Terrence Ross Having Doubts?
by Ben Goldstein on Dec 10, 2009 2:26 PM EST
in Basketball Recruiting
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According to the jump of an InsideMDSports.com article, Terrence Ross could be having second thoughts about his commitment to MD.
Could there be any more devastating news for this basketball program right now?
Ross was supposed to be the star of next year's highly touted recruiting class. He's one of the best shooters in the country, has freaky athletic skills, and looks like a guy who could make it to the pros one day. Furthermore, he was the first recruit to sign on for 2010 and seemed to be in love with the idea of being a Terp. Remember, Ross tried to recruit Mychal Parker to come to MD and his friend, Terrence Jones, as well. Ross also attended numerous Terp games and played pickup ball at Comcast throughout the summer and fall. Simply put, he seemed like a MD guy.
All of a sudden, something has changed.
It's hard to say exactly what that change is. But there is some speculation that it may have to do with either academics or Nike. Academics I could probably deal with. If a kid doesn't have the grades to get into school, that sucks but it is what it is.
If a kid doesn't go to his first choice because of a shoe company, well, that absolutely makes me livid. Here's the general rumor going around (I have no evidence that any of this is true but it's what people are speculating): Ross has connections to Nike because he is from Oregon (where Nike is located) and through Montrose Christian which is outfitted by Nike. The school that Ross committed to, Maryland, snubbed Nike a few years back when it decided to switch from the legendary apparel company to Under Armour. Nike is still ticked off at MD and is pushing Ross towards a Nike outfitted school.
Again, I'm not saying that this is definitely happening, but its what some are speculating. And to some degree, it makes sense. How does a kid who does nothing but praise Maryland, tries to recruit others to MD, and spends loads of time on campus playing pickup and hanging with the team, all of a sudden do a complete 180, and say he's having serious doubts. It just doesn't make sense. The pieces don't add up.
If the Nike scenario proposed above is, in fact, what's going on, then I'm really inclined to just stop watching college basketball all-together. When shoe companies and big money dictate where kids go to college, what's the difference between college ball and the NBA. Why even have these athletes go to college at all?
I know I'm getting ahead of myself but it's safe to say, this is not good news for Terps fans. Of course, nothing is set in stone and Ross could end up a Terp, after all. I'm just not real optimistic at this point, namely because these kind of situations never turn out in our favor.
When we hear more info on Ross, we'll get it to you...
In the mean time, sit back, relax, and enjoy the roller-coaster that is being a Maryland basketball fan.
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Haven’t seen Ross listed as top 25 by anyone.
And everyone knows shoe companies and outside sources control where kids end up all the time. This isn’t like breaking news or anything.
Ross decommitting would be a surprise, what with him coming all the way to Montrose just to be closer to College Park. Still, it’s hardly a stunner, more like an unfortunate situation. I’ll wait till there’s more legitimate information out there to say more. Seems like a stretch to base an entire post off an article you couldn’t even read.
Ross was fringe Top 25 by a few before he decided to not play AAU ball this summer. He’s expected to rise in the rankings considerably this season now that he’s got exposure.
I know shoe companies controlling CBB isn’t new but it’s still just as depressing when stories come out like this, especially because we always seem to get screwed by them.
Ross didn’t come to Montrose to be closer to CP, he committed to MD after spending a season at Montrose. The post was written off an article (which I could read) and by lots of speculation by others.
Again, I didn’t say anything was fact, just that it’s the big rumor going around. Obviously, nothing is final yet and there’s still a chance he could be a Terp. It’s just not looking great right now.
by Ben Goldstein on Dec 10, 2009 2:59 PM EST up reply actions
In the future
I dont mean to criticize because you are blogging your opinions but it just seems like you are taking a premium article and all the info from IMS premium and just paraphrasing here. You probably pay for it (as do I). Maybe I’m in the minority but I just don’t think its cool when this stuff we pay for just gets out on the free board or blogs so quickly. Don’t mind me though Im probably only sayign this because Im mad about TRoss :(
Delete my comment
Sorry but after reading it I think I could have come across a little better and I want to keep the topic on T-Ross. Sorry bout that guys.
No apology necessary
I wasn’t trying to post premium content, just trying to get out my opinion and some info to those that hadn’t checked IMS about what was going on. They have a free board over there, where posters were speculating the same things I referenced in my post. I’d be lying, though, if I said that the article or premium board didn’t influence anything I wrote.
Anyway, I think I’m a little worked up right now. Just really disappointed at the whole situation…I’m gonna take a few plays off.
by Ben Goldstein on Dec 10, 2009 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
Its cool
Both you Bens have a really nice blog going and it beats your competition. Maybe its best I go back to the days of not following recruiting and learning about the new freshmen when their names are on the updated rosters at the Terps official site. Those were the days!
Couple things to keep in mind
1) No idea how far along it is. Granted, IMS follows a pattern with their articles on decommitting, but it could still be different.
2) No idea that, even if he is wavering, he has no intention of coming to Maryland. Goes along with the first point – maybe he just said he’s not 100% sure, maybe he said he’s already decommitted.
3) I have trouble believing the shoe idea. Nike has bigger things to worry about than a top 40 SG, and there’s no way his “payday” if he makes it big would be smaller if he went UA rather than Nike. Not like Nike has connects that allow them to put him wherever they choose simply because he’s from Oregon.
Following a pattern?
Confused me there do you mean there is a pattern of action that prospects have before they decommit? People also have to remember no one ever said Terrence was decommitting. IMS did a good job going to the source but Ross never said he was decommitting, its just people going nuts and expecting the worst.
I'm keeping the article out of it
If you have read the article, please don’t give away anything to those who don’t.
The point I was making is that, without any reason to do it, there’s an article with a question about Terrence Ross decommitting. Tthere’s something going on, even if you can only see the headline; same thing with Mackall a few weeks ago. I was saying that you can’t make your decision off the jump if you haven’t read the article, even though it should be clear something’s not right.
Trust me, I love IMS. I’ve always said we offer different products and I try as hard as possible not to give away anything I happen to read there.
No way
Tough to imagine a kid who committed to Maryland super-early, did his best to get other recruits to come here (including Parker) and is from right down the road leaving because of a shoe deal…
How good
How good/worth it are the premium websites? And whats the best one to sign up for- Terrapin Times or IMS? Or is there better?
Depends on what you're looking for
I’ll try stay out of it, but I’ve heard that IMS tends to have better specific coverage, while TT comes with the Rivals subscription, which is the big plus there. That lets you in all on the rivals boards and see the rivals highlight video, while IMS is just that one site, albeit with supposedly better coverage.
I’ll let others chime in here: I’m sure both are great and I don’t think you can really go wrong either way.
Premium Sites
Its not worth it if you don’t like hearing bad news like this but I think IMS is the best then TT then TSR. FWIW I think TSR has the best message board but it lacks posters but that could always change. TT gets good connections but its way too biased and the posters there just argue 24/7. IMS doesn’t break as much news as TT but I think their reporters are unbiased and write the best articles. The posters on IMS are better because outside of the writers there are some good posters. If TSR can get some writers they could do good because scout is well known
If you guys remember this, there very similar
/remember when people where saying stoglin was going to decommit and wait to see what happened with his commitment and he denied the rumors and signed early. Well , i think thats the same thing here, maybe just a little overeaction by some people, like with stoglin.
Ugh...
Stuff like this, even if it ultimately turns out ok, is the reason I convinced myself not to follow recruiting so closely after the absolute train wreck of Jennings, Maze, Gilchrist, et al in 2007-08.
Yeah, it would really hurt to lose Ross. But I have a funny feeling about Stoglin as a scorer…see a little bit of Tyrese Rice in him. Either way, it’s going to be a painful wait for Ross to sign that letter of intent (or not).
how does this work?
Ross is from Oregon? so how does his attending Montrose work? who pays his living expenses? I’m sure attending a private school like Montrose cost boo-koo bucks…do the b’ball stars that attend there get free rides? can someone shed some light?
did you ever think???
that UA basketball product is complete BS? this kid is going to make his living wearing this stuff. Why be the test monkey? Forget money, too much is at risk.
just a thought.
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