Great expectations can be both a blessing and a curse in men’s college basketball.
During the Mark Turgeon era, high hopes have more often than not led to misery in March for Maryland. Twice before, they’ve been ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 and both times the Terps have finished below those November expectations (from third to 18th in the 2015-16 season, from 25th to unranked the following year) at the end of the season.
This year, they’re seventh in the AP; time will tell if the AP stands for “Accurately Projected” or “Another Problem” for these Terps.
Unlike last November, head coach Mark Turgeon returns most of his talent: seven of the eight players who averaged 10+ minutes per game last year are back, including four of his five starters. That gives the coach a little bit of a luxury when it comes to working his talented freshman class into the mix.
“We have so much depth, some guys are going to learn by sitting,” said Turgeon. “Last year, we had to play guys through mistakes, turnovers. There really wasn’t an answer. I think we’ll get better because of that. Guys will correct things quicker because of that.”
The biggest piece added to the Terrapin puzzle is 7-foot-2 center Chol Marial, who comes to College Park from South Sudan through Compass Prep in Arizona. He’s also going to have the most delayed impact after having surgeries to correct stress fractures in both of his legs this past September, which should keep him on the shelf at least until December.
“He feels good but still has a little bit of swelling in the knees. He’s lifting, he’s shooting, he’s doing some things on the floor,” said Turgeon. “We’ll do another appointment on Nov. 25. We’re hoping on that day he gets clearance.”
Fans won’t have to wait long to see the other four freshmen. Six-foot-10 twin big men Makhi and Makhel Mitchell from Washington, D.C. and the Philadelphia pair of swingman Donta Scott and guard Hakim Hart are already making an impression in practice.
“(They are) very talented, very physical and (have) a good feel for the game,” said Turgeon. “They’ve fit in well. Our guys really like them. What they do give us is some physicality. Our practices are much more physical, and they need to be for us to play at the highest level.”
While freshmen contributing to a Top 25 team is nothing new in 2019, a four-year senior starter is. But look for yourself: Anthony Cowan Jr. is back for one more winter. And it’s not just to pursue his Masters of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship (Cowan earned his degree in Communication this past summer).
“Anthony came back to win. Anthony’s done a lot with scoring points and assists,” said Turgeon. “He wants his legacy to be winning and winning at a high level. He knows he’ll be remembered more if our team wins at a high level.”
That means not just winning 20+ games during the regular season, but also making things happen in March. Cowan’s led the team in scoring and assists the last two years — what he hasn’t done is led them to Saturday (and the Semifinals) of the Big Ten Tournament or the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
While Bruno Fernando moves on to the NBA, the Terps cupboard inside is far from bare. Jalen Smith is back for his sophomore season after ranking third on the team in scoring and second in rebounds and blocked shots. Turgeon acknowledges that the Baltimore product has bulked up, jokingly referring to the player commonly known as “Sticks” as “Logs.”
In all seriousness, they’ve looked to bulk up 6-foot-10 forward’s offensive game.
“We really worked hard on him to score in a lot of different ways. He’s (already) pretty good on the right block, a catch-and-shoot-the-three guy,” said Turgeon. “We tried to (put him on) a lot of different areas on the floor, played a ton of one-on-one since the season ended.”
There’s also the anticipation and the expectation of improvement for Smith on the other side of the floor.
“His perimeter defense got so much better as the year went on. Last year it was all new to him. Now I’m very confident in his perimeter defense and what he can do,” said Turgeon. “Defensively, he struggled when he had to guard a five last year. Hopefully the weight helps, hopefully the experience helps.”
With returning starters Eric Ayala Jr. and Darryl Morsell back in the fold along with role players Aaron Wiggins, Serrell Smith Jr., and Ricky Lindo Jr., the proverbial ceiling is high. But if there’s anything his previous eight winters in College Park have taught Mark Turgeon, it’s that November is more than four months away from March — those two months are a lifetime apart for a team, no matter how talented.
Can this team be special?
“We’ll see,” said Turgeon. “If they continue to be coachable and selfless — those two things are really important. Talent-wise and depth-wise, yeah we got a chance. But if they’re coachable and they’re selfless, then we’ll continue to get better and do some great things.”
