Maryland Minute 8.6.09 - Maryland to Big East "Silliness", Tobias Harris Visits Kentucky

Tracking the Terps: Big East scenario? Silliness, Yow says
Yep, another denial on Big East-gate. Take that, New York Post.

In a series of e-mail replies to The Baltimore Sun, Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow called the report "silliness" and said "we have not heard from them (the Big East)."

"It is accurate to say that Maryland does not respond to ANY anonymous rumors, as a basic principle," Yow said. She added: "Why would we contribute to this silliness?"

That's right. Silliness.

Tobias Harris Visits Kentucky
As Terps271 pointed out, Tobias Harris took a trip to Kentucky and met with the UK president. They're now on his list. So much for all that "loyalty" talk, huh?

TSR: Horton Has Terps As Clear Favorites
Ok, let's figure this one out:

Horton Has Terps As Clear Favorites

2010 WR/DB prospect Julian Horton (Georgia) becomes increasingly closer to committing...to who?

Hmm...might that be Maryland?

Ok, Mike Rubin's inability to hide a story aside, Horton would be a great commit. We'd probably be done with any WRs unless Brandon Coleman shows a lot of interest, but one look at Horton's offer list, and you know he's legit. Any guy good enough for Alabama is good enough for us.

More Bakich Love: Ready for challenges at Maryland
How can you not like Erik Bakich? Maybe spring will be busy this year.

In just a couple of seasons, Bakich helped coach Tim Corbin completely transform Vanderbilt from a perennial SEC doormat to a conference force. With that came facilities upgrades and highly ranked recruiting classes.

 

Bakich spent seven seasons with the program, watching it overcome a wealth of obstacles in a conference where it is unusual for new programs to take a giant leap forward in short time. Just as he felt about Vandy, Bakich believes Maryland’s program has a lot it can offer prospective players. He also believes the program should be a perennial player in the ACC. Sound familiar?

"I definitely seized the moment with this job. Having played and coached against them in the past, I’ve always thought this program was a sleeping giant," Bakich said. "The main reason I jumped over to this job is I saw a lot of parallels and consistencies between the program here and Vanderbilt’s program."

If he can pull a David Price and Pedro Alvarez, consider his job secure.

BTW, doesn't the writer of this article look like the priest from Year One? That's just an uncanny resemblance.

Five Questions for Maryland's Season - Terrapins Insider
If all five issues turn out positive (expect #3 - that's just open-ended), this season could be very good. If they turn out negative...well, at least we'll be better than UVA. Right?

Tracking the Terps: Season ticket sales are down
The economy is affecting Maryland, too. Blah. (Sorry Jeff, I don't buy your "Maryland lost to BC and FSU" theory).

Scout: 2010 July Stock Risers
A few Maryland targets saw their stock rise up in July. Scout has a few of them:

Tobias Harris: Made the biggest jump of any player rated in the Top 30. After addressing his conditioning he toned up his body and his game expanded. Turned in an all-american summer and had the gyms buzzing.

Josh Gasser: Wasting little time, Gasser went from a mid-major offers to having ACC schools stopping in his gym at the It Takes 5ive Classic. He's known as a shooter, and he does that very well, but he's a tough kid that can get things done off the bounce too

Terrence Jones: The spring led to Jones' big summer push. He's steadily gotten better over the past four months and his game has matured. The 6-foot-8 face up four man has a unique game that allows him to get things done inside and out.

Damontre Harris: A year ago the confidence, nor the product was there. Fast forward a year and you've got a possible Top 50 prospect that can affect the game on both ends. He toed the line with some players in Orlando and usually came out on top.

Cooney Hitting Circuit
When there's an article from a Delaware newspaper on HS basketball, there's a good bet it'll be featuring Delawarean golden boy Trevor Cooney.

Trevor Cooney, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, showed off his stroke at the Paul Pierce, Lebron James, and Chris Paul skill academies earlier in the summer. Syracuse, Villanova, Wake Forest, and West Virginia are among the schools knocking on his door. Cooney, who will be a junior at Sanford, has also been selected to represent the U.S. in the Nike Global Challenge in Portland, Ore. The eight-team tournament, held Friday through Sunday, will feature the top 30 high school players against their international counterparts. "It was very busy," Cooney said of his summer. "I was traveling all over the place. I match up very well. I think I did very well in the tournaments and camps that I went to."

I'm wondering if they got his list from him or from a recruiting database. It could be telling.