Maryland added a major piece to their 2015-16 roster when former Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon announced he was transferring to the program. The addition of Sulaimon brings a player who has strengths that the Terps needed for next season.
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Sulaimon will likely slide into the starting shooting guard position and add some needed depth to the Terps’ overall guard play. He will also give the team a perimeter defender with size, something they lost with the departures of Richaud Pack and Dez Wells. Sulaimon will be an upgrade from Jared Nickens, who was likely to start, but now can come off the bench and provide a scoring help in Turgeon’s second unit.
Sulaimon showed his freshman season that he can score, averaging 11.6 points per game on 42 percent shooting, but saw those numbers drop over the next season and a half with the Blue Devils. He did improve his outside shooting through his years at Duke and could be the area where he can help the Terps the most offensively.
A major reason why Sulaimon’s scoring decreased through his years at Duke was the quality of players he had around him. He had Jabari Parker in his sophomore season and then the three talented freshmen last year in Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones. Not being a key component in the Blue Devils’ offense for two years after showing so much promise as a freshman, was rumored to be part of Sulaimon’s unhappiness that led to his eventual dismissal. If this was indeed a factor in Sulaimon’s dismissal from Duke, it will be interesting to see how he makes the transition to Maryland where he will again not be one of the top guys in the team’s offense.
With one more season left in his collegiate career and aspirations of playing in the NBA, Sulaimon knows this will be his last chance to prove his value for scouts at the next level. Given that he has an image to repair, it’s hard to believe that he will waste this opportunity by being a distraction in Turgeon’s locker room.
For Turgeon and the Terps, bringing in Sulaimon could be viewed as a risk, given his sexual assault allegations that were also rumored to be part of his dismissal from Duke. For the Terps to take this potential risk, it would mean Turgeon and his players were willing to bring in Sulaimon after doing their own investigation into Sulaimon’s situation. In the end, all parties felt like it was the right fit and now he will be a Terp next season.
Now that Sulaimon is in the fold for next season, the Terps can possibly be the nation’s No. 1 team when the preseason polls are announced. As mentioned, the addition will give the Terps more depth at the guard position and allow more time and less urgency for JUCO transfer Jaylen Brantley’s adjustment to a new level of basketball. The person who will likely be impacted the most by the addition is Dion Wiley. This move will hurt his minutes for next season and will make his play during the non-conference slate much more crucial for his overall season success.
Overall, the Terps will have a loaded roster for next season and will be the favorites to win their first Big Ten Conference title. The depth and versatility of the players on the roster will make Turgeon’s starting lineup and in-game rotations intriguing for next season. The starters will likely be Melo Trimble, Sulaimon, Jake Layman, Robert Carter Jr., and Diamond Stone. However, Turgeon has been known to try different lineups throughout the season, so we will see if that continues.
This will be the highest expectations a Terps team has entered a season with since 2001-02 and we know how that story unfolded.
Chris Garman attended Mount St. Mary’s University where he studied in Communications. He is a native of Steelton, Pa. and has covered Maryland Men’s Basketball and Football for PressBox since 2012. Chris previously covered High School Football for The Patriot News in Harrisburg, Pa. He can be reached by email at: crgarman103@gmail.com.