With Sulaimon added; Some Thoughts on the Terps

With the transfer addition of Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon; already high-level expectations have now reached extreme proportions for the University of Maryland’s Men’s Basketball and their forthcoming 2015-16 season.

Here are some of the things we will be watching for, and current thoughts we have on the Terps.

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

Being the Hunted vs. Being the Hunter

Last year was a season of transition for the Terps. Leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference, and beginning their new life as part of the Big Ten. The Terps spent the year playing like they had a chip on their shoulder, and that they had something to prove. In a lot of ways, they did. There had been 5 departures from the roster after the 2013-14 season, Coach Turgeon had yet to take the Terps to the NCAA Tournament, and in the pre-season, Big Ten beat writers had projected MD to finish 8th in the conference.

Based on the relatively low expectations that existed for MD as they entered their new league, I think it is somewhat plausible to believe their Big Ten opponents somewhat overlooked the Terps. I think it is safe to say that after a 2nd place finish in league play, that will not happen in 2015-16. The Terps will be circled on the calendar by each team they face.

That won’t just be the case in the Big Ten. With they hype MD is receiving – definitely a preseason Top 10, most likely Top 5, and possibly #1 overall – Connecticut, Georgetown, and the ACC opponent in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge (potentially UNC) – will also be spending months thinking about their game with the Terps.

Playing with expectations is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a good thing. It is an adjustment though. You would like players to have the mentality that they are going to give max effort each night regardless of the opponent; but that is often easier said then done. Especially with young college players, who by definition are not professionals.

MD did a great job with their mental preparation this past season. The next step is knowing you are going to get everyone’s best shot this coming year.

Only One Ball To Go Around

Each member of the likely starting 5 – Trimble, Sulaimon, Layman, Carter, and Stone – will have legitimate NBA aspirations.

For the team to achieve their goals, there will have to be buy-in across the board of team over individual glory. If the players make it a priority to share the ball, every player is going to get a lot of time to shine. It has to be exciting for the players to know that any player individually will likely not be double-teamed.

When you start projecting reasons which could possibly derail MD’s season, the most likely issue would be self-sabotage. Be it players playing for themselves, or buying into the press clippings and not doing the necessary work to build and grow as a unit.

What Has to be Achieved?

It’s May, and every Maryland fan is already extremely excited for November.  College Basketball Analysts from every outlet are singing the praises of the Terps.

When you enter a year with legitimate National Title aspirations, anything short of that will unfortunately feel like a let-down.

That’s a burden you don’t want to put on any team though, and it’s also unfair. Only one team can ultimately cut down the nets – numerous teams can have high quality years.

As a program, MD has been to the Tournament 25 times. However, only in the back-to-back seasons of 2001 and 2002 did the Terps reach the Elite Eight and then the Final Four.

If the Terps take the next step in league play (winning either the regular season or Big Ten Tournament), finish as at-least a 2 seed in the National Tournament, and obtain the programs third trip to the Elite Eight; that will be an extremely successful season.

The one caveat on that is this. What you are trying to build is a team that annually has a chance to contend at the highest levels. Maryland is going to go into the 2015-16 season as the hot team Nationally. The program needs to capitalize on that as best they can, to build further momentum. Sulaimon, and Layman will definitely be gone after this coming year. It’s probably more likely than not that at-least one of Trimble, Carter, and Stone will go pro.

The team doesn’t have to win a National Title for 2015-16 to be a successful year; but they have to succeed given the complexion of the current roster.

What Do We Like Best About The Roster?

Hopefully this is not a potential jinx, but one of the things I like best is that outside of Trimble – the Terps could probably sustain a serious injury to any other player on the roster and still be a factor Nationally.

We mentioned it above, but it deserves to be mentioned again – how are opponents going to guard the Terps? MD is going to spread the floor. If you sag on Carter, and Stone inside; then Trimble, Sulaimon, and Layman are going to have a lot of open looks from outside. Give extra attention to MD on the perimeter, and Carter and Stone figure to overwhelm defenders inside.

The thing I really like best about MD is the overall depth. The Terps have a potential second starting five of Brantley, Wiley, Nickens, Cekovsky, and Dodd. That is just an embarrassment of riches, and doesn’t even include Bender, and Ram.

Maryland is legitimately 12 deep in useable players.

With Sulaimon, any concern about the guard depth has been alleviated. Wiley, Nickens, and Cekovsky will each be going into their Sophomore season (Brantley will as well as JUCO transfer). Players often have their largest personal development between their Freshman and Sophomore years.

The bench is good enough to be able to push the starters in practice, and the depth overall is good enough to really wear down opponents.