Maryland Basketball: Can the Terps Land 4-star F Mario Kegler?

By Brandon Austin | Aug 25, 2015

Mar 2, 2014; Clemson, SC, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts during the first half against the Clemson Tigers at J.C. Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The Maryland Terrapins basketball program’s quick rise to power is quite unheralded. The Terps, after reeling in big-time recruits in the last two classes, have become a major player in the fight for the nation’s top high school basketball prospects. Mark Turgeon and company have shown no signs of slowing down either, as Maryland is now in contention for another Top 50 player: Class of 2016 4-star small forward Mario Kegler.

The Mississippi native’s name has been coming up a lot lately, particularly after his monster performance in the Adidas Summer Championships. Maryland’s stiffest competition at this point is probably Mississippi State, Indiana, Arizona State, and UConn.

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According to the 247Sports Composite, Kegler is the No. 32 overall player in the class, the seventh best small forward and the top player in the state of Mississippi. He has bounced around a bit over the course of his high school career, but he’ll be finishing things up at the prestigious Oak Hill Academy in the upcoming season.

The state of Mississippi is on the rise with Kegler and Malik Newman, a 5-star point guard from the Class of 2015 who is headed to Mississippi State.

Kegler has a muscular build at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds. He looks like a grown man. Much like LeBron James, Kegler uses his physical prowess to maintain an advantage over his opponents. He excels at getting to the basket at will and has a great shooting touch. Given his size, he could play multitude of roles at the collegiate level. He’s athletic enough to play on the perimeter, but he’s also powerful enough to bang down low with the bigs.

If Kegler decides to take his talents to Maryland, the Terps will have the type of player that really hasn’t been seen in College Park in while. Dez Wells played a similar style of basketball, but lacked the physical tools that Kegler possesses.

The Terps have already secured one Class of 2016 commit in 4-star point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. and they are also in the running for shooting guard Josh Jackson, who is arguably the best player in the entire class. If they could manage to land all three, Maryland would likely be near the top of all preseason polls after this season.

Next: Perry Hills a Dark Horse in Terps' QB Battle

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