Son of Terp Alumnus Will Have an Unofficial Visit with Maryland Basketball Next Month
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The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball season has been a letdown for the Terps faithful so far this season, sitting at 17th in the Big Ten Conference with an 8-12 overall record and going 1-8 in Big Ten play.
However, that hasn't stopped head coach Buzz Williams and his staff from focusing on the bigger picture: building a program that can succeed. How do you do that? By recruiting talent.
Maryland's 2026 class has already had the fanbase buzzing with excitement ahead of the debut of five-star local sensation Baba Oladotun, along with four-star guard Kaden House, the son of former NBA player Eddie House, four-star forward Adama Tambedou, and three-star forward Austin Brown to round out the group.
But Williams isn't done, as he's working ahead full steam with the 2027 class, now set with a five-star center to take an unofficial visit with the Terps for their matchup with No. 12 Purdue on Sunday afternoon at Xfinity Center.
The five-star recruit is center Obinna Ekezie Jr., who hails from Napa, California, and previously played for Prolific Prep before transferring to Southeastern Prep ahead of his junior season in 2025.
The name might be familiar to some Terps fans who watched his father, Obinna Ekezie. Ekezie played in four seasons (1995-1999) at College Park, averaging 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 50% from the field in 118 total games.
In that span, Maryland made the NCAA tournament each season, reaching the furthest in Ekezie's senior season of 98, when the Terps fell in the Regional Semifinals to St. John's. Maryland also made it to the second round of the ACC Championship tournament during his four seasons, but could never get past that round.
But back to Ekezie Jr. and what he could bring to a Maryland program that needs size and talent in its front court.
Back in the summer of 2024, when Ekezie Jr. spoke to Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports after the Adidas 3SSB 16u Circuit about his playing style, here's what he had to say:
“I’m a really good shot blocker,” Ekezie told. “I run the floor well, I can make passes out of the post and shoot the mid-range a little. I’m working on my communication. My feel for the game is coming along, playing through teammates, and setting screens to get open. You know the little things like that. I watch a lot of Nikola Jokic; he is so patient with the ball. The way he reads defenses and makes reads out of the post.”
It'll be interesting to see what comes from the unofficial visit on Sunday. It's excellent that Ekezie Jr. has ties to College Park, and Coach Williams can sell him on what he hopes to build for the future of men's basketball here at Maryland.
Williams will have his work cut out for him, as Ekezie Jr. already has offers from notable programs across the country, including Kentucky, Kansas, USC, Alabama, UCLA, BYU, Arkansas, and more.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.