Summer is, traditionally, the most boring time of year for us - both Maryland fans and Maryland bloggers. About all we have is basketball recruiting, and this year we also have the extremely secretive, extremely speculative (so far) AD search. It's even worse than the spring, when we at least have spring football. And when it's the summer and not a contact/evaluation period? Well, just about nothing's worse.
Luckily for us, though, that evaluation period gets kicking again tomorrow, so coaches can officially attend events, see their big targets, and be seen by their big targets. And before the week is over, we'll be in the biggest AAU weekend of the year: Vegas and the Nike Super Showcase.
A grand total of 112 AAU teams will be in action in Sin City this weekend. Another 160 will be in Orlando for the Super Showcase. That means that Maryland will be able to get a good look at (and be seen by, as we said above) just about everyone they've ever really shown interest in...ever.
The big event of the weekend is the Fab 48, which will feature a Who's Who of Maryland recruits: Brown, Baru, Ross, Hubert, Maurice Harkless, and Sterling Gibbs, plus a few other notables. That starts on Day #1, tomorrow, and will last three days. Super 64 is a less stacked event, with Norvel Pelle, Deuce Bello, and Devin Langford the only Maryland targets in attendance. Quinn Cook's DC Assault will be there, but there aren't many big names on DCA these days, especially with Quinn no longer being a target.
After those two events, Nike's AAU Super Showcase in Orlando kicks off on the 23rd. That's probably the biggest event in all of AAU - 160 teams will be in attendance, and you can imagine that most of Maryland's big targets will be there. For a short list: Tyler Harris, Nick Faust, Greg Lewis, Mikael Hopkins, James Robinson, Justin Anderson, and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Needless to say, the staff will probably be criss-crossing the country on airplanes. Oh, and just in case you needed a fix to get you through one more recruiting-less day? The Baltimore Sun profiled Bino Ranson today. And this should be enough to tide you over:
Now, Ranson is trying to blend his Baltimore past with the present day. "I think he's a people person, and recruitment is all about relationships," coach Anthony "Doodie" Lewis of the Cecil Kirk AAU program said. "I think he knows the population. He knows the places to go."
...
"Maryland's recruiting in the city hasn't been what it should be," [Team Melo AAU coach Darrick] Oliver said. "Bringing in Keith Booth helped a lot. With Bino in there, you'll get a lot of elite players at Maryland. It might be the best move they've made in a long time."
...
"The work other coaches might have to do for relationships, Bino already has the groundwork. They call him Uncle Bino," Carrington said. "If Bino was at Maryland, then Donte Greene and Malcolm Delaney (Towson Catholic, Virginia Tech) would have been at Maryland. Easy."
Part of me doubts that. But part of me, the optimistic part...doesn't.