Maryland Basketball (some football) recruiting news (Shaq, Layman Commits!)

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Shaquille Cleare, a 6-10, 285-pound center out of Texas, has signed to play basketball at Maryland.

Cleare, from The Village School in Houston, is ranked No. 29 by Rivals.com.

Writes Damon Sales of TexasHoops.com: Cleare brings power and intensity to the court, but he also has soft hands and a nice touch from 12 feet and within.

"I think everybody is sleeping on the kid," Aaron Harrison, Cleare's AAU coach told ESPN's Dave Telep. "What people don't know is that he's a relentless workout machine. He's not overweight, that's just his size. He's a different kind of animal. People haven't realized that but he is. I can't tell you where his ceiling is at. He's only been playing basketball four years."

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...uille-cleare/1

---------- Post added August-24th-2011 at 05:05 PM ----------

With Cleare in the fold, it seems possible that Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon and his staff could be on the verge of adding commitments from some of the other top prospects they have been recruiting.

“I think so,” Harvey said. “I think a lot of guys were waiting on him. By him going ahead and getting it over with, I think you’ll see some of the other guys start to fall and go that way as well.”

Maryland began recruiting Cleare early in the process, with former coach Gary Williams and his staff making inroads.

“He fell in love with Gary Williams and when Gary Williams left, Shaq was devastated,” Harvey said. “What pulled Shaq to Gary Williams was his ability to put players at the next level. But the school that was next on his list was [Texas] A&M and we know how that ended up. They hired Turgeon and Maryland was even higher on his list.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...sTbJ_blog.html

[GoSkins561]

Great news, MD needs all of the size we can get, let's hope the NCAA and the NBA create some type of draft agreement that is similar to the NFL. Getting 3 years of top recruits would be awesome.

[mjah]

So why are Maryland's new football uniforms orange instead of red?

Ouch! Harsh light, crappy camera, bad image adjustment in the marketing dept., or all three?

Better color reproduction below. I'd still prefer a darker red.

[pjfootballer]

Oh great, Nike is turning the Terps into the friggin Oregon Ducks! BLEH!!!!!

[Warpath11]

Oh great, UA is turning the Terps into the friggin Oregon Ducks! BLEH!!!!!

fiixt...

[Goingforburgundy]

I come back from a work seminar to read this. GIGGITY!!!

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

This is just like the Nike-Oregon situation...except without the cool styles and wins.

[Forehead]

This is just like the Nike-Oregon situation...except without the cool styles and wins.

It's funny because it's true....well, the wins part anyway. I hate Maryland, but even I'll admit some of the color schemes look decent.

[mjah]

This is just like the Nike-Oregon situation...except without the cool styles and wins.

Oregon has cool styles? Since when?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Oregon has cool styles? Since when?

I like nearly 43 percent of Oregon's football uniforms.

[Fight4RGIII]

Of course it is like Oregon, that is what UA and MD is aiming for. These uni's may not be great looking to middle aged and older folks but it could really appeal to the younger generation and recruits, and in the end, that is all that matters.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

The University of Maryland announced today that they have received a commitment from Shaquille Cleare. The 6’9” center from Houston will be a huge addition to a team in desperate need of frontcourt help.

ESPN has him ranked as the No. 40 overall recruit for 2012. They describe Cleare as having “good hands, light feet and excellent touch around the basket.” He has a large body and the ability to become one of the best rebounders in the country.

When he arrives, he will instantly help a Maryland team that is down to eight scholarship players for this upcoming season. The team’s frontcourt was weakened when star sophomore center Jordan Williams declared for the NBA draft. This created a domino effect as shortly following this announcement, long-time head coach Gary Williams retired. Two recruits decided to de-commit from the school, leaving the team severely short-handed for this upcoming season.

New head coach Mark Turgeon knows that this will be an uphill battle this upcoming season. As a result, he has hit the recruiting trail hard to improve the future of this team. For this reason, Shaq Cleare’s commitment has deeper importance. The Terrapins are also targeting Cleare’s teammates Aaron and Andrew Harrison. The twins are very highly-ranked players in the 2013 class, and they might feel comfortable playing with their old center.

Top recruits usually like to play with other great players. Few young athletes want to be stuck on a losing team. With Maryland looking at a long 2011-2012 season with its shorthanded roster, it is important to show future recruits that they can compete. With Shaquille Cleare, Maryland fans and top targets know that there will be a winning program on the horizon.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/8...aquille-cleare

[mjah]

I like nearly 43 percent of Oregon's football uniforms.

The diversity of humankind never fails to astound me.

[pjfootballer]

The only one I like and it's a slight like is the white jersey with the yellow pants. I like their current red jersey with white pants. I hate when they go mostly or all black. I love when the basketball team pulls out the old yellow unis. Looks like the days of Bias, Branch, Adkins, etc.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Mitch McGary will be visiting MD for the second time in the near future.