Maryland is now the No. 1 option for 2018 big man Moses Brown

NEW YORK — Maryland is now the No. 1 option for Moses Brown, the 7-foot-2 senior big man from Archbishop Molloy High School and the New Heights AAU program, his father told ZAGSBLOG.

“Right now, yes,” Malcolm Brown said at the NYC Hoops for Hurricane Relief Game at the Gauchos Gym where Moses was competing on Saturday night.

Brown, ranked No. 17 in the 2018 ESPN 100, took his second official visit, to Maryland, last weekend. He took his first official to Louisville earlier this month, and was considering visiting Arizona. But with both schools now squarely at the center of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into bribery in college basketball, their status with Brown remains unclear.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Malcolm said.

Moses Brown a monster ? @Moses_Graham1 pic.twitter.com/uv2yZ1wFzj

— Overtime (@overtime) October 1, 2017

Louisville “effectively fired” Rick Pitino on Wednesday, and replaced him with interim coach David Padgett. Arizona, meantime, has indefinitely suspended assistant Book Richardson, who was one of four high-profile Division 1 assistants arrested Tuesday by the FBI.

Meantime, Brown enjoyed his Maryland visit.

“It was nice, man, it was the best,” Malcolm said. “They would basically let him use his tools as far as putting it on the floor and if he keeps working on it they feel that they can get a lot out of him, more than just the average big man posting up.

“They was mostly impressed with the simple fact that he stayed with his AAU team when he had a chance to play with numerous teams that was a lot better. But he stayed with New Heights even though everybody left and there was issues and he had to play with the guys that was playing up. And the fact that he stayed with them, it showed a lot of character and they were impressed with that.”

As of now, Brown is in a holding pattern with Maryland leading.

“Yes, feeling Maryland,” Malcolm said. “We gonna see what else happens.”

The early signing period comes in November, but it remains unclear if Brown will sign then or during the spring.

“I’m gonna hold out because there’s so much going on right now,” Malcolm said. “I just gotta let everything air out.”

Maryland also has a huge recruiting weekend going on currently as they host guards Eric Ayala and Devon Dotson and wing Keldon Johnson.

Omg Moses Brown you’re a giant ?? @Moses_Graham1 @NewHeightsNYC #StartYourStory pic.twitter.com/QgZ96TGC5C

— Overtime (@overtime) April 27, 2017