Maryland Madness Arrives For The Terps

When you finally get the chance to see the 2016-17 Maryland Terrapins, a couple of thoughts will come to mind.

The first will be: “I’m gonna need a program.”

The second may well be: “What a difference a year makes.”

Second item first…in this day and age with college players coming and going at an all-time pace and programs adding (or losing) grad transfers per a ludicrous NCAA rule, a Division 1 roster can have enormous turnover. That isn’t always a bad thing.

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

So the NBA quality size the Terps had last season has given way to a skilled, guard heavy group that offers Head Coach Mark Turgeon a variety of mix and match scenarios. Perhaps that’s better given the way the college game has turned to small ball after decades of coaches stressing the importance of post play and rim defense. Perhaps this particular group will find a level of cohesion and chemistry that seemed to be just beyond the grasp of last year’s team – talented as they were. Time will tell.

Second thing first…there are A LOT of new faces. Gone are familiar faces Diamond Stone, Robert Carter, and Rasheed Sulaimon (one year players, not great for chemistry or continuity but talented guys). Gone also, of course is Jake Layman – who opponents probably thought had been here six years. Also gone is bench icon and rock star Varun Ram – who Maryland fans probably thought had been here for a decade. Watching them now, this feels like a whole new team. Very talented. Just completely different from last year.

Editorial note here: One of the questions I frequently get around town about the Terps is in regards to last year. Basically put it reads, “What happened??” I completely despise that line of thinking for about a hundred reasons. Talent guarantees you nothing in sports. It’s a combination of many things – tangible and intangible. If you’re Mark Turgeon and staff you make the deals that bring you as much talent and production as possible. Those are tangible things. They just don’t insure that you’ll also be able to do all the intangible things as well. Last year’s group MAY have had the talent to go a step or two further. They just never found the mojo to do it. For anyone who ventured to Louisville for the Sweet Sixteen games (both of them, not just the Terps) you would have seen that – all things considered – Maryland was either the third or fourth best team in that Regional. Add into that the fact that the tournament is a one loss and out proposition and I’ll suggest to you that last year’s team finished pretty much right where it was supposed to.

But I digress.

I love all the guards in the program now. Melo Trimble looks a tad slimmer and dominates practice. The backup at point – freshman Anthony Cowan – does not back down one iota from fighting Melo back. Perhaps the single best thing I have seen is with redshirt sophomore Dion Wiley. He looks like a different kid. Clearly his loss last year had a big impact on the team and the team’s rotations. This Dion looks sleek and cut and assertive. Me Likey.

Returning guards Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens will be pushed hard by Cowan and newcomer Kevin Huerter. As I write this we are thirty hours away from Maryland Madness. This year they’ve added a three point shooting contest, among other things. I fully expect Huerter to walk into the locker room and go all Larry Bird on the rest of the fellas…“Which one of you guys is finishing second?” The guy is lights out and has serious range. He’s going to be a problem for other teams.

Freshman forwards Micah Thomas and Justin Jackson are very intriguing. Thomas may be a year away but he has the longest arms I’ve ever seen and looks like he could be a terrific four year guy. Jackson is very mature physically and can play inside and out. I have no doubt he’ll want to be a three in Maryland’s system. Vegas money has him playing a lot of the four spot this year as a stretch forward.

So all of that is good news. The back court is solid and appears to be in good hands. The one question I have about this group can’t come as much of a surprise. Who is going to score around the basket?

Barring injury Damonte Dodd will be the starting center, no question. On my last visit Michal Cekovsky was not 100% but this is an important year for him. He is so physically gifted and looks great in the reversible. The production needs to start matching his 40 time and his guns. Ivan Bender had minutes of great production last year but it was in scrub time and his lack of athleticism hurts him a bit inside. He’ll get his chances, for sure. Grad transfer LG Gill is a rock solid 6’8” 230 and will definitely help as an enforcer inside this season. He’ll also add some flexibility in terms of the look you give opponents. Against bigger groups you can use him or Dodd/Cekovsky together. If the situation were right you could probably play Gill and Jackson together inside.

Speaking of intriguing, freshman big Joshua Tomaic fits the bill. He’s every bit of 6’9” and can really shoot the ball. I have no idea what the plans are for this kid, short term, but love that he’s in the program. Once he embraces the force of nature that is (strength and conditioning coach) Kyle Tarp he could have a heck of a future.

So, what did we learn here? It’s still Melo Trimble’s team. To a large degree this team will follow his lead and their successes will be intertwined with his performances. That’s a hell of a responsibility. He has plenty of options to play alongside of him. He’ll benefit from having an enthusiastic group of young guys with him. He also needs to make sure he applies a cattle prod to the guys inside.

For Mark Turgeon this has to be an exciting thing. The problem with having all of those veterans and older guys last year (and one truculent freshman) is that they simply stop listening over time. They know it all. This year’s group will be completely different – eager and coachable. That should allow that intangible box to be checked. Now for those tangibles…

NOTE: Maryland Madness is tomorrow night (Friday, October 14th) at 8PM at the XFINITY Center. Tickets are first come, first serve.