A Look at Maryland Recruiting

Keith Cavanaugh, publisher of Terrapin Times.com, has seen a lot of Maryland basketball players. He is the authority on the real story regarding the Terps. So there was no question on who we would call when getting ready a story about Maryland recruiting. After all, Cavanaugh runs the best Maryland site, hotline, and publication in the United States.

Cavanaugh is also a man of realistic expectations. And he has some pretty high expectations of this year’s Maryland recruiting class. He has a right to be. Travis Garrison, Chris McCray, Nik Caner-Medley, and Johnny Gilchrist are four of the best players in the class of 2002. And Maryland will likely seek out a fifth player to complete the 2002 recruiting campaign.

Garrison (right), who is vastly underrated, is the big catch among the four. “He is a tremendous big athlete,” Cavanaugh said “He is a smooth shooting big man. He is just tapping into his resources. He was brilliant in his short stay during the summer play. He has a nice fadeaway jumper. He has always been an outside in guy. Maryland would like to get his game inside out more. He has got all the skills. He has the potential to be an all ACC player.”

Cavanaugh is not overstating the facts. Garrison has a lot of upside to his game. He is a terrific perimeter shooter. Travis has the size and strength also to take the rock inside. He will score a lot of points for the Maryland program. “Given Maryland’s need for big men, he should get some minutes,” Cavanaugh said “As a sophomore he should take off and start at Maryland. The following year Maryland will lose some more big men. He will play as a freshman. He has gotten bigger and really toned his body into an NBA body.”

Garrison, a 6-9 forward from DeMatha High School in Maryland, is likely to receive a lot of passes also from his future point guard teammate in Johnny Gilchrist (left), a lightning quick 6-1, 180 pound point guard from Salem H.S. in Virginia Beach, Va. He committed to Maryland over North Carolina State. On a couple of occasions, it looked like State would win this battle. “Gary Williams hung tough,” Cavanaugh said. “He will be a typical Gary Williams point guard. He can score when needed but is a very good distributor of the ball. He has a big heart and works hard. He can slice up a defense. He has won at every level. They needed a blue chip point guard.”

So just the combination of the quick Gilchrist dishing off to a great scorer like Garrison makes this class pretty exciting already for Maryland fans. Gilchrist can score too. As a junior this past season at Salem, Gilchrist averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals per game. He said he has a 2.9 GPA and has attained a qualifying SAT score.

Gilchrist will also have a couple of other players to find along the perimeter and inside when he is on the court. Chris McCray (right), a 6-5, 170-pound shooting guard from Fairmont Heights High School in Capital Heights, MD, was the first in the class of 2002 to verbal to Maryland. When McCray committed to Maryland he said: "I am just in a good situation there," McCray said. "Coach Dickerson and coach Gary Williams explained everything to me. There is playing time there for me. All I have to do is work hard."

Cavanaugh also stated: “Chris is a slender, sweet stroking guard. He has better athletic ability than people think. He is more aggressive than he was a year ago. He will drive to the basket and challenge people. Each week he gets stronger. I would like to see him beat people off the dribble more. Gary Williams will make him a better player. The thing I like him as opposed to last year is he will go up and try to dunk on bigger people now. He is more confident in his game. He has worked hard on his handle too.”

Maryland also added Nik Caner-Medley, a 6-7, 210-pound combination forward from Deering H.S. in Portland, Maine. He had a top three at one point in his recruiting process of Maryland, Missouri, and Connecticut. Nik works hard all the time and this is a positive aspect. “Nik is a 4-3-2 flexible player,” Cavanaugh said. “He is a three man who can stroke it. He is a very good athlete. He likes hanging around the rim. He plays above the rim. He doesn’t care where he plays; he just wants to play. He is not a prolific scorer just yet but will be a very good college player for Gary Williams.”

It is likely Maryland will offer Jamar Smith of Allegany Junior College of Cumberland, Maryland. He has already taken a visit to Maryland. Smith, 6-9, 220-pounds, can step right in and deliver some impact minutes for Maryland. He can play either forward position. He averaged eight points and five rebounds last season and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor.

If Smith lands in College Park, it is wise to put Maryland at least in your top 10 as far as recruiting classes. Cavanaugh believes this could end up being Gary Williams’ best class ever. “This class has everything,” Cavanaugh said. “Gary and his staff did a great job. There is a lot of upside to this class too.”