Nick Faust Asks out of Letter of Intent, Too, and Maryland Has No Signees

Well, that is utterly horrible.

City shooting guard Nick Faust and Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) point guard Sterling Gibbs both said Thursday that they were granted releases from their letters of intent. Maryland's third class of 2011 signee, German forward Martin Breunig, requested to be released from his letter of intent Wednesday, according to InsideMDSports.com.

Faust said Thursday he has considered reopening his recruitment "ever since Gary [Williams] retired. Me and my parents have just been talking to see what the best fit is, basically just going to make the right decision and [figure out] where I want to go from here." ...

"We just felt that it was in our best interest to just explore our options," Gibbs said. "Maryland is still my top priority. But I just want to make sure that it was the best fit for me."

Faust said he didn't have a specific list of schools, but he is "definitely still considering" Maryland. Aside from the Terps, the 6-foot-5 senior said he'll wait and "see whoever calls." Faust, a Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection this year, said his conversations with Turgeon have been positive.

The good news: Maryland is still being considered by both Gibbs and Faust, and probably Breunig, too. The bad news: they aren't committed and there's no telling what happens from here.

Turgeon now has to turn his sites toward getting those three back in the fold, or at least getting someone back in the fold. If Bino Ranson is retained - please happen - then Faust shouldn't be too difficult. But you never really know.

Faust ending up elsewhere would hurt a lot. He's Maryland's most highly-regarded commitment in years and was expected to both contribute immediately and star down the road. His shooting was something Maryland lacked last year and his perimeter scoring and length made him a valuable commodity.

If you're wondering, no, this isn't a unique situation for a team that just underwent a coaching change. In fact, this tends to be common practice. Remember when Calipari went to Kentucky and basically all of his commitments followed him? Or when Crean when to Indiana and everyone left? Or when Miller went to Arizona and was working with a bare cupboard?

Turgeon will have a similar experience next year. It's going to be a tough first year if only in the numbers and lack of depth. Eight scholarship players and no size isn't a formula for success.

As for Maryland, again, Turgeon now has to go hard to get at least or two of these three back. If not, then I wouldn't be surprised if he went after someone - DeAndre Daniels, Mark Soucek, anyone. Bring on Karron Johnson at this point, man.

Also, for the record, this may be an indication as to the fate of Bino, who supposedly "sealed the deal" with Faust and played a role (not quite sure how large) in his commitment. I'd be shocked if he didn't end up on the staff, but it may help to explain this. This is pure conjecture and I fully expect Bino to be on the staff. Just sayin' that if Bino's on the staff, this decommitment makes a lot less sense.