A Year After Texas’ Resuscitation, Maryland’s On Track as The Next Big Program Revival
Posted by Brian Goodman on November 26th, 2014Coming into the season, one of the key storylines in the Big Ten was how Maryland would perform in a season as important for its pedigree as it is for its head coach’s job security. By now, Terrapin fans are all too familiar with the list,
Has Mark Turgeon’s Program Turned the Corner?
but for the uninitiated, Maryland lost five of its top eight scorers from last year to transfer. Then the school denied enrollment to would-be freshman Trayvon Reed after the four-star prospect was arrested for stealing candy from a convenience store and assaulting a plainclothes officer. As if that weren’t enough, they suffered yet another setback last month when senior Evan Smotrycz broke a bone in his foot, sidelining the former Michigan forward for the start of the season.
But in handling Big 12 power Iowa State, 72-63, behind a talented and quickly-developing crop of newcomers, Turgeon showed that his team is in a better position than many prognosticators believed, and while he didn’t explicitly acknowledge it, that could mean big things for the Maryland program.
The Terrapins’ four-headed big man rotation came through defensively, holding Georges Niang to an ice-cold 4-of-14 night and shutting out Cyclone forward Dustin Hogue on the glass. They also contributed on offense, as Jake Layman stretched Iowa State’s undersized defense out to the perimeter and connected on a pair of three-pointers. When Turgeon sat sophomore forward Damonte Dodd 24 seconds into the second half after he picked up his third foul of the game, his replacement, seven-foot freshman Mychal Cekovsky, made a number of hustle plays and hit a long jumper to keep the Cyclones at bay.
There were key contributions in the backcourt as well. Melo Trimble’s 31-point effort against Arizona State on Monday wasn’t going to be topped, but he still led the offense with poise and maturity. As Iowa State tried to catch up with 7:02 remaining in the game, Trimble telegraphed a pass from Niang and started to lead the break. He looked up and realized that his team didn’t have numbers and initiated a halfcourt set, and the possession ended with with Trimble calmly burying a long jumper to stretch Maryland’s lead to ten. Thanks in large to the play of Trimble and wing Jared Nickens, who answered when Iowa State looked like they were going to embark on one of their patented runs, Fred Hoiberg’s team would come no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Following the game, Turgeon acknowledged but quickly deflected questions about the importance of this season. At the very least, observers will judge the team’s success by whether or not he guides his team to the NCAA Tournament after falling short in each of his first three years in College Park. Patience may be running thin outside of the program, but inside, Turgeon is high on his young nucleus. “There’s a reason they were ranked so high as a recruiting class. The best part about them is that they are really coachable. They fit right in. This is a team that believes in each other. We have a lot of pieces and they’re really dedicated. It’s early… but it’s a fun group to coach,” he said.
In some ways, Turgeon’s situation mirrors Texas head coach Rick Barnes’ position last season. The Longhorns, of course, sustained losses up and down its roster over the 2013 offseason, when Sheldon McClellan, Myck Kabongo, Julien Lewis and Ioannis Papapetrou left Austin, but it didn’t concern him. Throughout last season, Barnes reiterated the value of having a team full of players who bought in and valued the collective mission over the personal one, a characteristic that was lacking among the departed players, and the result was a surprise run to fourth place in the Big 12, a return to the NCAA Tournament, and perhaps most importantly, a contract extension to keep Barnes at the helm through the 2018-19 season.
Like the Longhorns of last season, the Terrapins still have plenty of talent remaining, and according to Layman, there’s a difference in how his young teammates carry themselves compared to last year’s squad. “They know their roles and have a lot of confidence in themselves. Their ears are open to anything and everything and they really trust the veterans and they’re comfortable on the floor knowing that we have their back,” he said.
Moving forward, there’s every reason to believe that Maryland can make it back to the NCAA Tournament, and the same thing couldn’t be said with much confidence before this week. The Terrapins’ non-con road still includes tough match-ups at home against Virginia on December 3 and at Oklahoma State on December 13. But by the time the Big Ten schedule rolls around, the experienced Smotrycz may be back in Turgeon’s rotation to provide a boost. A lot can happen, but if Maryland’s young core continues to improve alongside more experienced players like Layman and Dez Wells, people could very well end up talking about Turgeon and the Terrapins this March the way they talked about Barnes and the Longhorns eight months ago.
Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.
