by Alex Schwartz

One of the top 10 juniors in the state of New Jersey made his college choice yesterday. Sterling Gibbs, a 6'2 point guard out of Seton Hall Prep (NJ) took his name off the board, committing to Gary Williams and the Maryland Terrapins, in news that was first reported by Jeff Borzello of NBE Basketball Report.

"I had them on my list for a while. It's been on my list even since last year. The main thing was just making sure it was the right fit. I always had Maryland at the top of my list, or at least near the top. It's a family environment, I like the coaches, Coach Gary Williams, all the coaches. It's not too far from home," said Gibbs of how he picked the ACC school.

Gibbs, whose older brother Ashton is currently a sophomore at Pitt, listed Seton Hall, Rutgers, Pitt, Florida, Wake Forest, St. John's, and Virginia as his other finalists. Was is hard for Sterling to pass up on the chance to play with his brother? "I didn't really think about it because I was trying to make the best decision for me. It wasn't like I had anyone influencing me. My brother, he was the one telling me it was a great choice, and I knew if he was telling me it was telling me that, it had to be a good choice," Gibbs said.

Asked how he knew the time was right, Gibbs replied, "I just pulled the trigger when I felt most comfortable. For a little bit I was thinking about it too much and then I realized this is the place where I wanted to be because I had been thinking [just that] for a while. I didn't want anyone to jump at the opportunity [and get my spot]."

"He was real excited," said Gibbs of Coach Williams' reaction when he called to commit. "I think he thought maybe as soon as I commit we can bring in some other big-time players and hopefully we'll be able to do some big things in the ACC."

Considering Gibbs is a fairly big name in the class of 2011, Williams' assessment may be right, especially considering that the talented floor general plans to help out recruiting. "Definitely, I plan on recruiting other guys to join me. They definitely have their eyes on some great players themselves, but at the same time I feel like there's some guys I like playing with myself. It's all about team chemistry, there are definitely some guys I have my eyes on," commented Gibbs.

The newest Terrapin already knows a few of the players who are headed to Maryland in the class of 2010. "I actually know Ashton [Pankey] and Pe'Shon [Howard]," Gibbs said. "The rest of them I've heard of. I've seen Terrell Stoglin play and the other two [Mychal Parker and Haukur Palsson] I've heard are really good players."

While Gibbs is friendly with Pankey and Howard, who attend St. Anthony's (NJ) and Oak Hill Academy (VA) respectively, the pair did not really recruit him to College Park. "Not really. I don't know if many knew that Maryland was high on my list. I honestly don't think they were expecting it this early or this fast. As soon as I committed, Ashton called me and texted me and he said he was excited because we have a metropolitan bond. I played with him on New Heights when I was a freshman and it's good to play with him again," Gibbs remarked.

Gibbs already knows a pair of players currently on Maryland, but he plans to grow closer with more of the team over time. "I know Sean Mosley, I know Jordan Williams, and that's pretty much it, but I plan on getting to [develop] a pretty good relationship with most of the other kids too," he said.

What does Gibbs feel that he brings to the table for Maryland? "I think I just bring [the abilities of a] pure point guard. I think I can score also, I can score when needed. I just wanna bring intensity. I think I bring an overall [mentality of a] winner. I wanna win and I think Coach Gary Williams is coach that if you buy into his system then you are definitely gonna win and it's definitely gonna pay off."

Although Gibbs is not exactly thinking about his college goals just yet, there are a few things that he already knows he would like to accomplish at the next level. "Right now I'm not really thinking about that yet, but I wanna win a national championship. That's something I wanna do. I wanna win an ACC title. They were able to share the title with Duke this year, but hopefully we'll be able to take it for ourselves," said Gibbs, who is as good a kid off the court as he is a player on it.

Before college, there is still one major achievement that Gibbs would like to take care of. "My goal [for high school] is just to win. I wanna win a state championship. We fell a little short this year, but I think it's definitely a possible goal for next year."

"I just wanna play to the best of my abilities and I wanna win, I just wanna win overall," said Gibbs of what he hopes to accomplish this summer. "I wanna do well overall, I wanna do well at all the tournaments, I wanna do well in Vegas, and I wanna do well at the USA trials. I know if I play well, everything will fall into place."

Sterling Gibbs clearly has one thing on his mind, and that is winning. That is a mindset that the Maryland Terrpains coaches, fans, and players can get excited for come the fall of 2011.

Note- photo is from http://vuhoops.com/