Zags – Harkless Blowing Up in Vegas
Well then. As if we needed more. Good things are being said about the former UConn commitment.
"He’s blowing up," Panthers director Gary Charles said by phone. "Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Louisville, everybody wants to get him."...
"Bill Self, Gary Williams, Mick Cronin, Steve Lavin, Billy Donovan, Kevin Willard, Josh Pastner, Mike Rice have all come to his games," Blue said, rattling off a litany of high-profile Division 1 coaches.
Blue confirmed a Rivals reports that Harkless would try to visit UConn, Maryland and Cincinnati or Florida in August.
"Harkless is really special," one D-1 coach said. "He will add strength as he goes but has all the attributes for greatness. Trevor Ariza meets Ray Allen. If he projects, he will be a 10-year pro."
Do You Really Need to Hear More About Maurice Harkless?
Fine.
Harkless was impressive Saturday night. He played with an energy and a focus that was missing during the early part of the travel circuit. His stroke from behind the arc is on point and he can make plays off the dribble. His length and athleticism give him a chance to be a high level wing defender and rebounder.
Probable future top 50 player with serious interest in Maryland? Oh, and teammate of Sterling Gibbs? What's not to like here?
LaQuinton Ross Impresses...Again
Simply does not let up.
Also at 6-foot-8, Ross has one of the better shooting strokes in his class. Friday he drove the ball hard to the basket and repeatedly got to the free throw line. He is developing into a face up four man who will have the ability to both stretch the defense and also make plays in the middle of the floor.
Sounds like a rich man's Landon (no harm meant, Landon was awesome). Gotta be one of the top wing targets, and a Ross/Faust combo would be ridiculous from outside.
Staff has a lot of options. Time to land one, I guess.
Memphis rookie Vasquez eyeing ankle surgery
Props to neffgen for getting this before us. No news on how long he may need to be out or if he'll even need surgery, but hopefully he won't.
Freshmen Numbers Revealed
This is more important than you know. Disappointing number: Titus Till, #38. Awesome number: Danny O'Brien changes to #5.
Tracking the Terps: Many questions, few answers for Terps
Most are basic, but I do think one needs answering: who will be the breakout star in 2010? Nick Ferrara was mentioned, but my three are Cam Chism, Kenny Tate, and D.J. Adams.
Jabari Brown With Two Big Dunks
Sigh.
Two 2012 Targets Impress in Orlando
First up, the gentle giant of Sim Bhullar:
This is an absolutely massive human being who is every bit of 7-foot-4. Besides being just huge, Bhullar also has some serious discernable basketball ability. While he doesn't run the floor great, Bhullar does change the game on defense when in position because he completely takes away the lane and layups from the offense. Also he rebounded very well, and is a great passer for a young big man. His touch is iffy, and his conditioning will always be a massive concern, but when in the game he does make a difference. Because of his size he will always intrigue, and in the right system he could be an impact guy.
And Montrezl Harrell, a North Carolinian with a bunch of high-major offers, including one from Maryland:
In the first half Harrell battled foul trouble, but the physical power forward got it going some in the second half. Harrell used his long arms and high motor to get buckets down low, and even stretched his game out to the mid-range knocking in a few shots. Still his bread and butter is down low rebounding and scoring, and he did that very well in his time on the floor.
Former Terp Omar Gonzalez is an All-Star
And before long he'll be a national team star, too. Sasho Cirovski can coach and recruit with the best of them.
"Being a part of the All-Star First 11 is just amazing," said Gonzalez, who received the largest percentage of overall votes for defenders and led each voting constituency: players, fans, reporters, coaches and general managers.