Before he ever set foot in College Park, Collin Metcalf had already lived a life that stretched far beyond the average college basketball player. Born in New York, raised in Texas, and then transplanted across the world as the son of an Army family, Metcalf spent his childhood bouncing between continents.
Elementary school was in Germany. Middle and high school took him to South Korea. By the time he was a teenager, he had experienced more cultures than most people do in a lifetime. Each move meant starting fresh - new schools, new friends, new teams.
"It was just constant change," Metcalf recalled during an interview with Brendan Hartlove of Maryland Sports Radio. "But I learned early on, the best thing you can do is put a smile on your face and be kind. Being nice gets you a long way, no matter where you are."
That perspective, forged through years of moving and adjusting, made him adaptable both on and off the court. Sports became a universal language - whether he was swimming, wrestling, or eventually focusing on basketball. Wherever his family landed, Metcalf found a new team and a new challenge.
But while his upbringing gave him resilience, it also made the traditional college recruiting process nearly impossible. "Overseas, it was really hard to get seen by anybody," Metcalf said. "The best we had was one guy who went Division III. So we had to figure out a way."
Luckily, his brothers helped blaze the trail. Their success in attending camps in the States opened doors, and soon, a prep program in Frederick, Maryland - Global Squad - recruited Collin to get him in front of college coaches. From there, he landed at Northeastern, where he learned the college game and tested himself against some of the nation's top players.
Still, Metcalf felt there was more out there. That "more" became Maryland.
When Metcalf entered the transfer portal, he wanted not just a program but a culture that fit who he was. He found that in Buzz Williams and Maryland basketball.
"It was easy," Metcalf said. "Buzz wins everywhere he goes, but what really stood out was the environment. On my visit, I thought it was just going to be me working out at 5 a.m. The whole coaching staff was there lifting together. That told me everything. They weren't just coaches - they were a unit."
For Metcalf, that unity felt familiar, almost like family. "He's built an environment where it's about more than basketball," Metcalf added. "The staff has been with him for decades. That shows me he doesn't just recruit talent, he recruits the right people. I wanted to be around a coach like that."
As four-star recruit's visit approaches, is Maryland basketball in the driver's seat?
Now in College Park, Metcalf is bringing the same toughness and unselfish energy that carried him through all those moves growing up. He models his game after Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen - fearless, defense-first, willing to do the little things. For Maryland, that means a 6-foot-10 big man who runs the floor, protects the rim, and never shies away from hustle plays.
And after a lifetime of constant change, Metcalf seems to have finally found the right place to settle in. "Buzz doesn't just think about us as basketball players," he said. "He thinks about us as people. That's what makes this feel like home."
More from Metcalf
On his play style: "I'm just a runner. I'm a Swiss Army knife in terms of what a big needs to do to do the dirty work. Offensive rebound, kick-out for a three, hustle plays. I'm going to jump with everybody. If I get dunked on, so what? Nobody's going to remember two weeks later. Defensively, that's my focus first. Offensively, I make sure my guys get open - set solid screens, roll hard, catch lobs. Don't like to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty athletic for a 6'10" big guy."
On getting recruited by Williams: "He was methodical in recruiting me, and I wanted to be around a coach like that."
On bonding with his teammates: "We live close together in the dorms, which helps. At my last school, guys were more spread out, so it was harder to connect. Here, you can just walk down the hall, knock on your teammate's door, and hang out."
On his volleyball background: "Yeah, I played two of the four fall seasons in high school. I was a monster - maybe not Player of the Year good, but I took it seriously. It helped with conditioning, vertical, hand-eye coordination, team play. Honestly, I'd recommend volleyball and track to any young basketball player. The quick jumping and ball tracking from volleyball translated directly into my shot-blocking and verticality in basketball."
On his hobbies: "Gaming with my brothers. Splitgate, Warzone, Walking War Robots. Lots of trash talk, lots of screaming matches."
On his personality: "Yeah, my dad says there's laugh-with-you funny and laugh-at-you funny. I think sometimes I'm laugh-at-you funny."
On his favorite sport outside of basketball: "Germany men's volleyball - just all seven-footers flying around. And surprisingly, Japanese high school volleyball. It's insane, the level they play at."
On his favorite culture: "South Korea has the biggest hold in my heart. The cuisine, the culture, my friends. I still cook Korean food all the time - fried rice, fried chicken, bibimbap. It takes me back. I still talk with Korean friends two or three times a week, plus all the Army brat community stays in touch worldwide. We're used to time zone math."
On LeBron vs MJ: "LeBron. He's my size - 6'9", 250. MJ at 6'6", 215 isn't doing anything with that."
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