Many sophomores in the Big Ten have a significantly greater role this season than they did as freshmen. That is to be expected, of course, as the offseason between their first and second years is often when players make their biggest strides in development. Some highly-recruited guys, however, continue to disappoint, while others who may not have been so highly regarded have by now become viable contributors for their teams. This series of posts is meant to check in on a few of the different sophomores in the league to determine whether they have improved and what it means for their teams going forward. Next up in the series is Maryland center Damonte Dodd.
Damonte Dodd has given Maryland a shot-blocking presence in the middle this season. (Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun)
- 2013-14: 7.5 MPG, 0.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.4 BPG, 36.8 FG, 12.5 FT, 12.1 Usage, 70.3 Offensive Rating
- 2014-15: 16.9 MPG, 4.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 62.8 FG, 64.1 FT, 17.0 Usage, 114.6 Offensive Rating
When your starting center plays a season-low two minutes against a team that features two seven-footers, that is not usually a winning recipe in the Big Ten. Yet in Maryland’s road game last Saturday against Purdue, the Terps prevailed despite Damonte Dodd’s chronic foul trouble. Notwithstanding a couple recent poor performances, Dodd has made big strides in his production as a sophomore. Maryland observers thought in the preseason that Slovakian freshman Michal Cekovsky was the likely starter at the center position, but it has been Dodd who has started every game but one. His primary role for Mark Turgeon has been that of a shot-blocker, ranking fourth in the conference with a block rate of 10.9 percent and notching at least two blocks in eight games. He’s also done a tremendous job for the Terps on the offensive glass, where he leads the league in grabbing 13.7 percent of the available misses when he’s on the court. While the offense rarely runs through him in the post, he’s taken advantage of his opportunities with a strong offensive rating that shows an ability to convert. And unlike many developing big men, Dodd has also shown that he can make the pass that leads to a score (0.9 APG).
While he’s unlikely to become a primary scoring option in the post anytime soon, Dodd has done a quality job as a serviceable garbage man who collects boards and makes high-percentage shots. Melo Trimble, Jake Layman, and Dez Wells give the Terps plenty of better offensive options, so his keen abilities to crash the offensive boards and block some shots will suffice. The main area of improvement for the center is to stay out of foul trouble (he commits 6.7 fouls per 40 minutes). Maryland survived Dodd’s troubles against Purdue, but Cekovsky isn’t quite ready for prime time and that will spell disaster against teams like Wisconsin and Michigan State. His last seven games have resulted in 28 fouls, so this is worth monitoring. With the 18th-most efficient defense driving Maryland’s success this season, his presence on the floor in key moments will determine the ceiling for the Terps both in the Big Ten race as well as the postseason tournaments.