Maryland Terrapins Basketball: Is Terrell Stoglin a Ball Hog?

Gary Williams’ retirement and Mark Turgeon’s subsequent arrival is certainly the biggest change in College Park this season, but it’s not the only one.

With Jordan Williams gone to the NBA, sophomore combo guard Terrell Stoglin has emerged as the focus of the Maryland Terrapins offense.

It’s not obvious, however, whether Stoglin’s breakout performance in the early season is a good thing for the Terrapins. Is Stoglin’s high-volume shooting keeping the rest of the lineup from getting involved in the offense?

The short answer is yes, without a doubt. Stoglin, by himself, has taken 30 percent of all the shots attempted by the Terrapins this season, and his 0-for-9 performance from the field was the most glaring problem in Maryland’s disastrous offensive showing during a 62-42 loss to Alabama.

However, just because Stoglin is hogging the ball doesn’t necessarily mean that his approach is bad for the Maryland team. When Stoglin is playing well, the attention he draws creates openings for other scorers on the roster.

In the Terps’ 78-71 win over Colorado in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Stoglin took 21 shots and scored a team-high 32 points. However, he also tied for the team lead with three assists, and backcourt mates Sean Mosley and Nick Faust scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.

The problem for Maryland hasn’t been that Stoglin is keeping other players from contributing, but rather that the other players aren’t good enough to create scoring opportunities on their own.

A genuine point guard would be a great asset to this team, but since there isn’t one to be found, the best thing Stoglin can do for the offense is to pour in as many points as he can on any given night.

Rather than trying to shoehorn Stoglin into a distributor’s role that his skills aren’t suited for, Maryland’s best bet is to let him continue doing what he does best.

Inevitably, that will mean that the team’s record tracks with Stoglin’s scoring performance (as it has done through four games), but that’s a better option than hamstringing the one legitimate offensive threat the Terrapins have available.

Is Terrell Stoglin a ball hog? Absolutely. And if Maryland wants to give itself the best chance to win in 2011-12, it won’t change a thing.