Maryland signees Sterling Gibbs and Nick Faust will seek releases from their National Letters of Intent in the wake of the news that head coach Gary Williams is retiring.
“Yes, I will reopen with Nick Faust,” Gibbs, a point guard out of Seton Hall Prep, said by text.
Both will have to get permission from the school to look elsewhere after signing NLIs, something that has become more common in recent years.
“It used to be that even if the school granted them a release it was only a conditional release,” said New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “They couldn’t play the following year and they’d only have three years of eligbility.
“They’re much more liberal now. It used to be that it was very hard to get out of and now it’s not.”
Faust, a 6-6, 175-pound shooting guard from Baltimore City College High, originally picked Maryland over Oregon State, Florida State, Marquette and Villanova.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Gibbs also considered DePaul, Indiana, Pitt, Rutgers, St. John’s and Seton Hall.
Gibbs confirmed a report that Williams would hang it up after a 33-year career in which he posted a 668-380 record and led the Terps to the 2002 NCAA championship.
“Yeah, he’s retiring,” he said.
Maryland assistant Robert Ehsan will reportedly take over for Williams on an interim basis.
