Terrell Stoglin, junior basketball star from Santa Rita High School, has verbally committed to the University of Maryland.
He could start at point guard as a freshman for the Terrapins. Stoglin is Tucson’s first major Division-I commitment in about 20 years.
He averaged 27 points, two steals and 7.5 assists per game in the high school season.
Maryland coaches offered him a place on the team right before the state championship game, which Santa Rita lost. Stoglin said he accepted the offer Wednesday night on the phone with Maryland coach Gary Williams.
“He told me they put a lot of trust in me to help the team get back to the Sweet 16,” he said.
Maryland won the NCAA national championship in 2002.
“It feels real good. I’m just trying to get there and contribute to the team,” Stoglin said.
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Stoglin has been player of the year in Tucson for two years in a row and is a two-time all-state player. Other schools he considered included Arizona, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech.
Arizona interested him, but coaching changes and players decommitting made him worry, he said.
Santa Rita coach Jim Ferguson and Stoglin’s family support his choice.
"They've been watching him and they like what they see,” Ferguson said. “They have a point guard who's graduating and he can move right it."
"I don't know if Tucson's ever sent a player to play in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)," Ferguson said.
Other schools that Stoglin considered, including USC and UCLA, already have recruited point guards from the class of 2010, Ferguson said.
Stoglin said “the only reason I committed so early was I felt like it (Maryland) was the place I needed to be.”
Stoglin and Ferguson plan to visit the Maryland campus, including the journalism school, in June.
“... It’s a long way from home but I think Terrell wants to go play at the highest level he can,” Ferguson said.
Stoglin, 17, said his ultimate goal is to play professional basketball.
“I feel Coach Gary Williams can get me to the next level,” he said.
NCAA rules prohibit Maryland coaches from talking about its recruits until a letter of intent is signed. Stoglin said he will likely sign next year.
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