Maryland Basketball Recruiting: Terps communicating with local guard "every day"
While the Maryland coaches, players and fans' focus are on Friday's NCAA Tournament matchup against No. 13 Grand Canyon, recruiting never comes to a halt.
While the Maryland coaches, players and fans' focus is on Friday's NCAA Tournament matchup against No. 13 Grand Canyon, recruiting never comes to a halt. No matter the result of Friday's game, head coach Kevin Willard and his staff carve out time to make a plan of attack for what kind of players they want to attack in the transfer portal as well as the 2026 high school class.
Archbishop Carroll point guard Anthony Brown seems to be rising up their charts quickly as the 6-foot-1 lead guard has been on campus multiple times in a matter of months.
"I pretty much talk with Maryland and Mississippi State the most at this point," Brown told IMS. "Those two schools have definitely established a lead. I get a text from both of those schools almost every other day."
Brown recently was voted as the DC Player of the Year by the DC Basketball Coaches Association after averaging 24.3 points and six assists per game this season.
"I really think Maryland has a chance to make a run in the tournament and when I say that I don't mean just a game or two. I could see them going to the Final Four or National Championship because of the talent they have and how connected they are. I was at practice last week and you can just tell with how hard they go, how they compete in everything they do, and the gym was loud. It was fun to watch."
Brown gave his thoughts on the heartbreaking loss to Michigan in the Big Ten semifinal game.
"I think with that loss, most teams that have the makeup to be a frontrunner or a favorite need a game like that. I think it makes them go into the NCAA Tournament with some urgency and doesn't allow them to relax thinking the job is complete. Those type of losses put an extra chip on your shoulder."
It's no secret by now that in today's recruiting landscape, the transfer portal has resulted in some programs not casting as wide of a net each year in the high school scene as they typically do. Instead, they'll zero in on a few guys who think could develop into what they need and invest ample time and energy into them.
That's the sort of strategy Kevin Willard and associate head coach David Cox seem to be taking with Brown.
"I think the conversations between us now have to do more with the game. They'll call me and ask what I saw in their games in the previous night's just to get an idea of how I see things. We've also spoke about lining up an official visit with the spring and summer coming. It could be sooner rather than later for that."
As of now, Brown fully intends to take official visits to College Park and Mississippi State. While other programs are involved, those two seem to be setting a high standard in showing genuine interest.
As Brown spoke about the chip on the shoulder of Maryland following the Michigan loss, he too has a chip on his shoulder despite winning DC Player of the Year by the DC Coaches Association. Why? Because he wasn't voted to All-WCAC First Team.
"Missing out on being first team changed my mentality, honestly. Every time I go into the gym, it's something I think about and makes me go harder. I feel like I got some more to prove and not making first team shows me that the work I was putting in wasn't enough. So now, I know what I have to do this summer and how hard I got to go.
As for what jersey Brown will be sporting this spring/summer, he is still undecided. There are multiple local AAU programs courting him and a decision should be made by the end of the week.
Brown ranks as the No. 140 overall prospect in the 247Sports 2026 rankings.
