Maryland Basketball Recruiting: What If the Terps Don't Get the Harrison Twins?

The agenda for the University of Maryland's 2013 recruiting class has always began and ended with Andrew and Aaron Harrison. The talented twins from Texas form arguably the most prized recruiting package ever.

Despite the fact that Maryland is fresh off two consecutive seasons failing to make the NIT tournament, the Terps remain a strong contender in the Harrisons' sweepstakes.

Aaron recently stated in an interview with SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria that Maryland is one of three schools coming at he and his brother the hardest. The other two were local school Baylor and recruiting powerhouse Kentucky.

In the same interview, Aaron said:

"

Maryland presents a lot of things. It’s close to my family, Coach Turgeon recruited me when he was at Texas A&M. It’s close to my family, I like the way they play.

"

It's safe to say that the Harrison duo finds plenty of positives in potentially calling College Park home.

While snatching up the Harrisons would be a dream come true for Coach Mark Turgeon in only his second season at Maryland, it's very necessary for Maryland to heavily consider the other side of the equation in this recruitment process.

Placing the majority of his eggs in one basket may return a huge reward for Turgeon, but the risk should surely scare Maryland fans.

To make sense of the situation, it's necessary to break down the current and future Maryland roster.

Maryland is carrying 10 scholarship players for the 2012-13 season.

Five are freshman, two are sophomores, one is a junior, one is a senio, and one is a former walk-on who is only signed to a one-year scholarship.

Evan Smotrycz, a transfer from Michigan, and Damonte Dodd, a former 2012 Maryland commit who is prep schooling, already fill roster spots on the 2013-14 roster.

Teams are allowed to give 13 scholarships per season. Maryland has 10 scholarships filled for the 2013-14 season. If neither Alex Len nor Nick Faust leave early for the NBA, the Terps only have three more scholarships to give out during the 2013 recruiting period.

Maryland has two options:

The Terps can go full force at recruiting the Harrisons. If the Harrisons commit, they only have one more spot left for any other 2013 recruits.

Or, they can scrap the Harrison recruitment and look for three 2013 complementary pieces to the current roster.

Maryland is not going to stop its recruitment of the Harrison twins, but where does it look if Kentucky, Baylor, SMU or Villanova beats it out for the prized package?

Rysheed Jordan, Jermaine Lawrence, Kennedy Meeks and BeeJay Anya, all former Maryland targets, have seemed to place other schools above the Terps. While any of them committing to Maryland is technically a possibility, the chances of that happening are slim.

Turgeon has to be looking for a guard with Shaquille Cleare, Alex Len, Charles Mitchell and Jake Layman already bolstering a solid frontcourt.

So, the main target has to be fast-rising Maryland native Roddy Peters.

Peters, who jumped from being unranked by ESPN to a Top-50 prospect, says Maryland was his childhood favorite.

For what it's worth, the last high-profile recruit to commit to a school, Tyler Ennis, committed to his childhood favorite, Syracuse.

Peters is a 6'4'' point guard who is crafty with the ball in his hands and is a great distributor, exactly what Maryland needs.

If the Harrisons do not end up in Maryland, Roddy Peters is a must-get for Mark Turgeon.

Junior Etou, an ESPN 3-star power forward is also on the Terps' radar. Etou is relatively new to basketball, but is a tough interior presence.

Detrick Mostella, an ESPN Top 100 shooting guard, is a Maryland target but does not yet have a Terps' offer. 

RJ Curington, an ESPN 3-star wing, has an offer from Maryland. Curington plays for the famed Oak Hill Academy, but he is raw and still needs some strength training.

If Maryland does miss out on the Harrisons, it definitely has options.

But those options are not nearly as promising as two surefire NBA prospects.