Terps Basketball Adds Xavier Green

Maryland added yet another veteran to its already veteran-heavy team with a transfer from Old Dominion guard Xavier Green on Friday.

Green is a grad transfer from ODU who has already played five seasons of college ball and will now be exercising his sixth year of eligibility, which players were granted due to COVID-19’s effects on last season. The 6-foot-6, 200-pounder fills Maryland’s 13th and final scholarship.

A native of Williamsburg, Va., Green is a former Conference USA Tournament Most Valuable Player (2018-19) and Conference USA All-Defensive Team selection. He appeared in 121 of a possible 122 games and started 90 of them over the last four seasons, averaging 30.5 minutes per game. In his 90 starts, Green averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

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Green’s Conference USA Tournament MVP came on the heels of a standout tournament performance in which he averaged 15.7 points on 46-percent shooting from beyond the arc to lead Old Dominion to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010-11.

As a junior at ODU, Green averaged 12.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while having some solid games against Power Five competition. He went for 15 points vs. Syracuse, 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists vs. Illinois and 20 points and 4 boards vs. Washington State that year. In Old Dominion’s game in College Park against Maryland last season, Green scored 5 points while adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists vs. the Terps.

Turgeon’s addition of the gritty guard gives Maryland a plethora of veterans on its roster, including seniors Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala, as well as numerous juniors like Donta Scott, Qudus Wahab, and Hakim Hart, expected to play heavy minutes. Green should be a decent piece on the wing, coming off the bench and bringing some leadership. As the Terps seek to fill the voids left by Darryl Morsell and Aaron Wiggins, Green fits more of the Morsell mold.

With that being said, Maryland’s roster is now that much deeper and Green should fit right into the mix to supply some relevant minutes. All the scholarships are filled and here is how the Terps’ rotation of scholarship players has shaped up.

Guards

Fatts Russell: Coming in as a grad transfer from Rhode Island, Russell is a two-way player who should have an immediate impact and be a leader on this year’s Maryland team. Expect him to start or at least play starter minutes.

Eric Ayala: Maryland’s lone returning senior, Ayala tested the NBA Draft waters but ultimately decided to play for the Terps for a fourth straight year. He was Maryland’s leading scorer last season and is going to start and likely run the offense for Mark Turgeon.

Marcus Dockery: After coming in as a freshman with fellow guard Aquan Smart, Dockery ended up staying in College Park while Smart hit the transfer market because of the log jam in the backcourt. Dockery won’t be a starting option unless the injury bug hits, but hopefully we see some growth from year one to year two and he can give some good minutes off the bench.

Ian Martinez: Martinez is a transfer from Utah who will bring some valuable Power Five experience to Maryland’s bench. Like Dockery, he is also a sophomore and should have plenty of room to grow. Whoever grows faster between Dockery and Martinez could see the majoriy of the second team guard minutes.

Wings

Hakim Hart: Good defender, excellent length, and can run a little point. All of these attributes make Hart someone who will see regular playing time for the Terps this season. But if his shooting hasn’t improved, it will be hard to trust him on the wing at the end of close games. Hart has a good chance to start, but if he doesn’t he’ll be one of the first players off the bench.

James Graham: Although part of the 2021 recruiting class, Graham came to College Park sooner than expected when he became an early enrollee last winter. We didn’t see too much of Graham in live action last year, but anything we did see should be taken with a grain of salt as he was just getting his feet wet. He was a prolific scorer in high school and could be Maryland’s answer to consistent scoring from the wing.

Xavier Green: We’ve discussed Green at length above. But I think this was a solid way to fill the 13th scholarship. Grit, defense, and experience. Good enough for me.

Ike Cornish: Who wouldn’t like to see the local product step up and be a stud freshman? Terps fans should hope either Graham or Cornish are half the scorers they were in high school. In which case, the missing piece could be found.

Bigs

Donta Scott: Scott will be Maryland’s most reliable post presence and if his game grows from year two to year three like it did from year one to year two then he could end up being one of the best forwards in the Big Ten. A rare player who can do a little bit of everything, Scott will also be the backbone of the team now that Morsell has moved on.

Qudus Wahab: You can’t teach 7-foot tall. But as Terps fans have seen before with players like Chol Marial, height doesn’t equal talent or ability in college basketball. But Wahab is more skilled, durable, and experienced than Marial and should be a force to be reckoned with from day one. CBS Sports ranked Wahab as the 3rd best College Basketball transfer this year, and there will be expectations for him to be among the Big Ten’s best bigs from Day 1.

Julian Reese: Reese could easily be Maryland’s best player from its 2021 class. Adapting to the post in the Big Ten will make for a harder transition than some of his classmates will have, but he has tons of talent and athleticism. He’ll certainly want to show out for his hometown school too.

Pavlo Dziuba: Turgeon has had success recruiting bigs from Ukraine in the past. Alex Len perhaps being the most notable. Dziuba was the youngest player in college basketball (17) when he played for Arizona State last year.

Arnaud Revaz: Adding some more international flair to the roster, Revaz’s 6-foot-10 frame will help with frontcourt depth and provide at least one more big body for the scout team.