Cassidy's Takeaways: Mayhem in Maryland

BALTIMORE – Friday night marked the start of this year’s Mayhem in Maryland Grassroots event. A lot of the marquee 2023 names won’t enter the fray until Saturday morning, so the underclassmen carried the banner on day one. Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy was on hand as well and provides news and notes on the day that was in the The Old Line State below.

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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Rivals150

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Class of 2024 forward Jadyn Harris is already on the radars of a number of college coaches. Being the No. 67 prospect in the Rivals150 will do that for you, after all. He holds offers from NC State, Maryland and Utah State.

But while Harris is certainly honored by every program's involvement and plans to seriously explore the offers he has in hand, it’s LSU’s recent involvement that has him wide-eyed. The Tigers are yet to make things official with an offer, but things seem to be trending in that direction.

“LSU came out to my high school to see me,” Harris said. “Both coach Matt [McMahon] and Ronnie Hamilton came. They saw me and now they are pretty much recruiting me the hardest. That's really cool because I’m from Louisiana and grew up an LSU fan.”

Harris says his favorite LSU player of all time is Jabari Parker and says he has multiple non-basketball playing cousins that have attended the school. As far as the next step between the Tigers and Harris goes, however, that seems simple.

“They want me to come there as soon as I can and visit,” Harris said “We are going to find a date soon.”

Illinois, Virginia Tech, Virginia and South Carolina are also involved but have yet to pull the trigger on an offer.

Luke Bamgboye has been in the United States just more than a full year and is already starting to develop a reputation as a high-level rim protector and all-around intriguing long-term prospect. The England-born big man holds an early offer from Towson, but other programs are starting to enter the mix.

On Friday, the 6-foot-10 sophomore said he’s been in recent contact with Stanford, DePaul and Elon and also mentioned that he’s also spoken with coaches from Temple, a program that has taken a particular shine to his potential. No offer from the Owls is on the table just yet, but the four-star prospect is in the process of setting up a date to tour the school’s campus.

“All I know [about Temple] so far is that they’re in Philly,” Bamgboye said on Friday. “I don’t know a lot yet because I don’t know a lot about colleges yet. I’m going to go visit and learn.”

For the time being, Temple and DePaul seem closest to making things official with scholarship offers. Bamgboye, who blocked 14 shots in a single game during the high school season, made some waves during the first live period, however, and could see a long list of other schools become involved if he continues to gain weight and become a more consistent offensive threat.

Rivals won’t release 2025 rankings until after the July live period, but a pair of freshmen playing for Maryland’s Team Thrill grassroots squad have put their names on the radar for the Rivals150 debate.

Both forward Chris Thomas and point guard Tyler Jackson saw limited minutes on Friday because their team built a massive early lead, but it’s clear that each member of the duo has a high-major future.

The 6-foot-6 Thomas projects as a power forward at the next level but runs the court incredibly well for his youth and size. He needs to become a more consistent shooter, but he showed the ability to knock down an open 3-pointer on Friday night. He also handles the ball fairly well and showcases impressive body control for such a young prospect. Rhode Island, George Mason and Bryant have already offered Thomas, who says he is most intrigued by the Patriots, as his father has a relationship with head coach Kim English.

Meanwhile, Jackson, who played even less than Thomas in the blowout victory, already holds an offer from Illinois and showcased the court vision of a mature prospect, despite being just a freshman. And while he shined more as a facilitator and a defender on Friday, he also has the ability to knock down jumpers from the perimeter. Jackson turned some heads during the April live period and could be in for a massive July.