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Diamond Stone commits to Maryland: Terrapins get No. 5 recruit in nation

By Patrick Schmidt

Jan 15, 2014; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts to the teams first half play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Comcast Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2014; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts to the teams first half play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Comcast Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
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One of the best high school basketball recruits in the nation, Diamond Stone committed to the Maryland Terrapins. 

The Maryland Terrapins had their NCAA Tournament run come to an abrupt end against West Virginia in the third round after they were able to sneak past No. 13 Valparaiso in the second round, but they got good news on Friday night.

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Diamond Stone (Milwaukee, WI Dominican) committed to head coach Mark Turgeon and Maryland as the Terps got the nation’s No. 5 player overall and the No. 2 center, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The 6-10, 246-pound center picked Maryland over Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Connecticut. He previously had Duke in his group of finalists but dropped the Blue Devils last fall.

With Stone in the mix for next year’s team, Maryland could feature a starting five of Dion Wiley, Melo Trimble, Jake Layman and Robert Carter which could be good enough to challenge Stone’s hometown team and finalist, Wisconsin for the Big Ten title. One of his future teammates, Carter, already tweeted his thoughts on the commitment and welcomed him to the family.

One recruiting nugget that could have played a large role in Stone’s decision to commit to Maryland is their relationship with Under Armour, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

He tweeted Stone is an Under Armour kid and with Maryland being the flagship Under Armour program in the country, it made sense for Stone to head there and could be in line for a sponsorship from the shoe and apparel company when he heads to the NBA.

Maryland’s March came to an end much earlier than Turgeon, the players and fans had hoped, but this is a nice consolation prize that should have all parties involved optimistic about next year’s Tournament run with Stone playing a big part in the team’s future success.

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