Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne, the core of the Terps’ 2006 recruiting class who just finished up their four-year run, made up the most productive such group post-National Championship (2002.)
The trio (Jerome Burney was also in the class but injuries derailed his career. Bambale Osby was a Junior College transfer) finished with a four-year record of 89-47, three NCAA Tournament appearances and an ACC co-regular season title. Vasquez finished second all-time in scoring; Hayes and Milbourne each recorded over 1,000 points.
That’s why the incoming class of 2010, three members of which participated in last night’s Capital Classic at American University, is so vital.
After Cliff Tucker, Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory finish up their eligibility next season, Mychal Parker, Terrell Stoglin, Pe’Shon Howard, Haukur Palsson and Ashton Pankey serve as the next core group of players who will go through the four-year cycle together, at least in theory. As we’re about to find out, things happen over four years – transfers, injuries and early departures foremost among them.
But among the incoming commits, there seems to be a real sense of the void they must fill, and of the fact that they’ll always be grouped together.
As far as four-year cycles go, this is what they’ll be compared to, at least post-national championship. Following is a rundown of each class with at least five recruits since the infamous class of 2002:
Class of 2002: 79-48 record, 2 NCAA Tournament appearances (1 Sweet 16, 1 second round), 2 NIT bids, 2004 ACC Tournament championship
PG John Gilchrist: MVP of 2004 ACC Tournament, left after contentious 2004-2005 junior season
SG Chris McCray: Averaged 10.7 ppg before being declared academically ineligible in middle of 2005-2006 senior season.
SF Nik Caner-Medley: Averaged 12.3 ppg and 5.1 rpg over four-year career. Totaled over 1,500 career points and over 600 career rebounds. Led team in scoring in senior season.
PF Jamar Smith: Junior college transfer averaged 13.1 ppg and 8.8 rpg in senior season of 2003-2004. Helped stabilize the team’s frontcourt situation after Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle’s eligibility ran out in 2003.
PF Travis Garrison: McDonald’s All-American who never lived up to the hype surrounding him coming out of DeMatha High School. Averaged 7.5 ppg and 5 rpg.
Class of 2003: 83-47 record, 2 NCAA Tournament appearances (2 second round), 2 NIT bids
SG D.J. Strawberry: Led team in scoring during senior season of 2006-2007, in which he led the Terps back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Averaged 10.1 ppg for his career and finished as a 1,000-point scorer.
SG Mike Jones: Highly-touted recruit was often criticized for one-dimensional perimeter game before helping lead the Terps in his senior season of 2006-2007. 41 percent career three-point shooter averaged 9.2 ppg and finished with over 1,000.
PF Ekene Ibekwe: Athletic big man more known for his blocking and rebounding ability than his scoring touch, averaged 8.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Averaged 2.7 bpg in senior season.
PF Hassan Fofana: Transferred to Loyola early in 2004-2005 season.
C Will Bowers: Reserve seven-footer who averaged only 10.1 mpg over four-year career.
Class of 2006: 89-47 record, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances (3 second round), 1 NIT bid, 2009-2010 ACC co-regular season championship
PG Greivis Vasquez: Very likely the best Terp post-Dixon/Baxter/Blake passed Len Bias for second on program’s all-time career scoring list. First player in ACC history to compile at least 2,000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds. Averaged 15.9 ppg over four-year career and was named 2009-2010 ACC Player of the Year.
PG Eric Hayes: 6-foot-4 Virginia native started freshman year at point guard before Vasquez took over mid-season. Still ended up with a solid four-year career which included a 9 ppg average and a 45 percent 3-point shooting rate during his senior season.
SF Landon Milbourne: At 6-foot-7, Milbourne often played power forward despite being undersized. Averaged 15.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg over a 12-game stretch to start the 2010 calendar year, but his production fell off as his senior season wore on.
PF Bambale Osby: Junior college transfer proved a surprisingly solid player down low for the Terps in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons. Averaged 11.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 2.1 bpg in 2007-2008.
C Jerome Burney: Chronic foot injuries hurt Burney’s development. Atlanta native served as team’s assistant strength and conditioning coach last season.
Class of 2007: 64-38 record over three seasons, 2 NCAA Tournament appearances (2 second round), 1 NIT bid, 2009-2010 ACC co-regular season championship, one season remaining
SG Adrian Bowie: Montrose Christian product improved jump shot over latter stages of 2009-2010 junior season but overall production (9 points in 24.1 mpg vs. 4.8 points in 15.7 mpg) waned from sophomore season. Depending on progress of Stoglin and Howard, Bowie could be called upon to handle major point guard responsibilities next season despite the fact he seems more natural as a slashing 2-guard.
SF Cliff Tucker: 6-foot-6 forward with ballhandling and perimeter shooting ability has been mostly an enigma so far. Tucker expressed frustration at his lack of playing time during his 2008-2009 sophomore season before accepting his role off the bench. Has had some memorable moments worthy of his talent (22 points off the bench in a 2009 upset win against No. 3 North Carolina and this season’s buzzer-beater against Georgia Tech) but about as many frustrating stretches of inconsistent play.
PF Shane Walker: Transferred to Loyola after his freshman season. In first year of eligibility under coach Jimmy Patsos, averaged 8.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg.
PF Dino Gregory: 2007 Baltimore City Player of the Year was suspended for the first eight games of season. Helped stabilize the Terps’ frontcourt rotation when he returned, though he will likely have to improve on 4.2 ppg/3.4 rpg average if the Terps are going to re-create their success from last season.
C Braxton Dupree: Four-star recruit from Baltimore transferred after sophomore year filled with disappointment and questions about his weight and hands down low. Sat out 2009-2010 season at Towson and will be eligible to play this season.
Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. E-mail him at akrautdbk@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter.