Where's the Recruiting?

Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay... What do these players all have in common? All of these guys came out of the Baltimore-D.C. area but none of them played at Maryland. Instead these guys were recruited and played for national powerhouses around the country. Missing out on big name recruits from the area has brought on many questions about Gary Williams ability (or lack there of) to recruit.

After Maryland's national championship in 2002, it looked like Maryland was going to become a national powerhouse for years to come. What followed was a series of promising recruits that never turned out for the Terps. Travis Garrison was a McDonalds All-American out of high school who was a formidable power forward in his final two years at Maryland, but never came anywhere near to the expectations placed on him. What most people don't know about Mike Jones is that he was the #2 overall recruit behind Lebron James in 2003. However his lack of defense and poor care with the ball overshadowed his athleticism and pure shooting stroke. Other guys like John Gilchrist, Nik Caner-Medley, and James Gist showed flashes of brilliance but none became the go-to player the team desperately needed.

A lot of the blame has been placed on Gary Williams for not being able to get the big recruits out of Baltimore, one of the three best hotbeds for basketball talent. But with all the major schools in the country competing for these players, its not easy for Gary to get them to commit. It seems like Gary is looking for the hard-working, character guys instead of the highly touted players anyway. But the Juan Dixons and Steve Blakes are hard to find these days. More than ever, Maryland needs to pull in a player that can change the program just like Len Bias or Joe Smith did before. But with other nearby teams like Georgetown, George Mason, and West Virginia emerging, it's going to become even harder for Maryland to land the big names.

I'm not one of those fans already calling for Gary's head. I mean the guy has over 600 wins and two final fours under his belt. He has single-handedly turned this program around and made it one of the elite. But I will say that the calls to have Gary fired will be justified if he doesn't do something soon to turn things around. That will all come down to recruiting.