Maryland inked a top notch point guard for its incoming 2011 class by signing Sterling Gibbs out of Seton Hall Prep on Monday. The 6′1″ 180 pounder was ranked #135 on the Rivals Top 150 and #31 among point guard prospects. Gibbs reportedly chose UMD over six other schools, including Indiana, Pitt, St. Johns, and hometown Seton Hall.
Maryland continues to sign recruits form the NYC area, and is proving to be competitive against its Big East rivals in that regard. Seton Hall Prep is one of the premiere private high school programs in the NY metro area, and you can bet that Gibbs will be well coached in advance of joining the team, like his older brother Ashton who plays for Pitt. Unfortunately, Gibbs was a Chuck Driesell recruit, which further demonstrates the hole Chuck’s departure leaves in talent recruiting.
The word on Gibbs is that he is shoot first point guard, and he seems undersized for the two. One thing that confuses me is that, if that’s the case, then isn’t Gibbs just like having another Terrell Stoglin? Gibbs’s signing does show that Gary Williams preference for “pure” point guards has disappeared. It seems that the flex offense can flourish with a dangerous shooter at the point, a la Gilchrist and Vasquez. More on Gibbs later.
I totally agree on the point about combo guards. Some have said Gibbs is on the “pure” side, but he isn’t fully pure. I still believe Terrell Stoglin will inherit the point guard position, with Pe’Shon Howard and Gibbs chipping in. It’s a little confusing, but I guess you can’t have too many ball handlers, especially in the ACC.
All of these guys are competent ball handlers. One regard in which they fit the Gary Williams mold is that they are superior athletes. You can teach a guy to quarterback a team as long as they’ve demonstrated that they have court vision, and the reports on Gibbs and Stoglin are that they do. I’m sure they just had a shoot first mentality in H.S. because they were the best scoring option. Gary will work with them at this level to run the point.
Also, probably good to note this is for 2011, not 2010. Gibbs is Maryland’s first commitment from that class year.