Jordan Williams will play for a state championship.
The Maryland power forward signee had a double-double in Torrington's 39-38 win over Lyman Hall in the Connecticut Class L semifinals on Wednesday. The future Terp's younger brother, Desmond Williams, hit the game-winning shot with 1.34 seconds remaining.
"I was right underneath the basket and I saw it going in the whole way," said Jordan Williams (17 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks), Desmond's more storied brother as a 6-foot-10 center heading for Maryland.
Williams will lead Torrington against Bulkeley on Saturday night for the state title.
• Maryland shooting guard target Lance Stephenson has made a decision on where he'll attend college. But the rest of the world won't know until his announcement April 1 at the McDonald's All-American Game.
Stephenson, who, along with teammate Darwin (Buddha) Ellis, would become the first player to win four PSAL city titles, said he has based his pick on the caliber of coach, the kind of players he will be surrounded by and what program gives him the best chance to win an NCAA championship. Kansas is the defending national champions while Maryland is a perennial contender.
St. John's is Stephenson's third finalist.
• FiveBoroSports.com profiled Stephenson's teammate, Terps power forward signee James Padgett, this week, crediting him with much of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln's success.
"James looks like the old James from last year," [Lincoln point guard Darwin] Ellis said. "I'm loving him. ... He's been playing like a Maryland player."
As Padgett's confidence grows, so does his teammates belief in him.
"He's been keeping it consistent, scoring big points," Ellis said. "When we need a basket we will feed it to him down low. We are not scared to throw it down there."
• Terrell Vinson led a well-balanced St. Frances scoring attack in the Panthers' 58-38 win over Bishop O'Connell in the opening round of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Cumberland last night.
The 6-foot-7 Vinson had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Williams 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Holmes and Lewis 10 points for St. Frances. Lewis, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, also had four blocked shots and four steals.
• UM shooting guard target Victor Oladipo helped DeMatha to a 83-50 rout of Bishop Walsh in another opening-round Alhambra matchup.
Naji Hibbert had 17 points and four steals and Victor Oladipo 13 points for DeMatha (31-3), the Washington Catholic League champion. Four others had eight points, including Mikael Hopkins, who had eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Quinn Cook dished out eight assists and had six rebounds.
• Terps shooting guard target Will Barton was named boys Athlete of the Week by The Baltimore Sun.
On Saturday, Barton set the tone in the Lakers' 75-50 win over Friendly in the title game, scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter, hitting two three pointers and a highlight dunk. He added nine rebounds and three assists.
He averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the season. Barton, who made the honor roll this year at Lake Clifton, hasn't selected a college.
• Antonio Barton, Will's younger brother, spoke to NBE Basketball Report this week about his recruitment.
"Miami, Virginia, Maryland, Seton Hall, Temple, LaSalle and a couple of other schools" are recruiting him, shared Antonio.
Could the [Barton brothers] end up a package deal? "It's some schools that want him that don't want me, and there are some schools that want me that don't want him" he said. "If it's a school that we both like, that we both want to go to, that would happen".
• Dave Leitao's departure from Virginia could help the Terps with at least one notable recruit, according to the Charlottesville Daily Progress.
With Leitao's dismissal, Virginia could also take a hit in its 2010 recruiting efforts. The Miller School's Mychal Parker and Eric Atkins (Mt. St. Joseph's, Columbia, Md.) were top targets.
• Foul trouble doomed Maryland women's center recruit Essence Townsend in Paterson Catholic's 72-52 loss to St. John Vianney in the semifinals of the New Jersey Tournament of Champions.
Townsend, who sat for the final 12:51 of the first half after being whistled for three fouls in 43 seconds, started the second half, but was back on the bench after being called for her fourth 40 seconds into the third quarter.
• Cardinal O'Hara will play for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAAA championship tonight, thanks in part to the play of Terps combo guard recruit Natasha Cloud in her team's 47-36 win over Downington East on Tuesday.
Junior Natasha Cloud (five points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal) drew the defensive call on East's 5-11 11th grader Ro Gentry, who carried an 11-point average into the game.
Football recruiting
• Tuscarora offensive tackle Hansen Barrick is hearing from the Terps and a variety of other East Coast schools.
"I'm still getting letters from Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, Boston College and Virginia Tech," he said. "Schools haven't really gotten that personal yet, so I'm not sure who is most interested in me.
"I kind of like Maryland though. It's close to home and I like the setup of the facilities I've been there twice."
• City wide receiver and Terps target Adrian Coxson was offered a scholarship by Florida this week.
Previously it was believed Penn State may be in the forefront, does the Florida offer change anything?
"This makes my decision a whole lot more complicated," he said. "This decision determines my life, my future and is really big. I'm not going to rush it. I still plan to announce before the football season or this summer. I've got a lot to think about and my coach is a big part of this too."
• Stamford, Conn., linebacker Khairi Fortt spoke to Scout.com this week about his recruitment, including a tidbit on a recent trip to College Park.
Maryland's junior day also impressed Fortt. "I like the guys they have there," he said. "I connected with some of the players there and the whole school and campus is nice.
• Maryland was one of the first schools to offer State College, Pa., offensive tackle Jack Deboef, according to Rivals.com.
"I've heard from a lot of people," State College (Pa.) State College Area offensive tackle Jack Deboef said. "I've gotten full rides from Buffalo, Maryland, Temple, NC State and I just got one earlier this week from Purdue.
• The father of Middletown, Del., offensive tackle Gifford Timothy spoke to Rivals.com this week about his son's recruitment.
"Alabama wants to recruit him and Princeton is engaging him along with Utah. Illinois came to the school and has sent a lot of paperwork. Colleges keep talking, but he has the same four offers, BYU, Maryland, Rutgers and Boise State."