Can we find a guy who's name starts with N? We already have Terrence, Mychal, and Terrell.
In case you hadn't heard, Mychal Parker committed to Maryland today. Parker, a unanimous top 70 guy, is obviously a big pickup, and you don't really need me to tell you that. The bigger question, though, is how this affect Maryland's other top targets.
First off, it's a probability that Maryland will have five scholarships to hand out this year. We already know that four scholarships are guaranteed, but Jerome Burney is considered a longshot to return from his foot injuries. With three commits on board (Parker, Terrence Ross, and Terrell Stoglin), Maryland definitely has room for one, and probably two, more player(s) in this class.
The big targets are likely, in no particular order, Tobias Harris, Roscoe Smith, C.J. Leslie, Terrence Jones, James Johnson, and Damontre Harris. Guys like Justin Coleman, Josh Gasser, and Jerian Grant probably have no interest anymore, either on their side or on Maryland's, as there are now three guards in the class.
The positive thing is that this gives more momentum. People start getting excited about the class again, positivity and energy starts flowing, and it makes it easier to get commits. That helps.
The negatives: three of the guys on that list are 3/4 tweeners. If Tobias Harris, Leslie, or Jones decide they want to be a 3 in college, this could hurt Maryland's chances: after all, one of Ross or Parker will probably be playing the 3. You and I know that Maryland is perfectly capable of playing small (the PF last year was 6-7, the C 6-6 for god's sake), with one of the tweeners as a four in name only. But do they know that?
If Gary sells it right, all those guys are still options. And if they decide they want to be 3s, they should know that they'd have a chance to beat Parker out for that spot.
There's a bit of a different issue with Roscoe. I'd feel much less comfortable sticking Roscoe in the post than any of the aforementioned tweeners; I get the feeling that he's definitely a three. With him, Gary either needs to sell him on playing like Villanova - basically four guards on the floor, with one big man (in this case, probably Jordan Williams) - or on having a legitimate chance to beat out Parker for the 3. Again, he's still an option, but Gary needs to sell it right.
You also don't know what this does to any of the recruits' pysches. Do they feel a bit offended that Maryland got another guy at their position? You never know.
The other guys - Johnson and Damontre Harris - are probably only spurred on by this, Harris especially; it can't hurt to have another North Carolinian on the team. He might be a better big than Johnson, and is taking Maryland pretty seriously.
All that said, enjoy Parker right now. You'll eventually come off that high, so don't worry about the future too much. That's Gary's job.