Terps make the cut for top-100 wing as other targets fly off the board
Maryland has been quiet on the recruiting trail when it comes to expanding their target list recently, but four-star St. Louis Christian Academy (Mo.) small forward Jordan Nesbitt -- who was the last class of 2021 recruit to earn an offer from the staff more than a month ago -- included the Terps in his top-11 Friday. Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa State, Memphis, Nebraska, Seton Hall, SLU, Texas and Virginia Tech also made the cut for the Missouri product.
The Terps haven’t recruited Nesbitt for as long as most of the programs that made the cut, but they could potentially turn up the heat on him now with many of their long-standing wing targets flying off the board at a rapid rate. This week alone saw Maryland targets Jordan Hawkins, a local top-50 shooting guard from DeMatha, and Josh Minott, a jumbo 6-foot-8 small forward from Florida, announce commitments to UConn and Memphis, respectively. Another player who was high on Maryland’s wish list, five-star guard Jalen Warley from Philadelphia, no longer has the Terps under consideration and is set to choose between Florida State, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia on Sunday.
While their target list is dwindling, not all of Maryland’s recent misses have necessarily been contested. The Terps never appeared all-in on Hawkins, who received an offer from the hometown school late in the recruiting process and told SI Friday that one of the reasons he chose the Huskies was because they were understanding of his plan to stay in college for just a year or two. Minott, meanwhile, had Maryland in his top-five, but he’s a fringe top-100 player who wasn’t mentioned as a top target before he cut his list last month and as a 6-foot-8 guard, the opportunity to play former NBA all-star Penny Hardaway at Memphis seemed too good for him to pass up. Missing out on Warley might hurt the most, but the Terps appear more focused on adding another prototypical wing to their roster rather than a combo guard this cycle, which could be viewed as a sign that the staff likes what they’ve seen from incoming freshmen Marcus Dockery and Aquan Smart so far. (Dockery has reportedly been a pleasant surprise during the team’s offseason workouts.)
Standing at 6-foot-6, 180 pounds, Nesbitt certainly fits the mold of a prototypical wing and he could possibly even play some small ball four as well, as he averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior at St. Louis Christian Academy. His scouting report reads similar to Maryland commit Ike Cornish, with his length, athleticism and competitiveness listed among his best traits, and it’s almost never a bad thing to have a surplus of tough-minded, versatile wings and forwards -- a belief that Terps coach Mark Turgeon seems to be taking to heart this cycle as Darryl Morsell enters his final season. (In addition to adding another versatile wing like Nesbitt or Florida four-star Wesley Cardet Jr., Turgeon’s also looking to bring in another forward who can play inside and out to pair with Julian Reese, and the Terps have moved into pole position for Wisconsin native James Graham, a highly-sought prospect who can do just that.)
While the Terps don’t appear to be one of the frontrunners for Nesbitt at this stage, there’s a good chance he could still end up in the Big Ten as both Illinois and Nebraska have built strong relationships with him. He took his first official visit to Nebraska last September and raved about the experience, while he snuck in a trip to Illinois in March right before the COVID-19 pandemic put recruiting visits on hold. Memphis is another program mentioned as a possible landing spot, but they don't have much room for another wing after landing Minott.
Basketball & recruiting writer