Diamond Stone's Surprise: Heading To Maryland

Maryland exceeded expectations this past season going 28-7 in their first year in the Big 10 and now they've exceeded expectations on the recruiting front with the unexpected commitment of five-star center Diamond Stone. The 6’10” big man from Milwaukee committed to Maryland on Friday night and in turn significantly raised expectations for the Terps in 2015-16.

Diamond Stone - Maryland

Diamond Stone’s name first popped on the radar early on in 2012 as he established himself as one of the top players in his class back as an overpowering freshman. He won a Wisconsin Division 4 championship during his first year of high school and just capped off his fourth title in a row at Dominican high school with a 23 point, 15 rebound performance over a week ago. Through it all, Stone maintained his status as one of the top players in his class while holding down the No. 1 ranking at times and is now considered a consensus top five player.

Over the past two summers, Stone was a regular with the USA basketball program and won gold medals in 2013 at the U16 FIBA Americas and in 2014 at the U17 FIBA World Championship. He started all 12 games for the U.S. and averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 2013 and 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds this past summer.  

Recruitment:

Stone’s recruitment is similar to that of a long, windy road with many twists and turns. Wisconsin and Marquette established themselves early on in Stone’s recruitment. Buzz Williams and Bo Ryan were both seen all over Wisconsin watching Stone’s high school and AAU teams play. Marquette was rumored to be the early leader with Stone taking numerous unofficial visits to the campus right next door. Soon schools from all over the country joined in the race as Stone racked up offers from Georgetown, Indiana, and UCLA. It wasn’t long before the two Tobacco Road powers entered the scene with both Duke and North Carolina extending offers. Both Coach K and Roy Williams took multiple trips up to Wisconsin during Stone’s junior year, but neither one made the final four cut. As soon as Buzz left for Virginia Tech, Marquette dropped out (as they also received a commitment from Henry Ellenson). The four schools that remained were Wisconsin, Connecticut, Oklahoma State, and Maryland. To most pundits, Maryland was the surprise pick and seemed like a long shot. Just this past summer it seemed as though UConn was the leader and the much discussed package deal with Malik Newman was in play. In October, Stone took official visits to all four schools, but it was Mark Turgeon and the Terps that won out in the end.

While Stone’s recruitment has been extremely tight lipped over the years, there appear to be two logical reasons for Stone’s commitment. For one, the Terps are now a Big 10 school and travel throughout the Midwest but more importantly they are an Under Armour program. Stone has played on the Under Armour AAU circuit the past few years with the apparel company sponsoring the Young Legends from Milwaukee, which is a team that was started by Stone’s father. This year the Young Legends will have their 16U team competing in the Under Armour Association. Maryland made a strong push two years ago for the Harrison twins using their Under Armour connection, but now they have landed their highest rated recruit in recent memory.

Maryland:

After going 9-9 in the ACC and missing the NCAA tournament in 2014, the Terps suffered a tumultuous off-season losing five players to transfer including starting guard Seth Allen and big man Charles Mitchell. The Terps brought in a strong freshmen class to offset the transfers and Melo Trimble, the Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year exceeded all expectations as he led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game. The Terps shocked Iowa State early on in the season and then went into East Lansing in their first Big 10 game and emerged victorious. While they went down in the Round of 32 to West Virginia, the Terps really only lose their second leading scorer in Dez Wells and guard Richard Pauk who averaged under six points a game. With Trimble returning, the Terps will have some fire power to go along with a smooth shooting sophomore Jared Nickens and a potential first round draft pick in Jake Layman. In addition to Stone, the Terps return sophomore Damonte Dodd, freshman Michal Cekovsky, and gain the services of former Georgia Tech big man Robert Carter. The future is bright in College Park as the Terps look to take over the top spot in the Big 10.

Stone Analysis:

At 6’10”, 246 pounds, Stone is the most complete low post player in the 2015 class. While people should not expect him to put up Jahlil Okafor numbers, Stone is similar to the current top freshman in the country in that they both know their strengths lie down low. Stone has a good set of hands when passes are sent his way and impressive footwork as well. His ability to score with both his right and left hands allows him to convert on jump hooks and up and unders around the basket. While Stone prefers to score close to the basket he is comfortable banking in shots from outside the key and stepping out to 12-15 feet. He has displayed the ability to knock in three’s, but he likely won’t be taking many in college. Stone’s energy level and explosiveness are question marks, but he has shown improvements in both areas recently. A reasonable expectation for Stone’s freshman season would be that of Myles Turner and not Okafor. Turner averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds a game at Texas this past season which Stone could possibly push to 12 points and seven boards a game. If Stone does that combined with Trimble’s exploits, then Maryland will definitely be playing until at least the second week of the tournament next season.

Maryland's Latest Commitment: Jared Nickens

On Sunday afternoon head coach Mark Turgeon and Maryland picked up their third recruit from the class of 2014 in 6’6” wing Jared Nickens who recently finished his junior year at Westtown High in Pennsylvania. This commitment gives the Terps another versatile player to go along with point guard Romelo Trimble and sharp shooter Dion Wiley. 

While Trimble and Wiley made their names early on in their high school careers, Nickens is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential. Although he did not join his two future teammates at the recent NBPA Top 100 camp, Nickens was named to the Under Armour Invitational All-Star game that recently took place in Las Vegas. 

Jared Nickens

During the first live recruiting session in April, Nickens led his Sports U / Team Izod AAU team to the championship with a win over future teammate Trimble and his DC Assault AAU team in the Pitt Jam Fest. Nickens was arguably the most impressive and consistent player during the three day period and Turgeon was one of the few high major head coaches to appear for all three days in Pittsburgh. While Turgeon was there to support his future point guard in Trimble he also witnessed numerous Sports U games and obviously liked what he saw.

Over a three day span, Nickens was the most impressive player for the tournament champions. One of the many tall and lengthy wings in the tournament, Nickens possessed the best ability to score at all three levels in the 17U age group. He knocked down deep threes with consistency, showed a soft touch on his mid-range jump shots, and finished above the rim with ease when around the basket. With a game similar to that of Rashad Vaughn, Nickens churned out impressive game after game in Pittsburgh. Nickens will need to add some weight to his frame in the future, but for now he proved to be one of the top scorers on the Under Armour circuit.

Over the past year, Nickens expanded his game from just a shooter to a well-rounded offensive threat. While not an amazing athlete, Nickens is athletic enough to get to the rim off the dribble and finish amongst taller opponents. He also relies on a nice fade-away jump shot to create additional open space on his shots. 

As noted in April, Nickens needs to add strength to his frame especially with Maryland’s move into the Big 10. Right now his lengthy wing span offsets his lack of strength but that might not always work in the future. 

With this recent commitment, Mark Turgeon made it clear that he plans on having Maryland basketball back on the map sooner rather than later. Just over one week ago, Turgeon was being praised for his ability to land the top player from both the DC area AAU powerhouses in Team Takeover and DC Assault. Now with a commitment from the under rated Nickens, Maryland is set at the guard and small forward positions in the years to come and can focus on recruiting quality big men to College Park.

Pitt Jam Fest Recap
Pitt Jam Fest: Day 2

An Opening Day Look Back

The college basketball season kicked off on November 9, 2012 with games being played in Germany, aircraft carriers, and the new Barclay’s Center. With the brackets being released, here is a look back at certain games of interest:

Connecticut 66 Michigan State 62 – In the first game of Kevin Ollie’s coaching career he led the Huskies to a victory over Tom Izzo and the Spartans at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Shabazz Napier led the way with 25 points. Now: Uconn finished the season with a 10-8 conference record and is currently ineligible for the NCAA tournament while Michigan State received a 3 seed in the Midwest bracket.

Miami 87 Stetson 79 – Miami was tied at the half before outscoring Stetson 53-45in the second half. Miami had five players score in double figures led by big man Kenny Kadji (12 points / 12 rebounds) and Reggie Johnson (22 points / 11 rebounds). Only seven Hurricanes saw the floor with one of them being freshman high riser Bishop Daniels who departed the team after three games. Now: Miami ended the season with a regular season ACC title and an ACC tournament title earning a two seed in the East bracket. Point guard Shane Larkin turned into one of the best point guards in the country and the Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the country. I don’t think anyone predicted this after a close home opener against Stetson.

North Carolina 76 Gardner Webb 59 – After losing four starters to the NBA draft, big things were expected from James Michael McAdoo. He delivered in the home opener with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore P.J. Hairston played 14 minutes and scored two points on 1-6 shooting. Now: After a lackluster start to the season, P.J. Hairston was inserted into the starting lineup on February 13, 2013. With the Heels on the verge of not making the tournament, Hairston led the team to an 8-3 record down the stretch with almost 30 minutes and 18 points per game. McAdoo received 2^nd team All-ACC although his draft stock slipped throughout the year. Despite the late season turn around, the 8-3 push was not enough to offset the early losses and UNC received an 8 seed in the South.

Ohio St. vs. Marquette – This match-up was supposed to take place on an aircraft carrier in South Carolina but was cancelled due to weather conditions. Now: Ohio State won the Big 10 tournament title and earned a 2 seed in the West, while Marquette tied Georgetown and Louisville in the Big East regular season with a 14-4 conference record. Marquette earned a 3 seed in the East.

Bucknell 70 Purdue 65 – An experience Bucknell team came into West Lafayette and earned a victory over the young and inexperienced Boilermakers. Bucknell outscored Purdue by nine points in the second half as Mike Muscala finished with a double double (14 and 10) and junior Cameron Ayers scored 18. Now: Bucknell won the Patriot League and Mike Muscala won his second POY award in the league. Bucknell earned an 11 seed and faces off against another team from Indiana in the Butler Bulldogs. Bucknell was a six point underdog against Purdue and now in the tournament they are 3.5 point underdogs against Butler. Meanwhile, the inexperienced Purdue team had some big wins but not nearly enough as they finished under .500 for the season. 

Kentucky 72 Maryland 69 – These two teams kicked things off in the shiny new Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. The defending champs held off Maryland in the second half receiving 19 points from one of the few returning players in sophomore Kyle Wiltjier and an unexpected 10 points from Jarrod Polson. NBA scouts were able to witness two top big men go head to head in Maryland’s Alex Len and Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel. Len got the better of Noel in Noel’s first college game scoring 23 points on 10-18 shooting. Now: At the beginning of the year Kentucky was ranked #3 in the AP Poll and nobody would have been surprised with another one seed coming Kentucky’s way in March 2013. Well, that number one seed sure came; however it came in the NIT. Despite home wins against Missouri and Florida, the loss of Noel crippled the Wildcats as did their SEC tourney game against Vanderbilt. While Kentucky earned a one seed in the NIT, Maryland earned itself a 2 seed in the same tournament. Maryland had some big wins against Duke, but they also had some rough losses and were too inconsistent to earn a tournament berth. This was one of the most intriguing match-ups of the day and could be one of the most intriguing potential match-ups under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden in the NIT final four. 

Florida vs. Georgetown – Florida came into their carrier match-up ranked #10 in the country and five point favorites over an unranked Georgetown team. Playing in Jacksonville, FL, Florida took a 27-23 lead into the half before the game was called due to condensation on the court. Will Yeguete led the way with eight points while sophomore Otto Porter led the way for Georgetown with seven. Now: While this game never finished on November 9^th, it could finish on March 29^th in Texas for a sweet 16 match-up. Georgetown turned the corner during conference play and won the Big East regular season title earning itself a two seed, while Florida won the SEC regular season title and a three seed. While Georgetown was an underdog in the first meeting, they will most likely be a favorite if both teams take care of business this upcoming weekend. 

Colorado State 72 Montana 65 – In one of only two games on opening night to feature two NCAA tournament teams, Colorado State was led by Colton Iverson with 18 points and 8 rebounds and outscored Montana by 14 points in the 2^nd half. Montana was without their top player Will Cherry who returned on December 15^th. Now: Colorado State finished 2^nd in the Mountain West during the regular season and earned an eight seed in the Midwest bracket, while Montana won the Big Sky tournament championship and faces off against Syracuse as a 13 seed.

While opening night kicked off with games in Germany, Hawaii, and everywhere in between, March Madness will tip with games in Dayton, OH. Looking back on November 9^th, it is safe to say that much has changed in the college basketball landscape over the past four months. Plenty more will change over the next three weeks.