Maryland Terrapins Basketball: Ranking the Sophmores for the 2011-12 Season

As the NCAA Tournament wraps up, Maryland's offseason is punctuated by two big questions: Will Jordan Williams stay in the NBA draft and can the Terrapins sign their final recruit in the 2011 class, forward Desmond Hubert?

Although the Terrapins face big questions at the small forward and power forward positions, if Williams decides to return, Maryland will have a core group highlighted by Williams and Terrell Stoglin, one of five returning freshman for the Terrapins next season. In the third part of a four part series, Stoglin is the top player in a group that includes a potential starter at shooting guard, two possible small forward starters and a power forward that could be the replacement for Jordan Williams if he does depart the team.

1) Terrell Stoglin

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CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 27: Terrell Stoglin #12 of the Maryland Terrapins shoots the ball over Kendall Marshall #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on February 27, 2011 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Pho

Stoglin vaulted himself to Maryland’s starting point guard and second-leading scorer by the end of his freshman season He will enter next season as the presumable choice to have a Jordan Williams-style breakout season. Stoglin averaged 11.4 points per game, behind only Williams on Maryland’s roster. He also averaged 3.3 assists, good for second on the team behind Adrian Bowie.

Now that Bowie is gone, Stoglin will be leaned on as Maryland’s primary distributor. Stoglin will continue to be a top scorer for the Terps, but if Jordan Williams leaves, Stoglin will be the top scorer. One thing Stoglin needs to work on is his three-point shooting. Stoglin can drive to the basket and will be a prolific scorer like Greivis Vasquez was near the basket, but his perimeter and three-point shooting (35 percent) leaves much to be desired. Still, Stoglin is the second best player on the Terrapins behind Jordan Williams right now, but if Williams leaves Stoglin will become the centerpiece of next season’s Maryland squad.

2) Pe'Shon Howard

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COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 23: Pe'Shon Howard, left, of the Maryland Terrapins passes around Luke Loucks #3 of the Florida State Seminoles at the Comast Center on February 23, 2011 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Howard was the early freshman starter this season before Stoglin overtook him as the primary point guard. Howard finished the season averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 assists per game in a solid but unspectacular freshman season. However, Howard and Stoglin could form a duo much like the Eric Hayes-Greivis Vasquez combination of the 2009-10 season.

Stoglin would be the Vasquez type, a driving and slashing scorer, while Howard would be more of a jump shooter/distributor in the Hayes vein. Howard, despite being recruited as a shooting guard, played mostly at point guard and showed an affinity for assists. For a Howard-Stoglin combination to work though, Howard needs to cut down his turnovers and needs to work on his three-point shooting (he shot just 35 percent behind the three-point arc) if he expects to start alongside Stoglin.

3) Mychal Parker

Mychal Parker, Photo by InsideMarylandSports

Parker was Maryland’s highest rated recruit last season, an ESPN 100 recruit who played just 80 minutes for the Terrapins in his freshman season. Much of his potential playing time was lost to senior Cliff Tucker and his slow transition to the college game. Parker is raw, but he is still a big talent who will get more playing time next season.

Although he was recruited as a shooting guard, the signing of Nick Faust and Tucker’s graduation means Parker will probably be a small forward, along with Haukur Palsson. Sean Mosley may factor into the small forward/wing battle between Parker and Palsson, but Parker and Palsson will be the first two candidates for the spot vacated by Tucker. However, if Parker expects to play immediately next season, he can’t have games like his 10 minutes against Virginia in the last game of the regular season, where Parker committed two costly turnovers in the second half. 

4) Haukur Palsson

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 10: Jordan Vandenberg #14 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack fights for possession of the ball against Haukur Palsson #13 of the Maryland Terrapins during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2011 ACC men's basket

Palsson played the third most minutes behind Stoglin and Howard, averaging about 10 minutes a game last season. Palsson averaged 2.8 points a game last season, scoring a career high 13 in the blowout win over Longwood. Palsson could be a big factor in a facet of Maryland’s offense that was sorely lacking this season: three-point shooting.

He shot a team-best 41 percent from behind the arc, and in his limited time on the court, Palsson was obviously Maryland’s best pull-up three-point shooter. That could have a huge effect on his potential for a starting role, given Maryland’s obvious deficiencies in three-point shooting. Palsson and Parker will have an interesting early-season battle over the starting small forward spot, with Parker’s athleticism and Palsson’s shooting ability the two key factors in determining who gets that role.

5) Ashton Pankey

Ashton Pankey, Photo by InsideMarylandSports

Pankey only saw three minutes of action with the Terps in his freshman season, with all three coming in the season opener against Seattle. Pankey was a medical redshirt for the rest of the season, undergoing leg surgery to put a rod in his leg relating to a stress fracture he suffered in high school.

At 6'9" and 220 pounds, he is the biggest returning player, aside from Jordan Williams. Although he’s fifth on this list, Pankey will be in the mix for the vacant power forward spot opened by Dino Gregory’s graduation. Pankey, Martin Breunig and potentially Desmond Hubert will be in competition for the four spot, but if Jordan Williams does move to the draft, Pankey could be thrust into the starting rotation in the four or five spot after only three minutes of college experience.