Openings Remain in Maryland's 2010 Recruiting Class: Gorgui Sy Dieng, Mike Rosario, and Gil Biruta

All of the focus has undoubtedly shifted to the possibly exciting, possibly mediocre 2011 basketball recruiting class at this point, but that pesky 2010 class refuses to go away quietly. With one scholarship spot still available (or two, if one Mr. Goins makes his transfer official), possibilities to fill it remain on the horizon.

Foremost is Gorgui Sy Dieng, a 6-10 Senegalese big man by way of Huntington Prep in West Virginia. He's supposedly very high on Marshall and Louisville, but Maryland is apparently in the mix to gain a visit. If he gets on campus, anything can happen, despite Maryland's iffy luck with African imports recently.

He's more polished than most imports, with some decent low post moves and a shot that is surprisingly described as pretty solid. That's not to say he isn't raw, but he's more developed than most. SLAM called him "further along on the offensive end than most African bigs" and made him seem like a good rebounder as well as effective offensively. He was reportedly named MVP of the Derby Classic, which featured highly-recruited former Maryland target Justin Coleman, a teammate who is also headed for UL, and four star point guard Ryan Harrow, who is bound for N.C. State. Even though he might not be the ridiculous athlete that a guy like C.J. Leslie is, he proved that he can still be an effective shotblocker in the low post. Case in point:

He's also proven himself against some of the best players the USA has to offer, as he was one of the stars of an upstart Senegal team that bested the United States at the Nike Global Challenge. He had quite the statline in the game: 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals, while his American counterpart, five star PF Adreian Payne, ended up with just 4 rebounds and was held scoreless. Oh, and in that game, he hit the game-winning three. Remember: 6'10" guy that knocked down a game-winning three.

The problem there, unsurprisingly, will be actually landing him. Marshall and Louisville have major head starts, and he likes Louisville so much that it was speculated he would commit there as far back as February. Seeing how it's not even certain that his visit will be to Maryland, it's not exactly likely that Dieng ends up a Terp. You never know, though: maybe he falls in love with the campus, or Gary Williams breaks out some magic that's been hiding under a barrel for the past five years.

The next new guy is Rutgers' star shooting guard, Mike Rosario, who is transferring in light of the chaos in Piscataway. Rosario is a big time scorer that can get buckets from anywhere on the floor, and would go perfectly with Jordan Williams on the low block. His average stats outside of points are a little misleading, because he was without a doubt the best player on a terribly-coached team from the second he arrived on campus. He was basically asked to have the same role as a freshman that Greivis Vasquez had as a junior.

Just like Vasquez, however, there will probably be questions about his ability to fit into a more structured offense with more talent around him. Those questions, however, might be irrelevant. Maryland has been in contact with Rosario, but a former McD's AA that's proven himself at the college level will certainly be in demand. Landing him won't be an easy task, and because Maryland has no shortage of combo guards, likely won't be a priority.

Of course, Gil Biruta is still an option as well. I have grown far more comfortable with him since the last time I wrote about him; his possible tweener status no matter scares me, especially with the bulk that he has. I'd probably still rather have a guy like Dieng, but you can't ignore Biruta. He'd be a nice compliment to Williams down low and could make an early impact. Maryland is expected to be one of the leaders in his recruitment, especially if his release from Rutgers stipulates that he can't go to another Big East team.

Yep, 2010 just doesn't die. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to move on.

(PS: CJ Leslie and Josh Selby still haven't decided!

Kidding.)