Terrapin Station
Fansided

Maryland Basketball: Terps still in the mix for Jemarl Baker

By Chris Bengel

Feb 6, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon looks onto the court during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon looks onto the court during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Jemarl Baker certainly could’ve signed with just about any program in the country.

After earning his release from California following Cuonzo Martin’s departure, Baker is considering nine schools with Maryland in the running.

His AAU coach, Ryan Silver, confirmed which schools Baker is looking at. In addition to the Terrapins, Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Kentucky, Marquette, San Diego State, and Utah made Baker’s list.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is expected to visit Baker later this week, according to Silver.

According  247Sports’ Composite rankings, Baker is rated as the No. 73 player in the nation. In addition, the star guard is ranked as the 16th-best shooting guard and the 10th-best player in the state of California.

Baker is the second-best available shooting guard in the country behind five-star prosect MJ Walker (Jonesboro, Ga.). Ironically, the Terps have also been linked to Walker as of late.

Maryland has been linked to quite a few available guards despite already having a good amount of depth at the position.

Melo Trimble is headed to the NBA, but Mark Turgeon still has Jaylen Brantley, Anthony Cowan, Kevin Huerter, and Dion Wiley in the fold. Mount Saint Joseph (Md.) standout Darryl Morsell is also set to join the program this summer and can play both guard spots.

As impressive as that group is, there’s no such thing as too much depth, especially in the backcourt. Whether or not Turgeon can lure a talented 2017 guard like Baker or Walker to College Park remains to be seen.

Next: Maryland Lacrosse: Jared Bernhardt named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week

However, the program continues to pursue top-of-the-line talent after losing Trimble.