend and Marquette during the week. As is the case with another Euro currently taking visits, Lauri Markkaken, they have to squeeze all of their visits into a very short period of time as it's not feasible to do these visits individually as they still live overseas. Duke is another school that pursued Larsen pretty hard, but I'm told that he will choose between a final three of Gonzaga, Marquette and Maryland. Not really sure of a decision timetable, but with Maryland being the final visit, I would think it won't be long.
Anthony Cowan - Not a whole lot to add here. Cowan was Maryland's first commit in the 2016 class and has been helping the staff recruit guys ever since. He told TSR that he'd be taking his official visit during Maryland Madness back in September.
Kevin Huerter - The Terps' second commit in the Class of 2016, Huerter tweeted that he'll be coming down and be in attendance as well. Huerter was a big addition for Maryland as he's capable of playing both the 1 and the 2. He's 6-5 with good length and a nice looking stroke as well as excellent vision. As Cowan has tried to help recruit, getting to know guys on their visits, it's interesting to note that both Cowan and Huerter will be here for Kegler's visit. I'm sure both will be telling him how great the three of them could be on the floor together.
Prentiss Hubb - The sophomore Gonzaga guard picked up a Maryland offer when he was on campus back on Oct. 3 before the Michigan football game. Hubb is a big-time shooting guard prospect who we saw down in Charlotte at the Under Armour All-America Camp and he more than held his own. He's a big Maryland fan and a heavy Terps lean.
Jalen Smith - The sophomore Mount St. Joe's big man also picked up a Maryland offer back on Oct. 3 before the Michigan game. Smith is a good defender, cleans up around the rim and runs the floor very well for his size. Rivals currently has him ranked No. 23 in the 2018 Rivals150. Again, Smith has told us that he's a huge Maryland fan and is also a heavy Terps lean. Adding Smith and possibly Hubb to start the 2018 class would be huge and could give Maryland a big leg up.
Makhi and Makhel Mitchell - The Mitchell twins, who play their AAU ball for DC Premier and are now freshmen at Bishop McNamara, have been on Maryland's radar for quite some time. They actually attended last year's Maryland Madness and I saw them getting a tour of the facilities during the event. They have long been considered two of the best forward prospects in their class as both stand around 6-foot-7 and are extremely skilled.
Che Evans - As I mentioned above, the Terps hosted several 8th graders last year and they will host another big-time 8th grader, Che Evans, this year. Evans plays his AAU ball for Team Melo out of Baltimore and is widely regarded as one of the top wings not yet in high school.
Dajour Dickens - As was originally reported by my colleague at the Virginia Tech site, Dickens will be attending Maryland Madness. Dickens is a big-time forward prospect who's stock really climbed this past summer. I had a chance to see him play at this year's Vic Oladipo camp and he was a nice looking prospect. He holds a number of offers including Texas and Virginia but the Terps are yet to extend one. It sounds like the Terps are currently near the top of his list and could climb even higher with a solid visit this weekend.
Myles Douglas - I ran into some Takeover coaches last night and was told that Douglas will be at Maryland Madness. Of course, Douglas picked up a very early Terps offer last year, but it will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out. He has transferred from Friends School in Baltimore to Paul VI of the WCAC, so he's going to see a huge step up in competition this season. Douglas has all of the tools, but for me, he needs to show a little more aggression on the offensive end of the floor this year and show he can be a leader on the court. Maryland is going to have quite a few options on the wing in 2017 so it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Noah Locke - Locke is a prospect we wrote about not too long ago as he's a player that's really been on the rise over the past couple of months. Right now he's an undersized shooting guard, but he can really fill it up offensively with developing point skills. If he continues to improve his lead guard skills while continuing to grow, he could end up a highly sought after prospect at the national level.
Melo Eggleston - While he hasn't been a name mentioned a whole lot recently with the Terps, Maryland coaches were watching him closely last season before suffering an injury. A change in AAU teams this past summer again had him sort of flying under the radar. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy and have a big year this season as a junior. If he does, he could definitely pop back up as a major player on Maryland's radar.
Ajiri Johnson and Antwuan Butler - WER1 has become one of the top AAU programs in the country and Maryland is heavily recruiting multiple players including Trevon Duval and Quade Green. And while neither Duval or Green are expected to attend Maryland Madness, they will be bringing two of their top sophomore in Johnon and Butler. Johnson is the higher rated prospect of the two. He came to the United State last year from Nigeria after just picking up the game. At about 6-foot-8 and good length, his upside is very high. He started to really come on last summer and is a name to keep an eye on.
Chauncey Sterling - This 2018 PG out of St. Anthony's in New Jersey is attending Maryland Madness per Adam Zagoria. Sterling is actually brother's with a player Mark Turgeon tried recruiting recently as a transfer - Eli Carter.
Prentiss Hubb told me last night that he will be joined by freshman Gonzaga teammate Anwar Gill. Gill, like Hubb plays for DC Premier and is actually AAU teammates with the Mitchell twins. He's an up and coming wing guard in a similar mold as Hubb.
Finally, as Pat reported the other day, big-time NY four-star wing forward Jordan Tucker will not be able to make it down for Maryland Madness. The hope is that he'll be down for a game later in the season. He's an extremely skilled forward somewhat in the mold of UNC's Justin Jackson. Bino Ranson was up in New York to see him last week and Maryland should continue to show interest throughout.
