The Maryland Terrapins surprised a lot of people in the national media during the 2014-2015 with an outstanding season finishing with a 28-7 record, finishing second in the BIG 10, finishing 12th in the final AP poll and making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010 as well as the first time ever under head coach Mark Turgeon. After losing the second round of the NCAA tournament, Turgeon didn't skip a beat on the recruiting trail and the reward of it has left a lot of high expectations with only one thing on their Terps mind: A national championship.
The Terps are about as loaded as any team in the country could possibly be and a lot of people in the national media are taking notice of it as Terps have been labeled as a preseason top five team by CBSSports, USATodaySports and ESPN to name a few.
The Terps return two key starting contributors from their 2014-2015 season with players such as point guard Melo Trimble and small forward Jake Layman. Both players were entertaining the possibly of entering the upcoming NBA draft but ultimately decided to give it one more shot.
“From the end of his sophomore year to end of his junior year, Jake improved as much as any player I’ve ever coached,” Turgeon noted of Layman via BaltimoreSun.com. “I hope we can do that again between his junior and senior year. I think he can. Jake works hard, he loves the game and he wants to be successful. I imagine he’s going to have a great spring and summer, which should lead to a great winter.”
Some of the biggest reasons why both Trimble and Layman decided to come back was due to a potentially dangerous front court arriving which was a weakness this past season.
Power forward Robert Carter, a transfer from Georgia Tech from last year is set to start after being a redshirt during the 2014-2015 season providing a strong presence in the paint with a nice jump hook and a respectable mid range jumper.
Arguably the best high school center in the country out of the state of Wisconsin Diamond Stone committed to the Terps near the of March last month as he comes in as a freshman next season with not only a reliable post game, but with the range to stretch the defense and provide three-point jumpers as well.
The additions of Carter and Stone give the Terps balance on their offense that not many teams around country can even match. Both Carter and Stone also provide a luxury of depth where centers in Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky will most likely come off the bench. Cekovsky had a very raw freshman season and there are expectations for him to evolve into the kind of player who has more confidence entering his sophomore season as Cekovsky showed flashes of quick feet in the paint with the right technique. Now it is all about consistency.
In addition to Cekovsky and Dodd himself providing shot blocking abilities off of the bench in the front court, the Terps also have newly acquired junior college point guard Jaylen Brantley out of Odessa, Texas who is known as a real quality shooter and can run an offense as a general on the floor which is something that would be greatly needed if last season was any indication. When Trimble needed to rest during games this past season, the offense would have issues with the flow and players being disciplined in their responsibilities.
“Talking to Coach Turgeon, he really thinks that me and [Trimble] can play off each other and be a good backcourt,” Brantley noted via WashingtonPost last October.. “[Trimble] can really score the ball and they want somebody that can complement him, get him the ball and get everybody involved … they have a lot of guards up there can really score it."
Sophomores in Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley will be coming off the bench as well with the sky being just about the limit for both of them. Nickens proved his value as being a dangerous three-point shooter, shooting 39 percent from the floor last season. The one thing Nickens didn't do very often in his freshman year is dribble the ball up the floor. Nickens certainly has the talent to do that and if he is given more room to create his own shot, he could be a serious breakout player.
Wiley offers great athleticism and the ability to slash to the basket and also stretch the defense along the perimeter. The issue with Wiley last season was just due to a limited role. Entering his second season coach Turgeon is expected to give Wiley a little bit more freedom.
The Terps haven't had a basketball team this good on paper entering a season since 2002 and everyone knows how that season ended. The Terps will be a problem for every opponent during the 2015-2016 season.