Terps regular season report cards
The Terps have exceeded expectations as a team and individually this season. Despite starting three freshmen, dealing with a few injuries and initially being projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten, Maryland (24-7, 12-6 Big Ten) is one of the conference’s top-three teams for the third straight year and now has its sight set on a postseason run.
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Although leading scorer Melo Trimble was the only Terp to be recognized with All-Big Ten honors this year after being selected to the conference’s First Team Monday evening, the junior guard certainly didn’t get Maryland to 24 wins on his own.
Many players to had an impact on Maryland’s success this season, and to take a closer look at the parts that make up the whole in College Park, TSR has given the Terps a regular season report card.
Starters
Fr., G, Anthony Cowan: A-
Cowan had one of the strongest freshman seasons of any rookie in the Big Ten. He has played well at both ends of the floor for the Terps and is tied with Trimble for first on the team in assists per game (2.7) while also coming in at first in steals (1.2 spg), third in scoring (10.4 ppg) and fourth in rebounds (3.9 rpg) this season. Perhaps the most impressive part of Cowan’s game has been his knack for getting to the free throw line. Cowan ranks 18th nationally in free throw rate (72.5), according to KenPom, and has scored more than a third of his points from the charity stripe this year. There is no harder position to play as a freshman than point guard and Cowan handled his duties admirably in his first season in College Park. The one area where he could stand to improve the most would be on his three-point shot. He’s currently shooting under 30 percent from deep, but getting the ball in shooters hands, driving to the basket and stout defense will likely be his M.O. throughout his college career.
Jr., G, Melo Trimble: A
Trimble averaged 16.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the Terps during the regular season, which helped him become an All-Big ten performer for the third year in a row. His junior season has included a career-high 32-point performance in a win at Northwestern and a game-winning three-pointer to beat Michigan State at home in the regular season finale. Trimble increased his scoring by more than two points per game from his sophomore to junior year and he has also made great strides as a leader for Maryland. Last season his scoring was a bit down but his assists were slightly up because of all the talented upperclassmen around him. Being surrounded by a young core this year, Trimble seemed to usually know when to take over or when to get his teammates involved. But, as he showed against Michigan State last Saturday, Trimble is still the guy who will have the ball in his hands when the Terps have one last possession and need to score. He has as much poise as any player you’ll find in college basketball and the respect that opposing coaches and teams have for him is apparent game in and game out.
Fr., F, Kevin Huerter: B+
Huerter is perhaps the most versatile player that the Terps have. His grade could have and probably would have been a bit higher if his usage rate had been a little better in his freshman season. Despite starting and averaging the third-most minutes per game on the team, Huerter was only used on about 16 percent of offensive possessions by the Terps according to KenPom. That seems low for a player that can dribble, pass and shoot with the best of them. But even with limited opportunities, Huerter was still able to make major contributions at both ends of the floor and stuff the stat sheet at times for Maryland. The 6-foot-7 wing finished the regular season second in rebounding (5.0 rpg) and assists (2.5 apg), third in steals (0.9 spg) and fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg) and blocks (0.8 bpg) for the Terps. Huerter also proved to be one of Maryland’s most reliable three-point shooters, hitting a team-high 59 from downtown this year with an average of 37 percent beyond the arc. Also of note, because of his length and high-basketball IQ, Huerter is often asked to guard the opposing team’s most prolific scorer and he has held many marquee players in check this season.
Fr. F, Justin Jackson: A-
Jackson is Maryland’s most skilled frontcourt player and showed on several occasions that he has the ability to take over games with his versatility as he did with a combined 50 points and 22 rebounds in the Terps’ back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Ohio State this season. He led the Terps in rebounding in the regular season with 6.2 per game, but despite starting in the post and having a 6-foot-7 frame with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, the Canadian product proved he can do more than just bang down low. Jackson finished the regular season with the third most three-pointers made on the Terps (44), but he is far and away Maryland’s most accurate from deep with his 44 percent rate from beyond the arc. He’s a true mismatch for opposing teams and that should only become more prevalent as his college career moves forward. Finishing the regular season second in scoring (10.7 ppg) and third in blocks (0.8 bpg) for the Terps, Jackson is a true two-way player that could receive strong NBA consideration down the line because of his athleticism, massive build and uncanny ball skills for a player at his position. The only real knock on Jackson’s game so far would be his tendency to float on the perimeter too much on Maryland’s offensive possessions. The Terps desperately needed his rebounding at times this season more than his shooting, but Jackson had a habit of not always playing like a player of his size.
Sr., C, Damonte Dodd: B-
After four years in College Park, Dodd is what he is for the Terps, and that’s a solid defensive presence down low that isn’t ever really going to play more than 20 minutes per game because of his deficiencies at the offensive end. He’s not going to light up the scoreboard, after all, he posted a career-high 15 points against Michigan earlier this season, but Dodd has always had a knack for blocking shots and has made great strides in his pick-and-roll offense throughout his time as a Terp. His two blocks per game this season are good for first on the team and third in the conference. Dodd recently moved to No. 8 on Maryland’s all-time blocked shots list and now has 139 for his career. However, even with lack of depth at center, Dodd had to be subbed out more frequently than any of the Terps’ starters because of his propensity for getting in foul trouble. Setting illegal screens has plagued Dodd throughout his college career and limited the impact he has been able to have for Maryland. But considering the expectations for Dodd coming out of high school, he has had quite the four years in College Park and is departing as a better player than he entered.
Bench: B
While about seven bench players saw action in just about every one of Maryland’s games this season, it was really a handful of reserves that stood out above the rest. Junior guard Jaylen Brantley, junior center Michal Cekovsky and sophomore forward Ivan Bender had the biggest impact off the bench for the Terps, but Turgeon will only have two of them to his disposal in the postseason. Cekovsky was in and out of the Terps’ lineup this year with various foot and ankle injuries before finally going down for the year with a broken ankle in the loss to Wisconsin. But before getting hurt, Cekovsky was arguably Maryland's biggest spark off the bench with 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He was also one of the Terps’ best finishers around the rim, leading the team in field goal percentage (67 percent) in his limited action this year. Brantley has given Maryland’s backcourt some relief by averaging 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and one assist in his 17.1 minutes per game. He has also been reliable from deep for the Terps, shooting 38.8 percent beyond the arc and hitting the fourth most on the team (31) this season. Bender, along with fifth-year senior L.G. Gill, has had to platoon between the four and the five this season. Both Bender and Gill have had their struggles at times, but they each contribute some valuable minutes to the Terps this year and have helped Maryland’s overall depth.
Coaching: A
There’s something to be said for a team that is projected to finish where the Terps were and that earned a top-three finish in its league plus a double bye in its conference tournament. And the coaching job Turgeon has done with his young team is a good place to start. Not only was making the tough call to start three freshmen over more experienced players an impressive move by Turgeon, but the way he has developed his three rookies and their roles on Maryland’s team deserves even more praise. He could have lost his squad after a 14-point home loss to Pitt early in the season. Instead, the Terps responded with a one-point, out-of-conference win the next game against a stingy Oklahoma State team and were also victorious in their next five outings. Then another tough home loss, this time by two to Nebraska, sparked a seven-game win streak in conference play for Maryland. Losing five of seven down the stretch made it seem like the sky was falling in College Park for a few weeks, but even then, Turgeon was able to get the Terps back on track and coached them to two victories to end the regular season strong. Turgeon himself probably didn’t expect his freshmen to get off to this good of a start with his, but the job he has done coaching them and the rest of his roster should be commended and the development of Maryland’s young core over the next few seasons should be fun to watch.