Maryland Basketball Revving Up For Final ACC Season
Mar 15, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA;Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon and the bench react late in the second half. The Terrapins defeated the Blue Devils 83-74 during the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Maryland basketball’s road to the ACC championship game began last Friday, and reports are trickling in about the status of the team. Granted, we’re still a few months away from the Terps first game on November 6th, but staying ahead of the curve is important for the fans. On Monday, Maryland held a media only presser filled with some pleasing news, and we’ll run down some of the tweets and stories here.
Some of this is coach speak, but there might be some truth to the notion that this team is actually more unified than it was at the same time last season. Some of these guys have now played with one another for a full year, and given all that time to mesh, the results on the court might be as promising as one might expect. What will be interesting is how the turnover problem has been solved even though there still isn’t a true point guard on the roster.
The Jonathan Graham situation is one worth watching. Son of former Maryland great Ernie Graham, Johnathan is still waiting for the NCAA to allow him to play — even though he’s on scholarship. Graham is a local product (he played at Calvert Hall in Baltimore), and it remains to be seen why he was brought onto the team other than to add some depth at the big man position. As a junior transfer, he may not be immediately eligible to play, and yet with the scholarship class coming in next season he may not have a spot next year either. Very curious to see how Graham fits into this equation.
Pretty straightforward. The Terps are up to 12 scholarships while they can afford it. Next year, don’t expect any of these guys to be on scholly though. And you can pretty much rule out any mid-season transfers as well, since this would push the Terps over the scholarship threshold, I believe.
It’s obviously good news that Maryland doesn’t have to worry about Shaquille Cleare being injured anymore. They may have dodged a bullet with that one, as big men with balky backs tend to stay on the injured list a lot. Cleare is poised for a big increase in minutes, too, so the fact that he’s down 30 pounds from his playing weight last year and cut up (according to Instagram) might lessen the blow of losing Len.
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We’ll update you as we hear more periodically in the weeks leading up to the Terps first game.