Gary Williams Visiting Tobias Harris in September

by Ben Broman on Aug 12, 2009 11:18 PM EDT in Basketball Recruiting

Note to anyone who thinks Gary and Maryland have "moved on" from Tobias Harris: I don't think so.

In what's probably the first time we've ever broken any news ever in the history of ever (get the point?), it looks like Gary will be making an in-home visit with the Harrises at Long Island in the middle part of next month. The source requested anonymity, but rest assured that it's solid.

Of course, in-home visits aren't the rarest of occasions, but it does indicate serious interest from both parties. If Gary doesn't feel like Harris is a viable option, he's not going to waste the money to get up to Long Island, especially after there were just major budget cuts in the basketball department. At least, that's what logic says. This also jives with what I've been hearing lately: that Maryland is a serious player for Harris.

There's one interesting wrinkle here: Tobias is supposed to cut his list at the end of August. The visit, on the other hand, is coming in September. That, of course, leaves one of two options: 1) Gary feels extremely confident of his chances to make Tobias' list (and, because he accepted the visit, Tobias does too), 2) Tobias will wait to cut his list, which seems like a possibility as well (Torrel Sr. called it "extremely tough"). I wouldn't be too confident in either direction, but it is something to think about.

Regardless, the news is positive. This, coupled with the revelation that Maryland is one of the five schools recruiting CJ Leslie the hardest, points to how far the basketball recruiting has come in a very short period of time. Throw in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 game - in which current Terp commit Terrence Ross will have a chance to get in all these guys' ears - and things are looking very good indeed.

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Of course there is a third option...

that the visit will never materialize

even if the source is solid, things change really rapidly….

I still say you are chasing a story that isn’t there…but if gary really is making an in home visit, he probably thinks we have a fighting chance…of course even if a guy is a longshot, you still take this visit on the hopes that you impress him or something just clicks so I don’ think this is really inconsistent with my argument that we are a longshot to land harris and are in much better position to land parker, jones and perhaps a big

by tiimbitz4786 on Aug 12, 2009 11:29 PM EDT reply actions

True, but that's a bit cynical

Of course something could change, but rarely does a visit suddenly dissipate. I may be chasing a story, but I’m a small-time blogger – I’ve never had a story to chase before, so please excuse me on that one.

I’m not sure I buy that we’re in better position with Jones at the moment. The connection with Ross is a big plus, but outside of that we don’t really have much going for us. Plus, that recruitment seems frazzled right now, and his list is huge. I’ve also heard a lot of variation in what he says – everything from maryland recruiting him hardest to us being 7th or 8th.

BTW, the “move on” comment wasn’t directed at you. I just grabbed the phrase out of thin air, and didn’t realize you said the exact same thing a few days ago until just now.

by Ben Broman on Aug 12, 2009 11:50 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

first priority

should be landing parker, which is our recuit to loose at this point. i understand he doesnt wanna commit yet but we can let him get away from us in the mean time. hes a great player and really wants to be a terp

by t.shug on Aug 13, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions