Maryland Basketball: Rasheed Sulaimon can serve several roles
By Chris Bengel
There’s few guards that are more versatile than Rasheed Sulaimon.
On Saturday, Sulaimon showed that can serve several different roles for Maryland.
The former Duke shooting guard scored 16 points on six-of-nine shooting and dished out six assists while grabbing six defensive rebounds against Northwestern in a 72-59 Maryland win. It was the fifth game this season where Sulaimon scored double-digit points while recording at least four assists.
As we’ve seen through the first half of the 2015-16 season, Sulaimon is just as comfortable scoring the basketball as he is as a facilitator.
Sulaimon came out playing very aggressive on Saturday. With 17:22 remaining in the first half, Sulaimon got Northwestern forward Aaron Falzon to bite on a pump fake and nailed a jumper just inside the three-point line to give the Terrapins a 2-1 lead.
Sulaimon is a very fundamentally alert basketball player, no matter what the situation is. For example, the Maryland two-guard found himself matched up one-on-one on the fast break with Northwestern’s Tre Demps. Demps attempted to go around Sulaimon for the easy layup, but Sulaimon completely blocked the ball out of Demps’ hands.
The Maryland star also showed that he wasn’t afraid to put up the three-point shot. During the season, Sulaimon has connected on 50 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and Saturday was no different.
Sulaimon hit four-of-six shots from three en route to a spectacular performance on the perimeter. Whether it was late in the shot clock or a designed play, the former Blue Devil continued his consistency from beyond the three-point line.
It also doesn’t hurt that Melo Trimble is his point guard. Whether it was in transition or in a half court set, Trimble was able to find Sulaimon early and often against the Wildcats.
Sulaimon was able to hit his first five shots from the floor.
The Texas native was also a force on the defensive glass. Sulaimon was able to stick his nose in for rebounds in the post while also running down defensive boards away from the rim.
Sulaimon has displayed that he is an extremely versatile player on the court. If coach Mark Turgeon needs him to score, he can be incredibly efficient. If the team needs him to be a distributor, Sulaimon also excels in that department.
Sulaimon could be the missing piece for a Maryland team that has a chance to be very special this season.