Maryland basketball adds SG Hakim Hart to 2019 recruiting class

This story was originally published April 18 after Hart’s commitment to Maryland. It has been updated with Hart submitting his National Letter of Intent.

Two-star shooting guard Hakim Hart committed to Maryland basketball on Thursday afternoon. His commitment brings the Terps’ 2019 class to four members and once again fills up all of Maryland’s available scholarships.

The Philadelphia native was originally a St. Joseph’s commit, but he reopened his recruitment after Phil Martelli was unceremoniously shown the door. Hart is an AAU teammate of fellow Philly native and Maryland commit Donta Scott and visited campus last weekend.

A shooting guard from Philadelphia’s vaunted Roman Catholic program, Hart is fresh off leading his team to a second straight Catholic League title. The 6’6 guard’s ranking belies his impact, as he was named first team all-state by USA Today on Tuesday after averaging 21.1 points per game his senior season to lead Roman Catholic in scoring.

Hart’s commitment fills the scholarship left open by Trace Ramsey’s transfer Wednesday and a need for a shooter in the class. Hart joins Scott, as well as twin bigs Makhi and Makhel Mitchell. As a two-star, his commitment moves the needle on the class ranking just a bit, pushing Maryland past DePaul and Syracuse to No. 27 in the nation.

The Terps had been after four-star shooting guard Lester Quinones for much of the cycle, but both sides appeared to have moved on in recent weeks. Hart might not be the final addition, as Maryland could end up with another open scholarship before the end of the offseason. Bruno Fernando and Anthony Cowan Jr. declared for the draft Monday, and while Cowan is expected to return, most expect Fernando to keep his name in the draft.

A week after giving his verbal pledge, Hart sent in his National Letter of Intent and officially signed with the Terps.