Throughout this offseason the NCAA has handed out immediate eligibility waivers at a rate that would likely be classified as unprecedented. And it makes sense for this to be the case, as the governing body made the decision to freeze the eligibility clocks of all winter athletes as it did with fall athletes during the summer. The wait for those waivers has been a bit arduous, but given the number of requests it’s certainly understandable. Tuesday afternoon Maryland received some good news, as Boston College transfer forward Jairus Hamilton was declared eligible to play immediately.
It really can’t be overstated just how big of a deal this is for Mark Turgeon’s team, as Maryland was a bit lacking in the frontcourt depth department. In 24 games last season (20 starts), Hamilton posted averages of 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.5 steals per game, while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from three and 77.5 percent from the foul line. The field goal and three-point percentages certainly aren’t great but it feels like Hamilton can make strides based upon his improvement as a free throw shooter (64.4 percent as a freshman).
What’s also worth noting here is the fact that Boston College wasn’t a particularly good offensive team last season, as it ranked 228th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. By comparison Maryland finished the season ranked 18th in that statistical category. Of course the losses of Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith will make things more difficult for the Terps offensively, but the 2014-15 team was the last under Turgeon that ranked outside of the top-50 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Not to beat a dead horse, but Boston College has finished a season ranked within the top-100 just twice during Jim Christian’s tenure as head coach. Based upon these numbers, it feels safe to assume that Hamilton will be in a position to bring more to the table offensively than he did during his first two college seasons.
With Hamilton cleared the Maryland roster for the 2020-21 season is complete, and the frontcourt situation looks better than it did 48 hours ago. Three newcomers (Hamilton, Alabama grad transfer Galin Smith and freshman Arnaud Revaz), and two sophomores in Donta Scott and Chol Marial with the former having started 21 of the 31 games in which he appeared for the Terps last season.
I don’t see this as being enough to vault Maryland into the upper echelon of a Big Ten that, on paper, will be the strongest that it’s been since the program joined the conference. But having Hamilton available gives this group a fighting chance within the conference’s midsection, which could be enough to get back to the NCAA tournament.
The question now: what will the schedule look like? College basketball appears to have taken the approach of trying to set up non-conference games, with more than a few major-conference programs taking the path of hosting their own multi-team events. There have also been attempts to duplicate the “bubble” environment that worked so well for the NBA, NHL, NWSL and WNBA, but ESPN has already pulled the plug on Orlando.
A big issue appears to be the protocols that schools will be asked to abide by in this year that has been dominated by COVID-19. Different schools in different leagues, and there are state protocols that have to be taken into consideration as well. How often will athletes be tested? What happens in the case of an inconclusive test result, much less a positive one? These questions go well beyond the usual “who brings the officials” conversations that occur when setting up non-conference contracts.
The state protocols could be an issue for conference games as well, but at the very least each league has the opportunity to work with its members to come up with a uniform policy that can satisfy requirements laid down by the various governments. There will be some non-conference games that get played, while others may wind up being scrapped completely.
The key to a successful season, but 2020 standards at least, will be to get as many conference games in as possible. For this season at least, the usual way of evaluating team resumes won’t be of much use. But instead of complaining about it, let’s just do the best that we can to get a season in without jeopardizing the safety of the athletes. They’re taking enough of a risk as it is.
BSL Analyst
Raphielle’s been writing about college sports for more than a decade, making the move to college basketball alone in 2013. Beginning his work with the former website CollegeHoops.net in 2003, Raphielle spent 3 years writing for NBCSports.com beginning 2013, covering CBB and the Olympics. In 2016, Raphielle joined Heavy.com. If there’s a game on, there’s a strong likelihood that he’s watching it.