Words by Justin Walsh
Terrence Boyd is used to being on loaded high school teams. During the 2006-07 season, Terrence played basketball at Oak Hill Academy with blue-chippers Alex Legion, Brandon Jennings and Nolan Smith. That roster garnered the mythical National Championship. This season he is part of a stacked San Diego High School squad featuring Top 5 recruit Jeremy Tyler and west coast standout LaBradford Franklin. In his senior season, after having to sit out last year in Oklahoma, Terrence looks to silence the critics.
Boyd stands at 6-5, 230 pounds (and, so does linebacker Shawn Crable of the Patriots, for that matter). Sucks for anybody playing high school basketball in California this season. Sorry kids, not only do you have to deal with a top-ranked center night in-night out, you have to deal with a freight train driving into the lane, threatening to add your face to his “t-bag” image collection.
There’s a scene at the end of Indiana Jones where you see the Ark of the Covenant being filed away in endless rows of wooden crates. I imagine Boyd’s recruiting letters akin to that scene. Of the plethora of schools involved with the Terrence Boyd lottery, he’s currently considering Kentucky, USC, OU, Kansas State and Marquette. Here’s a breakdown of what that could potentially mean for each school:
Kentucky
Current Commits: Daniel Orton, Jon Hood, G.J. Vilarino
If Kentucky can sign Boyd, it can complete an already solid recruiting class. They have a strong frontcourt commitment in Orton; G.J. was locked up for Kentucky since he was 15 years old; and Jon Hood plans on adding some long defensive versatility to the squad. Terrence would be the final piece—a shooting guard his size could help Kentucky regain some of the ground they’ve lost in the past few years.
USC
Current Commits: Noel Johnson, Solomon Hill, Derrick Williams
USC has two small forwards and a power forward in the 2009 recruiting class. Terrence could lock up a guard for the Trojans. Demar DeRozan will probably be gone after this year, Taj Gibson might leave for the NBA as well. Stepping into Taj’s place will be Mamadou Diarra and Leonard Washington. Boyd could help replace some of the minutes and offensive production that could be gone, depending on Demar’s decision to stay or go. Noel and Solomon have a chance to step in and play some minutes right away for USC, both being in the ESPN100 rankings.
Oklahoma
Current Commits: Keith Gallon, Tommy Mason-Griffin, Andrew Fitzgerald, Steve Pledger, Kyle Hardick.
Oklahoma’s recruiting class is nasty. They have four players in the ESPN100 rankings in Keith “Tiny” Gallon, Mason-Griffin, Fitzgerald and Pledger. They also have power forward Kyle Hardick, a native of Oklahoma. Signing Boyd would merely be adding another Oklahoma native to the class. I don’t know how much production Terrence could provide the loaded Sooners, but Boyd is the prototypical Big 12 player.
Kansas State
Current Commits: Wallace Judge, Jordan Henriquez, Rodney McGruder, Nick Russell, Devon Peterson
After a somewhat weak recruiting class this past summer, Frank Martin finally made another stellar recruiting class. He brought a teammate of Michael Beasley’s AAU Team (D.C. Assault) to the list, Wally Judge. Ranked no. 18 in the nation, Wally is a strong power forward to add to the roster. After years without any inside presence, Manhattan will be home to Chester NY 7-footer Jordan Henriquez. He should be able to defend Big 12 posts and finally allow the Wildcat power forwards to play their true position instead of playing Center due to a lack of size. Rodney, Nick and Devon should load up the shooting guard position. If Terrence signs with Kansas State, he might cause a roster cluster with all the swingmen.
Marquette
Current Commits: Junior Cadougan, Jeronne Maymon, Erik Williams, Brett Roseboro
Marquette has a very strong class with three players in the ESPN100. They hoped to make that four with Michael Snaer, but failed to sign the recruit and lost them to FSU. Terrence Boyd would just be the cherry on top for the golden eagles. Terrence would be a great fit for Marquette—a working class style basketball player with great size and strength to score in transition and half court sets.
Check out Terrence Boyd and the San Diego High School Cavers will be playing Fairfax High school on Jan. 23 on ESPN.
