Last night, the University of Maryland Terrapins won the Barclays Center Classic Championship with a 69-68 victory over Kansas State.

Here we review what we have liked, and what has concerned us from the Terps play so far this year.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

What We Like: Maryland is 7-0, with a road victory at Georgetown (Big East), and neutral court wins vs. Richmond (Atlantic 10), and the Wildcats (Big 12). Neither the Hoyas, Spiders, or K-State figure to be contenders in their respective conferences, but the hope is they can be middle-of-the-pack Top 100 wins at year end.

What Concerns Us: I don’t understand why a team comprised of the guard and wing depth of Maryland, does not play at a higher tempo. (Maryland is 219th overall in Adjusted Tempo.) In our eyes, the Terps would benefit by more consistent pressure and trapping. Creating more turnovers, and creating offense from defense.

What We Like: I’m pleased by what we’ve seen from Ivan Bender so far this year. Gutting through the broken wrist, we are seeing the 6’9 Sophomore contribute. Damonte Dodd, and Mychal Cekovsky have both missed games so far this year, and L.G. Gill is struggling to get comfortable in the offense. Bender has used that opportunity to step-in, and average 13.3 minutes per game. He’s a good passer, with nice touch around the basket. He plays smart. His FT shooting (13 of 22) could be improved; but perhaps the wrist has factored there. At the minimum, he’s absolutely usable as part of the rotation. It’s also possible there is more there.

What Concerns Us: Jared Nickens looks very uncomfortable. I’m done hoping the Junior will look more complete as a player. Done hoping to see gains in his defense, or his ability to drive the ball. Done asking him to get to the line more often. What should be realistic is asking him to regularly knock down shots from outside. Right now he’s just 4 of 21 (19%) beyond the arc. He hit 39% (57 of 146) of his 3 attempts as a Freshman, and 35% (52 of 150) last year. His minutes are down to 14+ per game, after averaging over 19 each of the last two years. That doesn’t figure to increase as the competition improves. For whatever other issues there are with his game, he’s a better shooter than what has been shown so far this year. I do think it’s important for him to get his confidence up, and start consistently knocking down a couple of shots per game. If that doesn’t happen soon, he will have to be further buried on the bench.

What We Like: The Freshman trio of Justin Jackson, Kevin Huerter, and Anthony Cowan are starting, producing, and growing game-to-game.

Jackson shows that inside / outside ability. Not having seen him prior to donning a Maryland uniform, I was reliant on scouting reports I saw elsewhere. Based on those reports, I was expecting a slightly better athlete, but was also not anticipating his shooting ability. Seeing him for 7 games now, you see a guy with versatility. There really is a lot to like. You need a basket inside, he has that capability. Don’t respect his shot, and he can hit with range. He’s 13 of 25 (52%) from 3. That is helping a ton with the spacing. He’s also averaging 7.1 boards, and slightly over a block per game. He’s getting to the line at a good clip, but is just 13 of 19 from the charity stripe so far. That should improve. His long wing-span (and effort), makes him a factor defensively. What I like best is that he’s very unselfish, and he keeps the ball moving.

Huerter arrived in College Park with the reputation as a marksman. While he is just 9 of 28 (32%), there have certainly already been examples of his range. I’ve been more impressed by the depth of his game. He’s 6’7, but only listed at 190 lbs. Despite that, he is willing to bang, and go after boards. The 10 boards he had against Richmond were huge. Like Jackson, you also see him looking to make an extra pass. In Brooklyn, he wasn’t hitting everything, but he was showing increased confidence. He was looking for his shot. He had an extremely quick release 3 last night. He looks to me like he’s on the verge of really breaking out some offensively. What would help that offensive ascension is if he can earn his way to the line more often.

Cowan is listed at 6’0, but that might be generous. Whatever his height, he does have some wheels. You can also see he’s competitive. Since he committed, and Melo Trimble returned; we had wondered how the duo would compliment each other. I had anticipated them getting some time together, allowing Melo to play off-the-ball some, and not have to do everything. Admittedly, I was surprised at the onset of the season to see Cowan as part of the starting line-up. Cowan is doing a great job of getting to the line (5.7 attempts per game), and he’s knocking down 80% of his attempts once there. Beyond the arc has been rough so far (he’s just 3 of 19, 16%) though. If he can start hitting from outside, MD is going to be very tough to defend. That would really open up the lane for everyone. He’s got 11 steals so far, including 4 vs. St. Mary’s. I like him pressuring the ball, and being a pest. In Brooklyn, we saw the best and worst of him with the ball. Against Richmond Friday, he had 5 turnovers. Against Kansas State he had 0 (with 6 assists).

What Concerns Us: Prior to the K-State game last night, MD was just 138th overall in Turnover Margin. Should not be the case with effectively 2 PG’s in the starting lineup. However, Trimble and Cowan can both be a bit sloppy with the ball, when facing pressure. And of course as we mentioned above, MD doesn’t do enough to generate turnovers of their own.

What We Like: Dion Wiley is back playing after missing all of last year. He also missed time in training camp this year, with some sickness. He’s played in 6 of the 7 games so far, and provided some spark vs. Stony Brook when he knocked down 4 of his 5 three point attempts. He’s a big strong guard, who during his Freshman season was the best perimeter defender on the roster. There are going to be times (maybe starting Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh) where you need his size in the back-court.

What Concerns Us: It’s understood that Wiley is shaking off the rust of missing last year, and also the time he missed in camp this Fall – but in the 6 games he has played this year, he has 3 games with 0 points, and 1 game with 2.  He’s needs to lock in as a defensive specialist, and regularly give MD some offensive off the bench. It’s an issue for this roster, if his play doesn’t warrant being part of the rotation.

What We Like: Jaylen Brantley’s shooting %’s are down across the board, but I’m generally pleased by what he is providing. His minutes are up significantly vs. last year, and I think that is predicated by his willingness to play defense.

What Concerns Us: I wasn’t expecting Gill to be star, but I was expecting him to be a productive member of the rotation. As the competition to-date hasn’t been that strong, it’s concerning that the Senior hasn’t provided more. After 15 points vs. St. Mary’s, he’s scored just 2 points since, and was limited to 13 total minutes in Brooklyn. That said, there is a guy with some ability (flashed some of it with a nice move to the basket last night), and plenty of experience. He’s going to be needed at some point.

What We Like: Cekovsky has clearly spent a lot of time in the gym since last year. Much stronger looking. Not ready to go when the year started, he has played the last 3 games. The 16 points, and 8 boards were huge last night vs. the Wildcats. He was getting down the court, and finishing oops. He was calling for the ball in the post, and finishing through contact. That was pretty exciting. Now in his 3rd year in the system, he figures to be much more comfortable. Comfortable with the system, the surroundings, his teammates, the language. Having battled Diamond Stone daily in practice could have also only helped. In these 3 games alone, I think it’s clear to see he’s going to regularly give the Terps something. Him and Bender are going to prevent MD’s post game from being a total liability on offense. What was exciting about last night was the idea that he could potentially be more than a guy that helps. A true asset. If MD is able to space the floor with Cowan, Trimble, Huerter, and Jackson – those four regularly hitting shots outside – and Cekovsky can regularly replicate what he did last night inside; then MD’s ceiling goes up significantly. 

What Concerns Us: We’ve mentioned MD’s ranks with Adjusted Tempo, and Turnover Margin. A couple of other concerning numbers are that Maryland is 117th in Scoring Offense, and 80th in Rebounding Margin.

What We Like: The Terps are 39th in Field-Goal Percentage Defense. Annually I seem to ask Coach Turgeon to press and trap more (especially this year with the composition of the roster), but Coach has forgot more than I’ll ever know, and this is a great argument for continuing to play the defense Turgeon likes to employ.

What We Like: While he missed the games vs. Stony Brook, and Richmond, Dodd is playing the highest amount of minutes of his career. He’s averaging career highs in rebounding (4.4 per), and blocks (2.2 per). That’s his job the rest of the years. Rebounding, and being a factor defensively.

What We Like: Trimble made the right decision coming back. Not just because his draft status was sketchy at-best, but because there was unfinished business with the way his Sophomore season ended. He didn’t play well down the stretch last year. Back this year, he looks like the leader. Not just because he’s MD’s best player, but because of how he is playing. He’s not forcing things. He looks to be building up others. He’s carrying the team when they need plays to be made down the stretch.

He’s averaging 8.9 FT attempts per game. Much higher than his levels of the last two years, which were already high. In-part due to that, he’s scoring over 21 points per game. He is also shooting a career best 47% from the floor. It looks to me that he’s a bit lighter, and a bit bouncier.

If you want to pick at his game, you can. He’s better going right. He’s a great passer, but sloppy when pressured. Also can have unforced errors. Good shot, not great. Plays tough, but a bit fragile.

At this level he’s legitimately a difference maker, and he gives MD a puncher’s chance vs. just about anyone.

This Week:

Tuesday night Maryland faces Pittsburgh in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge. The Panthers are 5-1, with wins over Eastern Michigan, Gardner-Webb, Marquette, Yale, and Morehead State. The loss was against SMU. In that game, SMU won on the boards, and had just 7 turnovers.

In the current Ken Pomeroy rankings, MD is 54th, and Pittsburgh is 56th.

On Saturday, Maryland hosts Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are also 5-1, with wins over Campbell, Central Arkansas, New Orleans, UConn, and Georgetown. The loss was a blowout against North Carolina.

The Georgetown victory is interesting since it’s a common opponent. Oklahoma State blasted the Hoyas, which should get MD’s attention.

Via Pomeroy, Oklahoma State is 51st.

If Maryland can defend their home-court this week vs. these ACC and Big 12 opponents, the Terps will be in great position to go undefeated in the Out-of-Conference portion of the resume.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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