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Maryland opens its season Friday against Charleston Southern in College Park. Let's take a look at 10 questions the Terps will have to answer this upcoming season.

10. Will Dino Gregory Be Eligible?

Gregory was held out of Maryland’s lone exhibition game due to an “unspecified violation of team rules.” It is rumored that his eligibility is in question due to an academic dishonesty charge, otherwise known as cheating. If this is true and Gregory is found guilty of cheating, he would be ineligible the entire season.

Although he is not one of Maryland’s four returning starters from last season, the loss of Gregory would really hurt the Terps. He is their most experienced returning post player, and was expected to be the fifth starter heading into this season. At the end of last season, Gregory had begun to come on, helping the Terps out with his rebounding and defense. Losing him means losing experience, size, and depth in the frontcourt.

9. Will Eric Hayes Continue To Score More?

Last year in the postseason, Eric Hayes began to look like a much more assertive player. Earlier in his career Hayes had been mostly about getting the ball to other people, and he would spot up and shoot threes. In last year’s postseason we saw Hayes creating shots for himself and driving to the basket more.

He shot 60 percent from the floor and averaged 15 points a game in Maryland’s five postseason games. Hopefully Hayes continues the aggressive play to become a viable alternative scoring threat to Greivis Vasquez.

8. How Much Will Freshmen Jordan Williams and James Padgett Contribute?

Especially if Dino Gregory cannot play, Maryland is going to need Williams and Padgett to play significant minutes. At this point, Padgett is farther along in terms of his conditioning and understanding of the offense, but Williams probably has more upside. Padgett started the Terps’ exhibition game and is expected to continue to start in Gregory’s absence.

Williams and Padgett do not have to be big time scorers for Maryland to be successful. However, in a league with a lot of talented frontcourt players (Kyle Singler at Duke, Trevor Booker at Clemson, Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal at Georgia Tech, Al-Farouq Aminu at Wake Forest, and John Henson and Ed Davis at Carolina), it will be vital that they can come in right away, rebound, and play solid defense in order for Maryland to succeed.

7. Can Cliff Tucker Play More Consistently?

Tucker was somewhat up and down last season. He averaged 20 points a game in two games against North Carolina, but then he would disappear some games or get little playing time. He finished the season shooting a solid 38 percent from three-point range, but he seemed to be a very streaky three-point shooter. Consistent scoring from Tucker would really help the Terps’ offense and take some of the scoring burden off of Vasquez.

6. Will Landon Milbourne Still Be Stuck Playing Power Forward?

Even with the addition of two new big men, Landon Milbourne will probably continue to play at the four spot. Since Maryland’s strength and experience is with its guards, it looks like Gary Williams is going to continue to use a three guard lineup.

Milbourne did a good job last year playing out of position against larger players. Playing Milbourne at the four allows Maryland to get their most talented and experienced players out on the floor.

5. Will Sean Mosley’s Contributions Start To Show Up More on the Stat Sheet?

Sean Mosley had a very solid freshman season, but he didn’t exactly fill up the scoring column. Mosley averaged six points a game last year, but he was still a very important part of the team. Mosley added toughness and energy to the team. He played solid defense and made a lot of hustle plays, which is what earned him a starting job for the last 15 games of the season.

If Mosley’s jumpshot has improved in the offseason, then he should become a much more dangerous scorer.

4. Will Steve Goins Come Back from Injuries To Contribute?

Goins did not play in Maryland’s exhibition game due to a knee injury. He saw very limited action last year with the Terps, appearing in only three games, all of them blowouts. Goins is one of only two Maryland players taller than 6’9’’ (he and Williams are both 6’10’’). Maryland could really use his size and length in their frontcourt.

3. Will Greivis Vasquez Be ACC Player of the Year?

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