Maryland Minute 7.14.09 - Tobias Harris Has Officially Blown Up

Okay, so we really don't have a great chance with TH. But as long as he's listing us, he's a target. So get ready for the biggest amount of links relating to Tobias Harris that you could ever imagine.

Tobias Harris Love from Rivals
I have a feeling Harris will see a Will Barton-esque rise pretty soon...like right now.

Tobias Harris (2010 Albany City Rocks)- Speaking of forwards who are difficult to guard, no four man in the class scores like Harris. Composed and efficient with the ball in his hands, Harris puts up points that will easily translate to the next level. His stock is rapidly rising.

In other news, it appears we're still hot after Terrence Jones:

Head coaches from Memphis, UCLA, Maryland and Washington are watching Terrence Jones.

More on Harris - Models Game After Melo
Tobias Harris could be our Carmelo. Only he's from New York and not Baltimore. Whatever.

Harris has made the most of his time in the Peach Jam. The 16-year-old power forward has averaged 22.6 points and nine rebounds in his first three games as his team has gone 2-1. It wasn't until Harris was 14 that he first beat his sister Tesia (now a junior forward at Delaware) in basketball. But, as Tobias has grown from 6-2 three years ago to 6-8, he's kept the quickness and ball handling skills of a smaller player.

Tobias Harris: "The Story of the Summer"
Okay, this is probably hyperbole, and the Tobias Harris coverage is entering ad nauseum territory, but the kid is blowing up, big time.

"He’s the best offensive forward in the country," the coach said. "He can face up, he can post up, he can drive. He can do everything. If they took a picture of his body from last year and compared it to this year, he can make millions of dollars doing body sculpting or weight loss ads. He looks thin, quick and bouncy. "He’s really good. He’s the story of the summer."

Is it a stretch for him to be top 15 by the next re-rank? Top 10 even?

MaxPreps: Harris, Jones, Leslie
Okay, this isn't only Tobias Harris, but we're starting with him.

Tobias Harris (Long Island, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) got the better of his matchups many a time whether it be against wings or bigs. Kentucky and Memphis have made recent plays to get in with Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Terrence Jones (Portland, Ore./Jefferson) showed off going coast-to-coast in games and is about as wide open as it goes with programs also coast-to-coast feeling they can land him. He noted hearing recently from Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Oregon for schools looking to evaluate him during the week.

C.J. Leslie (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) is a game-changer who’s as passionate and versatile as Barnes and is continually improving as he tightens up his focus. His crowd of coaches backs it up as he said Connecticut, Oregon, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Kentucky were definites along with Florida, who he wants to visit in August.

Yes, more Tobias Harris
But this time, it's a negative factor - he was 17 years old and still had baby fat. He apparently shed 15 pounds of it, and I believe it. I've seen a decent amount of video on Tobias, and all the old video is pretty rough-looking. Hopefully he is much thinner, because that would vault him up a bit in my eyes. Seriously, he was pretty chubby.

Okay, Done with Harris - These Links Are Good Too, So Pay Attention

By the Numbers 2004-2008
College Game Balls has put together a wonderful graph of some in-depth records in the last five years of seemingly every team in football. The data isn't exactly encouraging. The Terps are 33-28 overall, which is decent, but we're only 18-22 in conference and 17-24 against teams with winning records. Surprisingly, we're only 2-15 against teams that finish the season in the top 25. Surely, if you made it teams that were in the top 25 when we played them, the record would be better, but that's still not where I'd like to be.

That said, if we can consistently finish the 9 to 7 win range - which we've done without fail for the past five years - I'll be pretty easy on the football program. That's a very consistent, above-average job that you can't really complain about.

Brandon Ifill - Terps vs. Michigan
Seems like Ifill is between Maryland and Michigan, with the Terps leading. He said he feels comfortable with the coaching staff at MD but he's going to take an unofficial to Michigan in a week. He'd be a big get for us as a safety or WR.

ESPN's Peach Jam Day 2 Notes
The surprise of the tourney has easily been Team Takeover. The surprising DC-area ballers are undefeated in team play, and outplaying teams with some of the best prospects in basketball.

Team Takeover is 4-0 after two days. A big reason for that torrid start is the play of point guard Brandon Young, who is emerging on the scene as a high major prospect. He refuses to let his team lose. His strong will and skill are evident in every performance.

...

Young (Randallstown, Md./Friendship Collegiate) plays the game with a high motor and is productive in many categories, but he is best in the open floor. The 6-3 point guard executes the fast break with a speed dribble that puts pressure on a defense. As he is looking to attack the rim for the score, he does an outstanding job finding and hitting open teammates if they have better looks. Young can make open 3s, but he is a streaky shooter. He shows a good midrange game with a pull-up jumper, and he is an effective shooting off the dribble. Defensively, Young is engaged in the play both on and off the ball. He is a tenacious on-ball defender who refuses to allow his man to beat him. He is a player who makes others better, and is a key ingredient in his team's recipe for success.

I've never heard of this kid before to be honest - neither have Rivals, ESPN, or Scout. Wonder if Gary will be on him soon.

Preseason mags: Duke and Maryland? Maybe next year - ACC - ESPN
ESPN.com's Heather Dinich (formally of Baltimore Sun fame) summarizes what we've already heard and know - not many people are picking the Terps to finish higher than dead last in the Atlantic this year.

Gbinije "Concentrating on the ACC"
Stuff that I missed from NBE's Peach Jam updates yesterday...

10:00 PM (Jeff): Mike Gbinije and Team Takeover had an easy time with Each One Teach One as Brandon Knight did not play and Austin Rivers missed most of the second half as he might have been under the weather.

Gbinije, who has been bothered by back and knee soreness this spring and summer, told NBE he is concentrating on the ACC in his recruitment.

This is either great news or terrible news. I'd absolutely love to land Gbinije - he's probably our elite prospect in 2011. That said, I'd hate him to go to Duke or UNC.

Behind enemy lines: Aminu's all about improving
Yep, a piece on Al-Farouq Aminu. The forward with the bad tooth-to-gum ratio scares the crap out of me next year. Wake loses a lot, but he could be All-ACC next year. The determination doesn't help my concerns.