Maryland basketball 2020 target Karim Mane could skip college to pursue NBA dreams

Maryland men’s basketball has zeroed in on Canadian Karim Mane, the No. 12 combo guard in the Class of 2020, to lock in depth at the position moving forward, but he may skip college altogether.

ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony noted in an Insider article that Mane will be slated for a first-round projection in his next 2020 mock draft. The NBA allows players who reach their 19th birthday before the calendar year of the draft to receive automatic eligibility, which applies to Mane. He could also fall under the category of an international player as he has not resided or attended school in the United States.

Mark Turgeon and his staff have been pushing for Mane or Alaskan native Daishen Nix, the top-rated point guard in the Class of 2020, to replace Anthony Cowan in the backcourt after this senior season. Nix has been slow-playing his recruitment, but does list Maryland as a school he continues to hear from.

Maryland was one of the first big programs to target Mane, as he received little to no attention from Power 5 schools before his run in the Under Armour Association this past spring. Turgeon was able to get Mane on campus in May for an official visit, and even stuck out as the only D-I coach who flew out to Greece in early July to watch Mane in the U19 FIBA World Cup.

The door is certainly not closed for college, however, as Mane told ESPN, “... at the same time, I want to get an education too; that’s important for me and my family. I have to think about it, but that’s definitely a possibility.”

In other news

Maryland men’s soccer announced five new additions to the 2019 roster, including incoming transfer forward Luke Brown who was a three-time All-CAA player for Hofstra.

Cody closed up our look at the offensive line at right guard, where Marcus Minor looks to step into a position that hasn’t been up for grabs in a while.

Henry also took a look at some of the best offensive linemen Maryland football will face in 2019.

Anthony Cowan Jr. and Aaron Wiggins helped lead the Kenner League’s Darren McClinton All-Stars to an 80-74 overtime victory over The Toombs despite trailing by nine points in the final minute.

Former Maryland football standout Will Likely III returned to professional football with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL after an ACL tear in 2016 and returned a kickoff 110 yards for a score.

We announced the winners of the Testudo Times 2018-19 Awards this week. Bruno Fernando was named the Male Athlete of the Year, Megan Taylor was named the Female Athlete of the Year, Anthony McFarland is the Freshman of the Year and Sasho Cirovski won Coach of the Year.

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