Maryland Terrapins: What We've Learned About Terrell Stoglin and His Terps

Through the first five games of the young season, Terrell Stoglin and his Maryland Terrapins are 3-2 with eight games remaining before ACC play begins in early January.

The Terps come off a win over Florida Gulf Coast, in what was a game that the Terps let slip and nearly gave away in the final minutes of the second half. The 73-67 win was the team's second win of the season at home.

The Terrapins have shown they are a team that is far from perfect. It is fair to say these Terps are still in need of an identity after losing arguably their best player, forward Jordan Williams, to the NBA.

With both North Carolina and Duke combining for a 12-0 start in out-of-conference play, head coach Mark Turgeon and his Terrapins know their game will have to pick up in the next several games.

These are the five things we now know about the Maryland Terrapins after five games of play.

No. 5: Scoring Is Not a Problem

Unlike last season, the Terrapins are a team that boasts plenty of talented scorers. These are the top three scorers through the first four games of the season which includes the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off:

Sean Mosley: 11.0 points per game (13.7 PPG at 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off)

Terrell Stoglin: 20.2 points per game (18.3 PPG at 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off)

James Padgett: 8.0  points per game (5.7 PPG at 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off)

At times these numbers look better on paper than on the court, as the team has shown that scoring the ball consistently is something they must work on. Yet the talent is certainly there, as this sense of security offensively will be important for these Terps going forward.

In their most recent outing in the win over Florida Gulf Coast, the Terrapins scored 73 points while shooting just 44 percent from the field and 59 percent from the free-throw line. Considering the team missed a total of 16 free-throws on the night, the Terps certainly seem to able to put up points.

No. 4: An Offense in Need of a Point Guard

Without any disrespect to arguably the team's most complete player, when you have Sean Mosley taking the ball up the court on occasion, there are problems.

Both Terrell Stoglin and Nick Faust, who are the designated point guards on this team, are both score-first point guards. These two are incapable of running an offense with an intention to set up players before they set themselves up.

After making a comeback to pull within seven points of Iona in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, with over 10 minutes left in the second half, the Terrapins went into a scoring drought that had them scoring just 14 points to finish the contest.

Stretches like these against top-notch ACC opponents like a Duke or North Carolina will have these Terps losing games in a hurry.

Talk about ineffective point guard play.

Stoglin and Faust have posted a combined 21 assists between the two of them in five games to go along with 27 turnovers.

If the two continue to run a stagnant offense that revolves around penetration and kick-outs to players that aren't designated three-point shooters, there will undoubtedly be problems going forward.

No. 3: The Terps Must Listen to the New Guy

Newly acquired head coach Mark Turgeon was displeased after the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, where the team would finish 1-2 and end the run in a 26-point blowout loss to Iona.

"I don't know if I've ever coached a team that didn't look coached. We didn't look coached at all. I'm not doing my job. They're not making my job easy. I'll get to 'em eventually."

Turgeon makes clear he has work to do with the team and needs to change things, yet at times it is as if the Terps simply aren't listening. Trailing Florida Gulf Cost in the first half of their last outing, the zone defense the Eagles ran had the Terps taking difficult shots and forcing the ball inside when nothing was there.

Turgeon continued to call out a "gap" and have the guards get the ball to the big man running through the zone and yet the ball seldom would get there. As a result the Terps found themselves down as much as seven points in the early part of the contest.

The guy is a winner, so listening to him when he calls out a play on offense would certainly improve the quality of the stagnant offense the Terps have been running.

No. 2: A Stagnant Offense That Needs To Change Quick

In five games this season the Terps have posted an average of just over 65 points per game, a number that must drastically change if the Terrapins expect to take down the top teams in the ACC.

Much of the reason the Terrapins have been unable to produce significant figures on the offensive end has plenty to do with a lack of a "true point guard" to run the offense and keep positive spacing in the half-court set.

As a result this has made for more difficult shots and contested looks, as the team shoots just 43.1 percent on the season, a mark that ranks No. 192 in the country. Seventy-five of the 260 shots the team has taken have been from three-point range. This means at least one in every four times the team shoots it is from distance.

The problem with that is this is a team talented at getting to the rim or finishing using the glass inside, it is not an offense by any means that is dependent on three-point shooters. In fact, there are no consistent three-point shooters on the team with possibly the exception of Stoglin.

No. 1: Stoglin Is the Real Deal

In five games this season, Stoglin has proved to head coach Turgeon and the team that he is the most dynamic scorer the team has to offer.

Last season he showed glimpses of being a scoring threat, yet he has blossomed in five games and has a plethora of room still to grow. His 20.2 points per game lead the team this season. Stoglin has an ability to split defenses and get to the rack that ranks up with the best of them in the country at the point guard position.

With 13 turnovers and shooting just 39.5 percent, Stoglin will have to improve with his shot selection and decision making as essentially the engine running this offense. Although a proven free-throw shooter, he went 12-for-21 in his last outing and knows he must improve in this regard.

There is much promise for the Terps with Stoglin on the team, as he will have to continue to get better and make adjustments in order to help this once ACC-powerhouse get back on top.