Maryland Basketball: Previewing the Terps' 2010-2011 Season

Last year is over. The epitaphs have been written, the fallen lamented, the heroes canonized, the cold and bitter consolations consumed, the hangovers nursed.

Time to talk about the 2010-2011 season.

Maryland lost three players, but will gain at least five (extra spaces thanks to Jin Soo Choi’s departure and Jerome Burney’s foot).  The Terps could actually add another one because David Pearman is on a year-to-year scholarship. 

But wait, there’s more.

They gained yet another scholly after Steve Goins transferred. With five freshmen already, they ended up getting JuCo transfer Berend Weijs, which is less risky when you’ve got a younger team without a ton of existing chemistry to interfere with coughstevefranciscough.

Here's who we know will take the floor next year for the Terps:

Projected starters

Point Guard: Adrian Bowie, senior
Shooting Guard: Cliff Tucker, senior
Small Forward: Sean Mosley, junior
Power Forward: Dino Gregory, senior
Center: Jordan Williams, sophomore

Projected reserves (subject to change given scholarship situation)

Point Guard: Terrell Stoglin, freshman
Shooting Guard: Pe’Shon Howard, freshman
Small Forward: Mychal Parker, freshman; Haukur Palsson, freshman
Power Forward: James Padgett, sophomore; Ashton Pankey, freshman
Center: Berend Weijs, junior

Overall, it’s a good team, not a great one. Ditto their prospects for success next season.

Having said that, a lot of people are way down on this team given its lack of experience and, how should I put this, floor leadership. But there are some good pieces here. This can be a tournament team if the cards shake out right.

Going into the season, the main source of tension for me is the glaring, obvious fact that Adrian Bowie is not a point guard. It’s not that he’s a bad point guard. He's simply not a point guard. I don’t see any barking cats around here, and I also don’t see any Adrian Bowie point guards. Whenever the scientific community wants to clue us in on how to genetically fuse Bowie and Tucker into one body, that would be great. Seriously, science, any time now.

Until then, Bowie and Tucker will continue to be an X factor on this team, only now, they will also be, along with Dino Gregory, the most experienced players in the program.  Right.

Tension could come into play here because of Gary Williams’ well-known loyalty to his older players, especially the seniors. That philosophy could be put to the test as never before, as true point guard Terrell Stoglin will be waiting in the wings.

Stoglin just finished leading his Arizona high school team to a state championship and is the second-leading scorer in Arizona history, behind some guy named Mike Bibby. He averaged 30 points and six assists his senior year, although he’s not a physical freak; his defense is suspect; and there’s clearly a big learning curve in front of him.

But if he adapts, they’ll probably have to give him a shot, assuming Bowie plays PG next season like he did in limited chances this season, that is, like a lizard trying to tap dance. It’s difficult for him, is what I’m saying.

But if this happens and they start using Bowie again at SG, that will cut into playing time for either Bowie or Tucker. Neither has gained a reputation for being a team-first guy, especially Tucker, who has openly complained about playing time in the past. 

So if Gary did go with Stoglin, he would not only be going against his own tendencies, but might create locker room problems. On the other hand, what if Bowie sucks at point guard? That’s the biggest question for next year.

Speaking of the young guys coming on, after Jordan Williams’ amazing season, it seems likely that this will be his team next season. After Sean Mosley came out with guns blazing to get 13 points and five rebounds per over the first 12 games, people were handing next year’s team to him.

But he cooled off. Big time. He’s still a crucial piece, but now Jordan seems more promising.

Front-court depth, however, will still be an issue. A lot of it will come down to James Padgett’s offseason improvement; you may recall that Gary Williams has already challenged him to gain 10-15 pounds of muscle.

At 6′9,″ freshman PF Ashton Pankey is a dervish around the basket, but lost most of his senior season with a troubling leg injury. As of now his timetable for recovery isn’t clear. So we have no idea what we’ll get from him. On the other hand, we know exactly what we’ll get from Dino Gregory. 

So yes. Front-court depth will be an issue.

Interestingly, our two most exciting freshmen (in my opinion anyway) will be the most buried on the depth chart. Shooting guard Pe’shon Howard is an exciting player (ridiculous passing —woo!) and could be the next emotional leader of the team.

Swingman Mychal Parker (55 on Rivals) is basically the new Landon Milbourne. But with Mosley and the BowTuck Monster in front of them, it could be tough for either to see a lot of minutes right away.

So there you have it.

In my opinion, this is a team that’s going to have to make a serious commitment to defense if it wants to compete next season. They have the athleticism to lock teams up, but won’t have a lot of scoring options and will struggle if they lose focus or discipline.

I’ll pencil them in for 19 wins and a season on the bubble. We shall see.

(Note:  this post is also published at www.shell-games.com)

(Photo Credit:  Tuscon Citizen)