Terrapins Announce Four Basketball Commitments
11/16/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams announced on Friday that four high school student-athletes have committed to play basketball for the Terrapins beginning in the fall of 2002. Each of the four prep standouts has been considered highly by national recruiting services, leaving Williams with one of the top-ranked classes in the country.
Three members of Williams' class hail from high school powers in Maryland and Virginia, and all four have been ranked among the season's top 50 prep recruits.
Joining the Terrapins are Nik Caner-Medley, a 6-7, 210-pound guard/forward from Deering High School in Portland, Maine, John Gilchrist, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Va., Travis Garrison, a 6-9, 215-pound power forward from DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., and Chris McCray, a 6-4, 180-pound shooting guard from Fairmont Heights High School in Capital Heights, Md.
"The four players in this class give us a group of freshman who are competitive and who have proven their ability against the other top players throughout the country," said Williams. "They are four different players, and with the loss of three important seniors to our team next year, the addition of these four players will allow us to remain competitive at the level we want to be."
Garrison heads the strong list of local commitments. A consensus top 25 pick nationally, he was a second team All-Met selection by the Washington Post as a junior while leading powerhouse DeMatha to another in a history of D.C. city championships. Garrison averaged 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per contest last season while developing an array of inside-outside skills under Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten. A consistent scorer, Garrison scored 29 points while leading the Stags past Gonzaga in the conference championship game, and 25 points in a city title win over Springarn. Garrison was the MVP of last year's city title game.
McCray, meanwhile, averaged 29 points per game to go with six assists and four rebounds. A first team All-Met selection by the Washington Post, McCray was second in voting as the All-Met Player of the Year. A longtime friend and AAU teammate of Garrison's, McCray had four 40-point scoring performances last season while leading Fairmont Heights to a 19-6 record and a trip to the Maryland 2A semifinals. He made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts including 11 in a 49-point performance against St. Frances of Baltimore. He is coached by George Wake.
Gilchrist, the AP Player of the Year in Virginia last season as a junior, scored 19 points per contest in 2000-01, to go with 7.5 assists and 6.7 rebounds. Regarded as one of the top five point guard prospects in the country, he guided Salem to a 29-1 record and a Virginia 3A state championship under coach Bill Cochrane. Salem won its final 22 games last season while Gilchrist shot 86 percent from the free throw line and 42 percent from 3-point range. One recruiting analyst called Gilchrist the best pure point guard in the country, citing his status as a consistent winner at both the high school and AAU levels.
Caner-Medley is Maine's top-rated player entering his senior season and one of the state's best in recent years. Under coach Mike Francoeur, he averaged 26.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 4.1 assists while leading Deering to a 21-1 record as a junior and a bid to the state championship game. He was a first team all-state selection after leading his league in points and rebounds. Deering's only loss last season came in the state title game.
