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Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon's prized jewel, Diamond Stone, has been noticeably quiet this winter. Stone, the nation's top-rated center and No. 6 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, chose not to sign during the early period in November and has been hard to read throughout his recruitment.
I caught up briefly with his father, Bob Stone, who said there remains no timetable or specific commitment plan for the 6-foot-10 star at Milwaukee's Dominican High, who is considering Maryland, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Oklahoma State, all of which he visited officially this fall.
"Nothing has changed. [We're] watching our schools on TV as much as possible, trying to get a better feel, looking at coaching temperament, style of play" and other things, Bob Stone said.
He added that one thing has stood out about Turgeon: "The patience he shows with some of his younger players," Stone said.
Which leads to an obvious question from a Maryland perspective: The Terps, who have missed the tournament for the past four seasons, are off to an unexpected start and grabbing attention nationally. What have the Stones, who took an official visit to Maryland in October, taken away from Maryland's big first half?
"It shut up a lot of people who questioned why they were on our list," Bob Stone said.
And that's it from Bob Stone for now. The family is focused on navigating through the rest of the process as quietly as possible.
Maryland has continued to pitch its development of big men, focusing on Alex Len but now including emerging sophomore center Damonte Dodd. Wisconsin has hometown sentiment and the momentum of its best team in years working in its favor. There's talk that UConn has faded, while Oklahoma State remains a mystery school, but again, this has been one of the quieter recruitments we've followed.
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