By JACOB POLACHECK
Chol Marial, the 7-foot-2 center from Compass Prep (AZ), announced his commitment to Maryland on Monday, via Twitter. He took an official visit to Maryland at the end of April.
“It has been a long journey, and I am blessed,” said Marial via Twitter. “I am proud to say I’ve committed to the University of Maryland.”
“I want to thank Coach Turgeon for giving me this opportunity,” Marial said in a statement. “Coach [Mark] Turgeon and I have gotten along really well and I really enjoyed spending time with the rest of the coaching staff and players. Bruno Fernando and I have similar backgrounds and I saw how much he improved as a player at Maryland. I’m looking forward to getting better every day and playing for Terp Nation.”
A native of South Sudan with a 7-11 wingspan, Marial moved to the United States in 2014 as a middle schooler and attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before finishing his prep career at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz.
A onetime projected lottery pick, he has seen limited playing time in recent years due to various injuries. Marial recently recovered from a shin fracture and is now believed to be nearly at full health. He has been suffering from shin-splints and was limited in playing time this season.
“I’m feeling good right now, I’ll be ready soon,” Marial said told Forbes back in November. “I had a fracture on my shin. It was a shin splint and then I keep playing with it. I’ve been resting it.”
According to 247Sports, Marial is ranked as the No. 132 overall player in the Class of 2019 and the No. 6 player from the state of Arizona. He joins Makhi Mitchell, Donta Scott, Makhel Mitchell and Hakim Hart as the fifth commit in the Terrapins’ 2019 class.
“I’ve watched Chol the last three years and I can’t say enough about him as both a person and a basketball player,” Turgeon said. “One of the top players in his class when healthy, Chol’s tremendous size and length make him an excellent rim protector. Chol possesses a humble demeanor and a strong work ethic that will fit well with our family. We can’t wait to have him in College Park and look forward to helping him reach his dreams”.
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