Sometimes it’s best to keep your analysis simple. There are four elite recruits coming into the Big Ten this season, and all of them are large in stature and pedigree. Each is 6’8″ or taller and played in multiple high school All-Star games last spring. Michigan State’s Devonta Davis, Indiana’s Thomas Bryant and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan could all make huge contributions to teams that have serious aspirations for March glory. But sometimes an award just goes to the player on the best team. In this case, we here at the RTC Big Ten Microsite feel that Maryland freshman Diamond Stone will be the Big Ten’s Rookie of the Year.

Diamond Stone is our pick as Big Ten ROY. (USA TODAY Sports)

One year ago, Stone capped off a storied run at Dominican High School in Milwaukee by deciding to head to Maryland. In picking Mark Turgeon’s Terps, he spurned his home state school (along with Connecticut and Oklahoma State) and relations between the two parties on social media haven’t exactly been cordial since. He will bring a polished offensive game that features a variety of post moves as well as the ability to step out to three-point range. Things aren’t as rosy on the defensive end of the floor, but, at a minimum, Stone has the size and athleticism to threaten some shots at the rim.

The trio of Melo Trimble, Dez Wells and Jake Layman were the main offensive catalysts for the Terrapins, while returnees Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky only used 15.9 and 13.9 percent of Maryland’s possessions a season ago — mostly from behind the arc and at the foul line. Now, the additions of Stone and Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter make the Maryland attack considerably more diverse. Any member of the projected starting five of Layman, Trimble, Stone, Carter and Duke transfer Rasheed Suliamon could lead the team in scoring on a given night. This fact, along with the offensive skill level that Stone will bring to his numerous easy looks, will enable him to post excellent per-game averages. If you combine his numbers with what presumably will be a very successful Maryland team, it makes sense that Stone will be the Big Ten Rookie of the Year.

Brendan Brody (307 Posts)

Brendan Brody is in his fourth season covering the Big Ten for RTC. Email him at brendan.brody@gmail.com, or follow him on twitter @berndon4.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2015 at 10:01 am by Brendan Brody and is filed under big ten, microsites. Tagged: caleb swanigan, Damonte Dodd, Devonta Davis, diamond stone, jake layman, maryland, Melo Trimble, Michal Cekovsky, Rasheed Suliamon, Robert Carter, Thomas Bryant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.