Also, you should probably know...

Maryland got their first 2009 commitment for basketball, assuming of course that Jin Soo Kim is considered eligible for this fall.

James Padgett, a 6'7 power forward out of New Yawk, chose the Terps over West Virginia, Pitt, Tennessee, St. John's and Florida, so that's a nice pool to be picked from!

As always, Matt Bracken of baltimoresun.com sports has the scoop on the Brooklyn big man:

Padgett averaged a double-double as a junior (“probably 11 and 10,” [coach Dwayne] Morton said), helping Lincoln to the New York State Class AA Federation Championship. He stood out on a guard-oriented offense (led by five-star shooting guard Lance Stephenson), giving the Railsplitters a much-needed presence in the middle.

His role, Morton said, was to rebound, contribute put-backs and play tough defense. That unselfish play as a junior, and during the summer on Morton’s AAU team, the Juice All-Stars, convinced Morton that Padgett had a bright future. Morton said Maryland’s a good place for him to realize his potential and continue his development.

And so on and so forth.

Inside presence is the name of the game right now for the Terps, and they need size like no other. Padgett is a good add. A four-star athlete on Scout.com and a three-star guy on Rivals, he's a project player (like we haven't had many of those in recent years) with high rebounding and defensive skills, but little variety on offense. According to scouting reports, he needs to develop a post face-up game (meaning facing his defender and the basket, for basketball tenderfoots). He might grow a little extra for all we know as well, maybe stretch to 6'8.

So Maryland frontcourt guys in 2009 include 6'10 Steve Goins, 6'9 Jerome Burney, 6'8 Kim, 6'8 Braxton Dupree, 6'7 Dino Gregory, 6'7 Padgett and 6'6 Cliff Tucker. That ain't tooooooo bad, but gosh, wouldn't you just love to bag a top-25 6'11 guy sometime? Just one?

The one obvious thing this post lineup lacks is offense. Last year, all the people I just mentioned averaged a whopping 9.3 ppg for the Terps. The incoming players that will play this season or next aren't necessarily known for their offensive prowess (besides Kim, who is more of an outside shooter anyway). Dupree was known as a scorer in high school, but thus far hasn't been able to show it (although it appears he may have shed weight, which will go a long way).

So the pickup? Overall good, but it doesn't seem to address our main problems. Sooner or later, we'll have to find a big guy that can score.

Photos courtesy of rivals.com, baltimoresun.com sports.