Looking at Maryland's JuCo Options for 2010, Berend Weijs and Steadman Short

Adding one more potential piece to the 2010 recruiting class has long been a topic of interest for Maryland fans, looking potentially to add some size and depth. After all, there could be as many as two more scholarships to give. With almost no major high schoolers left, though, the JuCo route has been the most popular for discussion.

Unfortunately, it's tough to judge JuCo players that may have interest, because there is so little news surrounding them. But now a few prominent targets have emerged as possibilities.

The first is Berend Weijs. A few days ago, long-time reader/poster aMo posted about Weijs, but little was known. I've found out a little in my short investigative period. Weijs is originally from the Netherlands and plays for Harcum CC just outside of Bryn Mawr. If you're interested, he has a Twitter...in Dutch. Weijs has been to Longwood and has an offer from the Lancers. He visited Maryland in late April and claims an offer from the Terps, along with interest from a handful of other mid-majors.

Harcum is one of the better CC teams out there, but they rotate players a lot. He only averaged about 20 minutes per game at Harcum and just 6 points and 5 boards. His biggest presence was on the defensive end, where he was a big time force for blocking shots; he averaged 4 blocks per game and had a record-setting 15 in one game.

That's mostly due to his solid size (6-10) and length, but he has to have some athleticism to put up those numbers, too. At 6-10, 210 pounds, he's probably more of a face-up four than a back to the basket post man, which is what Maryland's been looking for. The lack of high-major interest is troubling, but Boom didn't have a bunch of high-majors if I recall correctly. I'm not quite sure he has a committable offer and if nothing's happened since his visit in late April, I wouldn't expect it to go down at this point, but it's worth keeping an eye on regardless.

The other major possibility is the awesomely named Steadman Short, a former Marshall signee from Chipola CC in Florida. Originally at High Point, Short averaged about 7 points and 6 boards his freshman year. He went the JuCo route after the High Point coach left, and qe quickly committed to Marshall over (reportedly) West Virginia and Indiana. Marshall HC Donnie Jones recently left for Central Florida, so Short is now back on the market. Rivals has Marquette as the leader, with Maryland and Ole Miss on the radar.

Short possesses great size at 6-9 and is reportedly athletic enough to play on the perimeter. The Marshall coach said about as much, and also praised his work ethic:

"Steadman is very versatile with his size and skill and will give us the ability to play him on the perimeter," Jones said. "He reminds me, with his tenacity and athleticism, of former Gator Corey Brewer. Steadman loves to play and he has a great work ethic."

Meanwhile, a Marshall-area journalist calls him a "tall forward" with the "potential to play on the perimeter"; he's not a SF, according to this guy.

There's not a ton of information online about Steadman's situation, so judging Maryland's involvement is difficult. Rivals has a story on an official decommitment, though, so it appears that we'll hear more soon.

Right now, I would lean toward saving the 'ships. Not saying Short or Weijs don't offer anything (great names, for one thing) but I'm not sold they're the missing pieces.