NCAA Basketball: Maryland and Arizona headlines Sunday Mailbag
By Bryan Mauro
Will Juan Dixon be the next Maryland Basketball head coach? Will Kwame Evans stay home and commit to Maryland in 2023? – SeanC_629 (SeanC_629)
I have been putting all of my thoughts together about the Maryland head coaching vacancy, and there have been a ton of rumors flying around lately about who the potential coaching hire could be. The Terrapin faithful also has some very strong feelings on who they would like for their newest coach. They all have their own list of guys they would like to see lead Maryland in the future.
The Terrapins are one of the premier jobs in the DMV and they need to be careful with the hire as it is going to determine the future of the program. Maryland should always be near the top of the Big Ten and should always be competing for the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. That didn’t happen under Mark Turgeon enough so he resigned before conference play and Danny Manning took over on an interim basis.
Juan Dixon has been a name that has been thrown around, but in all honesty, I feel his name has just been thrown around because he played for Maryland and was a member of their last National Championship team. Dixon is the current head coach of Coppin State and he has not been that successful as their coach. He has taken the Eagles to a contender in the MEAC, but they have not been great since he has been there. He is in no way shape or form ready for the Maryland job. He is going to need to show a lot more for him to be a viable option for Maryland, at least in my opinion.
The one name who is popping up is Rick Pitino, yes that Rick Pitino, and I don’t think he takes the job either. However, if he does have a change of heart and take the job Maryland would instantly turn into one of the best teams in the Big Ten. Say what you want about Pitino and his off-the-court antics, but he is one of the best in-game coaches in the game. Hopefully, the Terrapins are not putting all of their eggs in the Pitino basket, especially if he continues to say no.
Kwame Evans is a top recruit in 2023 from the DMV area and he is going to be a hot commodity on the recruiting market. His commitment to Maryland is going to be based solely on who the Terrapins hire for their head coach. The coach is really important when it comes to recruiting. Relationships and the coaches system are extremely important in recruiting and are the reason why kids commit to schools. I hope Maryland gets back to being a top-tier team as Basketball is always better when Maryland is good.