Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon wrote in a text message Sunday that incoming freshman center Diamond Stone won’t start working out with the Terps until next month despite not trying out for the U-19 national team.
“He won’t start school until July,” Turgeon wrote. “Can’t work out unless you are in school.”
Stone, a five-star prospect who is expected to start for Maryland as a freshman, withdrew from consideration for the national team that started tryouts this weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. Two others, including Michigan commit Tyus Battle, also pulled out.
Stone’s unexpected appearance Saturday at Xfinity Center, where Turgeon and his staff were running their inaugural high school team camp, was the first indication that the 6-foot-10, 250-pound center had decided not to try out after making national teams the past two summers.
Turgeon wrote in a text message Saturday that Stone’s withdrawal was a “family decision.” The decision appears to have caught Turgeon by surprise since he talked Thursday at a Maryland athletic department event in Baltimore about Stone’s potential participation with the U-19 team.
“[USA basketball] is good for his development,” Turgeon told InsideMDSports.com. “He gets to play against top competition; it seasons him [but] I don’t think anything will make Diamond nervous. Personally, I’d rather have him around. I’d rather have him in the weight room with Kyle [Tarp] and lifting with the guys and practicing with me, but you can’t get hold kids back. If that’s the best thing for him, then that’s what they should be doing.”
According to NCAA rules, Stone is not allowed to participate in any team activities until he is enrolled in school. The first summer session in College Park began on June 1. The second session begins July 13.
The first two weeks of summer workouts were devoted to pickup games, weight training and conditioning sessions without the coaches. Team workouts with the coaches are expected to begin sometime this week.
Under NCAA rules that went into effect three years, coaches are allowed to work out their teams on the court for up to two hours a week and have contact with them for a total of eight hours a week while summer school is in session.
Since the rule change, Turgeon has scheduled two one-hour workouts a week, with the rest of the time devoted mostly to weight training and conditioning with Kyle Tarp, the team’s director of basketball development.
Stone is one of three newcomers who is expected to be in Turgeon’s rotation in 2015-16.
Junior college transfer Jaylen Brantley, a 5-11 sophomore guard, has been in College Park for the past couple of weeks. Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon, a 6-4 guard once considered among college basketball rising stars, is expected to join the Terps after graduating in August.
Exactly why Stone withdrew from the U-19 team is not clear. DeShawn Curtis, Stone’s longtime trainer and former AAU coach, said Sunday that he expects Stone back in Milwaukee to train before returning to Maryland next month.
Neither Stone nor his parents could be reached for comment.