To keep all Terps recruiting information in one spot, Testudo Times is introducing its Class of 2017 basketball recruiting page. This page will serve as the ultimate resource for news on all of Maryland's basketball targets.
Features:
- Map to show where each of the recruits are playing their final year of high school ball.
- News on all players still considering Maryland. Chart information is taken directly from 247sports, and the offers listed are mostly from the collective lists of 247sports, ESPN and VerbalCommits.
- A school highlighted in blue indicates it is on a players' remaining list.
- Recruiting information will be updated daily, and time-stamped.
Class of 2017
Point Guards:
Trevon Duval
Duval is arguably the best player in the class of 2017 and has offers from nearly every major college basketball program in the country. He is a terrific ball handler and shows great explosiveness off the dribble. The 5-star recruit out of New Jersey has even drawn early comparisons to Derrick Rose. With the amount of offers he already has and will ultimately have, it's too early to predict where he will end up, however all three crystal ball predictions from 247Sports have him going to Duke.
8/25 - Duval makes an unofficial visit to Maryland. Says "They're doing a good job of recruiting me right now."
8/28 - Duval is expected to visit Syracuse this weekend while attending Elite Camp.
9/9 - Duval is expecting visits from Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Baylor & TCU.
9/28 - Duval will be watched by Villanova and Indiana this week.
Quade Green
Quade Green is a 4-star recruit by the way of Philadelphia who visited College Park in June. He has great handles and is an excellent passer with an ability to get to the hoop. He's had some troubles with an injured ankle this summer which has caused him to miss a majority of the summer circuit. He has offers from Michigan State, Arizona, Arizona State, Missouri, Maryland, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple and Villanova. He only has two crystal ball predictions and neither of them are for Maryland.
Update:
8/11 - Green received an offer from DePaul.
Hurtado is a 6'5 three-star point guard recruit according to 247Sports. Shun Williams of OnTheRadarHoops had this to say of his performance in May - "Luis Hurtado of Decatur, Ga., proved he belonged in the mix of elite competition while playing with E1T1 16U. Standing at 6-4 he split time as a point and a shooting guard. He has a feel for the game that is very mature." He also has offers from Florida State, Georgia and USC.
Shooting Guards:
Hamidou Diallo
Maryland offered the 5-star recruit a scholarship earlier this month after seeing him at the Under Armour All-American Camp in Charlotte. There he averaged 15.5 points per game and 5.5 boards per game. The 6'4" guard is ranked the 3rd best shooting guard in the country and currently has offers from UConn, Louisville, N.C. State, Indiana, St. John’s, USC, Wake Forest and more. 247Sports predicts the Woodstock, CT product will stay in state and play for the Huskies.
Update:
9/10 - Diallo received an offer from Alabama.
9/18 - Diallo received an offer from SMU.
9/23 - Diallo received an offer from Syracuse.
9/23 - Kentucky Coach John Calipari saw Diallo today.
9/24 - Diallo received an offer from Boston College.
9/28 - Diallo was watched by UConn coaches Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller this morning.
D.J. Harvey
Harvey is a local talent – the number one ranked player in the state of Maryland for 2017 – and one of the nation's top prospects. He holds offers from many of the country's most renowned basketball schools. He's a 6'6" shooting guard from DeMatha Catholic and friends with Terps class of 2016 commit Anthony Cowan – who is doing some of his own recruiting in attempts to keep DMV talent in Maryland. Harvey and fellow high school teammate Markelle Fultz have discussed the idea of being a "package deal", despite being a year apart. It's early, but 247Sports has Harvey liking the prospect of playing for the Wildcats of Arizona.
Update:
8/19 - Harvey received an offer from Connecticut.
9/3 - Harvey will visit Duke and NC State this weekend.
10/2 - Harvey will unofficially visit Louisville this weekend.
10/28 - Harvey received an offer from Alabama.
Forwards:
Mohamed Bamba
Bamba is another 5-star recruit and the second best power forward in the country. He was one of Maryland's earliest targets for the class of 2017 and for good reason. He is 6'10" and has a 7'8" wingspan! He should easily be 7 feet or taller by the time he plays his first college game. He's a great rebounder, can block shots easily, and has above average handles for a player of his size. He has said he is only taking a certain amount of offers so it's a good thing that Maryland go to him early. 8/10 crystal ball predictions have him ending up in a Blue Devils uniform.
Update:
8/29 - Bamba is visiting Duke and Wake Forest this weekend.
9/16 - Bamba is expected to be watched by Kentucky, Indiana, Arizona, Temple, Villanova, Maryland, UConn, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, Penn State and Rice.
Rated just the no. 104 player in his class by 247Sports, 6'8 Nicholas Claxton is on the rise. In the past few weeks he has been offered by Baylor, Florida State and Wake Forest, and previous held offers from Murray State, Temple, USC and a few others.
Myles Douglas
A 6'6" forward from Baltimore, Douglas has a 4-star 247Sports composite rating and is the second best player in the state of Maryland right behind D.J. Harvey. The Terps offered him back in February and all seven of 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions have Douglas coming to College Park. He was also the first in-state prospect in the class of 2017 to receive an offer from Coach Turgeon. He had this to say about his visit to College Park:
"It was great ... I felt like almost the whole Maryland school came out. It was so packed in there. They performed very well in front of their crowd and they got the win. I think they like that I’m so tall and I can play a lot of positions. I can shoot, I can handle the ball, whatever they want me to do on the floor, I could contribute to them."
Update:
8/17 - Douglas unofficially visited Maryland.
Jaren Jackson
6-foot-8 175 pound Jaren Jackson has a basketball background. His father, Jaren Jackson Sr., starred at Georgetown and played 13 seasons in the NBA, where he averaged 5.5 points per game as a 6-foot-4 shooting guard. Jackson Jr. is the no. 5 rated player in Indiana in the class of 2017, and holds offers from Butler, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Xavier.
Updates:
9/29 - Jackson received an offer from Maryland.
Kevin Knox
Maryland gave Knox an offer earlier in July after the 6'7" high school junior made USA's 16U team. Knox is 4-star basketball recruit as well as a 4-star football recruit and his basketball stock has been on the rise after a very solid showing at Nike's Peach Jam event in Georgia. He's caught wave of attention in July after receiving offers from Florida State, Florida, LSU, Texas Tech and more. He can throw down dunks with ease and plays above the rim pretty well. His jump shot needs some work but with his athleticism, he will be more of a slasher than someone who settles for jumpers. All five predictions from 247Sports believe he will commit to Florida State.
Update:
8/11 - Knox received an offer from NC State.
9/18 - Knox received an offer from Wake Forest.
9/28 - Knox received an offer from Syracuse.
10/22 - Knox received an offer from Alabama.
Tomas Murphy
Tomas Murphy is a 6'9" 4-star recruit by way of Rhode Island who has held a scholarship from Maryland since he was in middle school. He has a nice touch around the rim and solid footwork for a big man. He averaged 13.4 points per game on 55.6% shooting at the Adidas Uprising All-American camp. He also comes from a known bloodline of basketball talent. His father and oldest brother were drafted to play in the NBA. His father Jay played at Boston College, his oldest brother graduated, but played for Florida and the middle brother, Alex is currently playing at Florida. The Murphy family's ties to Gainesville has 12 crystal balls at 247Sports believing he will continue the legacy and become a Gator.
Billy Preston
Preston is also listed at 6'8", 220 pounds and is also from California. As the third best power forward in the country, he's a 5-star recruit with many offers, including Kansas, UCLA, Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, and Oregon. He played on the same team as Terps commit Anthony Cowan at the Under Armour All-American camp where Preston averaged 17 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. More good news for Maryland fans is that he also is good friends with current Terp, Diamond Stone, through USA basketball. Also this:
"I would say Maryland and Arizona are coming the hardest. I feel like with Maryland, you can’t go wrong with them. They recruit great guards that everyone else on the team wants to play with. They aren’t selfish or anything like that. It’s a great situation to go into."
247Sports, however, predicts Preston will head to Kansas or Arizona.
Update:
8/19 - Preston is taking an unofficial visit to Maryland today.
8/27 - Preston discussed his visit to Maryland.
Kodye Pugh
Pugh is a 6'8", 3-star recruit – likely to finish 4-stars - from Baltimore who just recently reclassified into the rising junior class. He holds offers from Florida, Georgetown, Miami and has received interest from North Carolina and Stanford as well. He is an athletic forward who can finish at the rim, block shots, and has a solid jump shot. He will need to bulk up a bit but that will come with getting older and maturing. 247Sports has only two crystal ball predictions: one for Georgetown and one for Stanford.
Update:
8/12 - Pugh received an offer from Vanderbilt.
8/27 - Pugh received an offer from SMU.
9/9 - Pugh will be visited at his high school by Florida and Temple this week.
9/14 - Pugh received an offer from Stanford.
Cody Riley
Riley is a consensus 5-star recruit from California who has garnered interest from the likes of Kansas, Arizona, Duke, NC State, USC, and UCLA. He's a 6'7" forward who can run the floor, drive, dunk, shoot, save the planet, etc. Here's video of him throwing down a backboard shattering dunk that literally ended the game. Riley currently resides in California but is originally from Kansas, which explains why 247Sports has him going to either UCLA or Kansas.
Jordan Tucker
It's never too early for a high profile basketball recruit to learn some PR moves via social media. Tucker sent out a tweet recently claiming to have committed to Syracuse. Not too long later, that tweet was deleted with another tweet saying he had been "hacked" and was not committed to Syracuse. He still holds offers from many top D1 programs and for good reason. The 6'7" wing forward has good range shooting the basketball and is also a skilled defensive player who can rebound. He was eventually offered a scholarship by Maryland in April after not being offered one by the Terps in January. Despite the Syracuse incident, 247Sports still believes he'll commit there.
Update:
9/12 - Tucker was visited by Coach Chris Mullin and St. John's.
9/15 - Tucker plans to take an unofficial visit to St. John's.
9/27 - Tucker will visit Maryland for Magic Maryland Madness October 17th.
M.J. Walker
Walker holds a hoops offer from the Terrapins but he also holds offers from Ole Miss, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Louisville and Georgia... for football. He is a highly touted recruit for both basketball and as a football wide receiver. He's a 6'5" wing forward who can finish around the rim and has a strong frame. He isn't yet sure what he plans on doing as far as playing both sports in college. Via Rivals:
"I have thought about it, but I haven't made a decision yet. If I can play both sports, that would be great."
He only holds a few basketball scholarship offers, but his recruiting process is still in its early stages. Other basketball offers include Florida State, Ohio State, Memphis, Auburn, West Virginia, and Mississippi State.
Kris Wilkes
A 6-foot-7 190 pound black belt in taekwondo, Wilkes is the no. 1 rated player in Indiana – a basketball hotspot – in the class of 2017. He competed in Under Armour's All-America camp this summer, where he measured in with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Wilkes holds offers from Butler, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Purdue, UCLA, and Xavier.
Updates:
9/29 - Wilkes received an offer from Maryland.