Mar 15, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard/forward Dez Wells (32) reaches for the ball as Duke Blue Devils forward Ryan Kelly (34) and forward Mason Plumlee (5) are in the background. 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

• Lately the hubbub is about the Big Ten schedule being announced, and even though it’s an entire season-offseason cycle away from us, people like Tom Fornelli of CBSSports are putting Maryland in the losers column. I’m not sure that anyone in the state of Maryland thinks we’re losers in the scheduling discussion, even if we get to play Ohio State in our first home Big Ten game.
• If you’re curious about how the B1G 2014 schedule came together, this Adam Rittenberg article will pique your interest quite a bit. Apparently the fact that the Terps and Rutgers play both traditional powers (Michigan and Ohio State) on the same day (October 4th) was pure coincidence. And no one believes that except Jim Delany.
• In case anyone was wondering how the Terps fared in previous years against Big Ten opponents, well, it’s not very pretty. But keep in mind that a lot of these games were played before AOL was popular and kickers didn’t wear face masks. So I personally don’t put a lot of stock in this analysis. (The Gazette)
• Former Terp and future NBA player Alex Len might be recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, but he’s still putting in work. Len has been interviewing with NBA teams left and right before the upcoming draft, in hopes of convincing some team that he’s worth taking a flyer on. Even if he won’t be playing for a little while. I just hope the Wizards don’t land him, no matter what, because his career would be derailed before it even began. (Alex Prewitt, Washington Post)
• In other former Terps news, though a bit older, Nik Caner-Medley was hospitalized earlier this month for a heart arrhythmia suffered while playing for his Maccabi Tel Aviv team. Fortunately for you guys, I can speak Spanish, because this article is in complete Spanish. It’s still uncertain as to whether or not he’s going to be able to play again for his team this year, who made it to the quarter finals.
• ACC basketball is a ways away, but so far the verdict on the Terps is less than encouraging from some outlets, including Syracuse.com, who thinks the Terps will be middle-of-the-pack bad. They’re newcomers, so I’ll let it slide just this once, but they are right about one thing: we’re going to miss Alex Len.

Roll Terps, and congratulations to the graduating seniors!

November 3, 2012; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) in action against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Byrd Stadium. Georgia Tech beat Maryland 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Maryland Terrapins not only know who their first opponents in the Big Ten will be, they have the full schedule for the 2014 football season. The Big Ten conference released the 2014 football schedule today for all teams. The 2015 schedule will be the opposite of the 2014 schedule, and then in 2016 the Big Ten will add an additional conference game.

We all knew that the Big Ten would present a challenge to the Maryland football program, and the first schedule shows just how tough it will be. Maryland will be joining the East Division with other new addition Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana, Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan. The first two years Maryland will match up with West Division schools Iowa and Wisconsin.

The schedule goes as follows:

9/27 – At Indiana

10/4 – Ohio State

10/18 – Iowa

10/25 – At Wisconsin

11/1 – At Penn State

11/15 – Michigan State

11/22 – At Michigan

11/29 – Rutgers

There is a good balance in the schedule. As tough as it is, there are opportunities at home and on the road for Maryland to grab program boosting wins. Indiana will most likely be one of the easier teams Maryland faces, and Ohio State is a great team to welcome the Maryland fans into the Big Ten. Trips to Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan provide fans with some of the best road experiences in the conference. Penn State is one of the few drivable Big Ten schools, and the Big House is one of the most iconic stadiums in the country.

Rutgers and Maryland don’t have a long tradition rich history, but it appears that the Big Ten is looking to push them together as a new rivalry. The difference between the Big Ten pushing Rutgers as a rival and the ACC pushing Pitt as a rival, is that there is more to build on for Maryland fans against Rutgers. Many Maryland students are from New Jersey, it is an easy drive up I-95, and they are the two newest schools to the Big Ten. Maryland has never had an iconic rival, a game that the whole nation tunes in to see, and neither has Rutgers. It makes sense to place the two schools together as rivals. I understand the gripes Maryland fans have with this, but soon enough it will feel naturally to get excited about the end of year rivalry game against Rutgers.

For season ticket holders and students, this schedule provides fans with a great chance to see some of the best programs in the country. With the talent that Coach Randy Edsall and company have been bringing in, whos to say that Maryland can’t compete with these schools? Sure, they won’t go 8-0 and win the Big Ten, but imagine how great it would be to see Maryland beat The Ohio State at Byrd Stadium or to join many Maryland fans in Happy Valley to see Maryland get their second win against Penn State. Hey, crazier things have happened! For now lets look forward to what the future has in stored and get ready for last hoorah in the ACC!

Bye bye, ACC.

Welcome to the B1G Leagues, Terps.

The Maryland Terrapins had their inaugural Big Ten Schedule for the 2014 season announced Thursday at noon, and it is a stark contrast from the past, 50+ years of college football in the ACC.

At Indiana, vs Ohio State, vs Iowa, at Wisconsin, at Penn State, vs Michigan State, at Michigan, vs Rutgers. That’s the hand we’ve been dealt, and I’ll be the first to say that I love it. I mean our first home game at Byrd is going to be Ohio State and Urban Meyer.

My first thought was that, no matter what, I’m willing to wager the Terps sell out nearly every home Big Ten game in 2014 just based on the fact that everything is so new. Ohio State and Rutgers, they’re guaranteed sellouts. Michigan State, count on it. Iowa is the only team I’d have doubts about at this point, but because it’s the first time we’re playing them it’ll be a packed house. The home slate alone is enough to get excited about, especially playing Rutgers, given how many Jersey people are on campus at any given point in time.

Talk about an upgrade from the 2013 schedule, too. Virginia, Clemson, Syracuse, and Boston College weren’t bringing in squat for fans on a consistent basis. The ACC tends to give Maryland roundhouse kicks to the groin, so this year’s schedule was a bummer. Sure, Iowa is a bit of a downer, but so is having to play our suggested rival Virginia, and a Boston College team that routinely sucks to watch. Add in Cuse, and we might as well have been playing a Big East home slate.

Another thing that stands out? Six of the eight games were against teams that were bowl eligible based on total wins (even if Penn State and Ohio State were banned.) Things could be tough going early on for the Terrapins in the Big Ten, that’s for sure. Ohio State is probably going to beat the pants off Maryland in the first year, same goes for Michigan. Not to mention playing Wisconsin, a team that dropped 70 points on the #12 team in the nation (Nebraska) in the Rose Bowl…and they didn’t even rightfully win their division since Penn State and Ohio State weren’t bowl eligible. Things aren’t going to be easy, no matter how you want to paint it.

But I’m looking forward to forming some new rivalries. There’s no question that Rutgers and Maryland will be intrinsically tied to one another based on being the new guys and geographical location. But let’s not forget that Danny O’Brien’s quitting connects us to Wisconsin, and recruiting to Penn State, and a national championship game to Indiana. The possibilities make you salivate, and give Terps fans something they haven’t had in awhile: hope.

There will be some ups and downs going to the Big Ten, but it’s the Big Ten. The ACC has this tendency to make good football teams mediocre by association. Look what happened to Florida State and Miami. Playing sub-par competition week-after-week tends to wear on you, and lets you rest on your laurels a bit too much. In the Big Ten? If Maryland takes any games off, they’re going to get completely obliterated by any one of these teams. The Terps are playing in one of the best conferences in the nation now, and they are either going to put up or shut up.

Terps fans are the rare breed that looks forward to being the underdog, so I for one look forward to this schedule. We’re probably not favorites in any game on the 2014 schedule save for maybe Indiana. Fine by me, because Maryland is going to rebound. People have short memories, but I recall just a few short years ago the Terps were 9-4. They’re not some pushover, although they have been the past few years. So let the Big Ten, and everyone else sleep on Maryland. In a couple more years, people will once again Fear the Turtle.

Mar 30, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta reacts against the Wichita State Shockers during the first half of the finals of the West regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Maryland Terrapins got their wish in drawing a tough match-up for their last hurrah on the ACC-end of the ACC/B1G challenge. The Terrapins are set to take on Ohio State on December 4th at the Jerome Schottenstein Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This matchup marks the first time the turtles have drawn the Buckeyes since the inception of the inter-conference challenge back in 1999. It’s also the first time they have played Ohio State since 1985, when Len Bias was on the roster.

There are obvious, compelling storylines in this matchup, the most cogent being that this is a mild precursor of Maryland vs Ohio State in the Big Ten a year from now (and many years after that.) The move to the Big Ten put Maryland in a division with Ohio State, which means they’re going to be seeing a lot of them in the future in both basketball and football. What better time than the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for Testudo to get under the skin of the Buckeyes than playing an early season spoiler in basketball? It has the makings of a good game, and the potential beginnings of a small rivalry against a good team.

And when we say good, we mean very good. Ohio State was the #6 team in the country to end the season last year, and Thad Matta and Co. are year-after-year a tough draw. Their history speaks for itself: over the past seven years they’ve had one National Championship appearance, two Final Four’s, three Elite Eight’s, and six NCAA tournament showings. Even though they lost superstar Deshaun Thomas, the Buckeyes still have major experience under their belt. They have a point guard in Aaron Craft who, more than likely, is going to give work to whoever the Terrapins throw out against him. Make no mistake, there will be no gimmies in this game.

Then of course, there’s the fact that Gary Williams used to coach there from 1986-1989 before coming to Maryland and bronzing his bust here in the Terrapins Hall of Fame. The Buckeyes assistant coach, Dave Dickerson used to play for the Terrapins, and he coached with Gary Williams for almost a decade in College Park. To say that there’s no history tying these two together wouldn’t be true, but it’s not like we’re playing Duke or something. Still, it’s nice to know that we have some connection to our future opponent.

Finally, there’s the big RPI thing. One of the biggest things that kept the Terrapins out of the NCAA tournament last season was their pre-conference schedule looking softer than a John Scheyer-Koala hybrid (a horrible sight, I know.) With Ohio State, the Terps are going to get an early season tilt that’s going to boost their RPI win-or-lose. I’m not going with the defeatist attitude or anything, but being blown out by 30 to Ohio State still boosts the Terrapins RPI more than, say, a 50-point win against the Savannah School of Art and Design. That’s a beautiful thing, really. An actual win against Ohio State will most certainly get the Terrapins on the national radar early, much moreso than their 20-point victory at Northwestern last year. Swapping those two games out last year may have even mean the Terps made the tournament last year, so this game is more than a big deal.

The downside is that it’s the third time in four years that the Terrapins have to go on the road for the ACC/Big Ten challenge, but you take the victories where you can get them. Maryland was an awful road team last year, but with more experience in that department and year-over-year improvements in that regard during the Mark Turgeon era, keep your hopes high. At least we got the Buckeyes over Penn State

In short, despite the Twitter talk that the Terrapins were going to get shafted out of a good game, that’s simply not true. This is going to be a fantastic match to watch, and the Terrapins are going to test their mettle early on with this road game. Get the rest of the matches below:

December 3rd

Indiana at Syracuse

Michigan at Duke

Notre Dame at Iowa

Florida State at Minnesota

Penn State at Pittsburgh

Illinois at Georgia Tech

December 4th

North Carolina at Michigan State

Maryland at Ohio State

Miami at Nebraska

Wisconsin at Virginia

Boston College at Purdue

Northwestern at NC State

July 23, 2012; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins head football coach Randy Edsall talks to reporters during the ACC media day at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro NC. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

The Maryland Terrapin’s football program did not contribute many new players to the upcoming NFL season. However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some signs for a positive future for Maryland football. The shortfalls of the football program over the past two seasons have been well documented. But there were still positives that emerged from last season, and we can even pull some positives from this years NFL Draft.

Roger Goodell, commissoner of the NFL, might not have said, “… from the University of Maryland” often this past weekend, but one school, which was mentioned 3 times in the third round, was the University of Connecicut, former home of Maryland coach Randy Edsall. The third round saw two CBs and an OLB from UConn get drafted, and two more players were drafted in the fourth and sixth round.

The signifcance is that these five players were all former recruits of Coach Edsall, and that they started their football careers under Coach Edsall. While Randy Edsall was not there for the end of the careers, he still saw the talent and believed in these five players to recruit them, and they all trusted him to get them to this level.

Most recruits, in fact, probably all recruits, didn’t think of Coach Randy Edsall and the Maryland Terrapins when they heard UConn players being drafted. For us, as fans of Maryland football, in dire need of some positive news? Maybe some of us did think of Randy Edsall when those player’s names were called this past weekend. Maybe we recognized that he actually might be a pretty good judge of talent after all.

Last season, Maryland featured 14 true freshman on the two deep depth chart heading into week 1 vs William & Mary; that many true freshman was the third most in Division 1-A. Maryland football’s recruiting class ranked 33rd overall for the Class of 2013 and 38th overall for the Class of 2012, according to 247 Sports. Given the youth of Maryland football, and the talent that is coming to College Park, soon enough Roger Goodell will be annoucning, “… from the University of Maryland” more than once to the Radio City Music Hall crowd.

The freshman and sophomores are getting valueable experience now, and when they are seniors they will be putting their talents up against the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State (among others). They will be doing so in not just bigger stadiums, but in front of a larger television audience. With a strong staff, and ample playing time, Maryland football players will have the tools necessary to get themselves from Saturday kickoffs to Sunday afternoons.

Admittedly, I am reaching with this post. UConn players being drafted does very little (if anything) to help Maryland. But with the upcoming move to the Big Ten, and the recent annoucement of the Big Ten Divisions, many in College Park are nervous about the future of Maryland football. But this recent draft showed us that Coach Edsall was able to recognize NFL potential in previous recruits, and with the playing time that freshman and sophomores are getting at Maryland, hopefully they can reach the big stage soon. Do I think that we are suddenly going to find ourselves playing in the Rose Bowl every year? Absolutely not. I do, however see Maryland being more competitive sooner rather than later.

As was the case at Connecticut, Randy Edsall knows how to build things up. And as evidenced at the NFL draft with the amount of “his players” taken, he’s a pretty good judge of talent.

October 27, 2012; Boston, MA USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Caleb Rowe (7) runs out of the pocket during the second half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

• As InsideMDSports.com first reported, the Maryland Terrapins got a big 2014 recruit in quarterback William Ulmer on Thursday. I haven’t been so excited about a quarterback prospect since Josh Portis was on the team…or Jordan Steffy. I’m hoping that Ulmer isn’t like either of those players, though. If all goes as planned, he’ll be much better.
• The NCAA rules are so complex nowadays, that it’s virtually impossible to tell what is right and what is wrong. So when we hear about the Terps football team committing violations, I have a hard time faulting them when it’s over something as simple as sending off a one word text before a certain date. The good news is that the men’s basketball team didn’t do anything wrong, and honestly these violations will amount to nothing. We’re still not running a dirty program, so take pride in that. (Alex Prewitt, Washington Post)
• Another Prewitt link, the Terrapins are having a few players receive routine spring maintenance on their multiple ailments. Meanwhile, Marcus Leak and Caleb Rowe have both been upgraded in terms of injuries. The former I’m excited to hear is doing better, because I think he’s going to play a much larger role in the offense than the depth chart suggests.
• In a continuing series over at TestudoTimes.com, Pete Volk gives us another Profile in Terpage, this time it’s Anthony Nixon. Things I didn’t know? His nickname is “Trot,” which I assume is an homage to baseballer Trot Nixon (Edit: Whether made up by Pete Volk or not). The entire series is awesome, and it’s a great way to get to know the players on the team, so I’d suggest reading all of them when time permits.
• Finally, Patrick Vint of SBNation.com has an interesting take on why the Big Ten almost had a full-on shutout in the first round of the NFL draft(something that hasn’t happened since the leather helmet days). He breaks it down pretty well, and for whatever reason I have a stomachache after reading about it.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend and Maryland Day 2013. Roll Terps.

Nov 24, 2012; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Randy Edsall on the sidelines. The Tar Heels defeated the Terrapins 45-38 at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

• We’ll start things off with this tweet: 

Nov 24, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer reacts on the sidelines in the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Michigan Wolverines 26-21. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

According to a report by ESPN, the Big Ten will dissolve the Legends and Leaders divisions within their conference in favor of a new format.

Coinciding with the arrival of the Maryland Terrapins and Rutgers Scarlet Knights in 2014, the B1G will be divided into an East-West format based almost entirely on geographic location. Six of the seven teams in the West division, for example, are within the Central time zone; the lone exception is Purdue, as Indiana runs on the Eastern time zone.

Both new arrivals, Maryland and Rutgers, will be lumped into a division featuring Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State. The only debate was whether Purdue or Indiana would be in the West division, and that basically came down to geography as well since Purdue is technically west of Indiana. In 2016, B1G teams will switch to a 9-game conference play format, and the only protected game under this new realignment is actually Purdue vs Indiana.

So what does this mean for the Maryland Terrapins in 2014? A whole lot.

The Terrapins are about to be placed in a division where, as of now, they are realistically the second worst team. Five of the other six teams in the division finished with a record above .500 and played in a bowl game in 2012 – 2013. The lone exception to that rule is Indiana, who has had about as much bad luck as the Terrapins in recent seasons; they’ve only won 14 games over the past four years, narrowly edging out the Derps (17 wins).

Maryland will need to seriously step it’s game up to compete with the tradition surrounding a lot of these programs like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Each one of these teams tends to come with a lot of firepower every season, and have coaching staffs that consist of SEC and BCS Championship winner (Urban Meyer), an NFL coach (Bill O’Brien), and a Big Ten Coach of the Year (Brady Hoke). These guys know football, and know how to win at a very competitive level. They all recruit well and tend to be tough outs every time on the gridiron.

Speaking of coming to town, playing in the tradition-heavy East division means another thing: their fan bases travel. So not only will the football team have to step their game up, so will the Terrapins fan base. You’d better believe that Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan fans travel in throngs. Whenever the Terrapins play these guys, there is a very good chance the Terps will have a relatively packed stadium (something that rarely happens in College Park.) Byrd will be full of red, unfortunately it’ll be Buckeye red. Leaving the ACC was all about money, and this is going to be one example of that fact. More fans equals more money, but it also might mean less home field advantage.

Either way, this move is going to benefit the Terrapins by allowing them to face stiffer competition week in and week out. Sure, they might have some very rough bumps along the way, but it’s going to be exciting seeing such high caliber football come to College Park. When I think about a B1G schedule based on these divisions, there’s basically no game I can honestly say “No shot I’m going to that.” That’s a good thing. Hopefully some of that tradition rubs off on the Terps. No matter what, it beats playing Duke ever again.

Nov 27, 2012; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Drew Crawford (1) is defended by Maryland Terrapins center Alex Len (25) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Maryland Terrapins defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 77-57. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

After watching the ACC/Big Ten challenge, how do you think Maryland will fare in a new conference?

Bohlin: It is tough to really gauge where Maryland will fit into the Big 10 Conference basketball wise in two years’ time as rosters and coaches seem to change rapidly nowadays. Also, despite their utter domination of Northwestern on Tuesday night, it would be hard to judge our Terps as well as the Big 10 Conference off of that one game. Was the Terrapins performance against the Wildcats encouraging? Absolutely, that was a quality road win over a well-coached team.

It will be interesting to see who Maryland is matched up with next year as a battle against one of the Big 10 heavyweights like Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State would be a much better judge as to where the Terrapins stand as we come closer to the move. If the Northwestern game was any indication, however, Maryland appears to be in good shape moving forward.

Willis: I’m in a similar camp as Mr. Bohlin in that I believe the Northwestern win, while being a solid road win, wasn’t the premier victory that the Terrapins could have used to establish themselves as a legitimate threat. The three point Kentucky loss was a loss, so I can’t count that in, but manhandling Northwestern in a game that probably could have been even worse if the Terrapins hadn’t begun the game with a plethora of turnovers in the first half was a statement. Before this game, Northwestern had aspirations of making the tournament, and I honestly believe they still can. That being said, they were bullied around and outrebounded severely against the Terps, and they’re expected to do well in the Big Ten this year.

If they do well in the Big Ten this year, then Maryland could probably fare even better. The slow, methodical, technically sound basketball in the Big Ten doesn’t always favor Maryland’s wide open style of play, but they should do just fine. The Terrapins should be in the top four teams in the Big Ten, from what I’ve seen. They will obviously have trouble with Indiana and Michigan (if those two schools continue to retain the talent they have had for awhile), as well as Michigan State based on the fact that Tom Izzo is an amazing coach, but they will do well. Provided the Terrapins recruit as they have been lately, they’ll be contending in the Big Ten for years to come.

Is it feasible that the Terrapins could go 12-1 heading into their first game against VT?

Bohlin: It is not only feasible; I would venture to say it is probable. If you take a look at the remaining out of conference schedule for the Terrapins it is littered with low major D1 programs, outside of this Sunday’s clash with the George Mason Patriots at the BB&T Classic. While the Patriots might test the Terrapins this weekend I am not sure they have the firepower to pull off the upset against the local power. Outside of George Mason there really isn’t one team left on the schedule, before the ACC opener against Virginia Tech, that scares me whatsoever. Take it to the bank right now; Maryland will be 12-1 going into conference play.

Willis: Assuming the Terrapins beat a weakened George Mason, it’s more than likely going to happen. Virginia Tech should be a tough challenge, but before that everything else is almost a pushover. That being said, historically Maryland is often at the receiving end of an upset game. In ’11 it was Iona and Illinois, in ’10 it was Temple, in ’09 it was William & Mary, and in ’08 it was Morgan State. Yes, different players and a different head coach may change those things, but that’s what Maryland has done historically. Could it happen again this year? It is possible, but it’s not probable.

Who has impressed the most on the Terrapins?

Bohlin: This is a tricky question as it is completely based upon my opinion, which isn’t always agreed with by the masses. I would guess that most Terrapins fans selection would be Alex Len, which is completely warranted by his play early on; unfortunately I expected this type of production out of the sophomore center so while I am pleased with his play I would not go as far as to say I am impressed.

My selection, which shouldn’t be overly surprising if you follow our twitter (@terpstationmd), is freshman big man Charles Mitchell. In only 17 minutes per game, as he is backing up starters Alex Len and James Padgett, Mitchell is averaging 6 points and 7 rebounds. That type of productivity on the glass in less than 20 minutes of game time is staggering and second to only Len who is averaging 9 rebounds per contest. Like I said before though, we expected this type of production out of Len and I know I can’t speak for every Maryland basketball fan but those who aren’t lying to themselves know they did not expect Charles Mitchell to be as key of a component as he has been thus far. As Mitchell’s body continues to develop and he gets deeper into the Terrapins strength and conditioning program he has the chance to be an absolute monster on the court.

Willis: The biggest surprise for me on the court would, as stated by Mr. Bohlin, be Charles Mitchell (even though I’m going to take shameless credit and say I called that). But a close second has to be Seth Allen for me. Allen was expected to come in and contribute right away, but I really didn’t expect him to be so darn good right away. He’s shooting 36% from long range and averaging 7 points and 3.5 assists in limited minutes. Those numbers I fully expect to get better as the season progresses as well, especially his scoring numbers.

The fact that he can shoot relatively well from deep and can also slash the lane with his quickness tells me that he is going to be a starter before long. He can only get better with experience, and his 3.5 assists coming off the bench tells me that he is a willing enough passer and some of Pe’Shon’s leadership ability has rubbed off on him. Coming off the bench, he is a scoring spark plug who fills in for Howard just fine, and that makes Maryland that much more dangerous.

Who has been the least impressive?

Bohlin: I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this player has been the least impressive Terrapin so far as the team, as a whole, has been fantastic up until this point but I will say that I was hoping for Nick Faust to be a more efficient offensive player as a sophomore. Nick is a pure scorer and one of Maryland’s best players when it comes to creating his own shot. We just need him to be more selective of which shots he should take and which he shouldn’t. Faust cannot continue to shoot 37% from the field if Maryland is going to make a serious run at the ACC this season; he simply needs to be better.

It started with the Kentucky game and some of the shots he fired up in Brooklyn. Turgeon appears to have reined him in a bit but the efficiency issue is still one that stands out to me. I’d love to see Faust utilize his athletic ability to get to the rim rather than settling for jump shots from the outside. If Faust focuses on that aspect of his game and is able to not only improve his shooting percentage but also get to the foul line more Maryland can be a very dangerous team.

Willis: Shaquille Cleare. One double-digit scoring game (10 points against a Georgia Southern team with no one over 6’6), no double-digit rebounding games, and only three blocks on the year (all of which came during one game against Morehead State and their nutjob of a coach). Maybe it was his name that had me thinking he was going to be a menacing big man, but instead he has sometimes looked a little lost out there.

He’s huge and has grown man strength, but I have yet to see him really take over a game as well as Charles Mitchell has. He oftentimes gets caught grappling with his man rather than focusing on being in the right place down low to grab a rebond, and despite his softer touch down low, he hasn’t scored a lot. I think he’s going to get a ton better and his offensive upside goes extremely well with Charles Mitchell’s defensive minded play, but for now Alex Len outshines him and limits his opportunities. He has to be more active on the defensive end for my money’s worth.

True or False: Alex Len a #1 overall pick?

Bohlin: Today? False.

Seven months from now when the NBA Draft takes place? Potentially true.

Alex Len has been a beast this season and, not shockingly, NBA scouts and draft analysts have taken notice of the Ukrainian big man. After starting off the season with a bang by outplaying consensus lottery pick Nerlens Noel by a wide margin at the Barclays Center Len has continued to dominate the opposition. In only 26 minutes per game Len is averaging over 15 PPG and 9 RPG, those are very impressive numbers when you take into consideration he has essentially only been playing three-fourths of Maryland’s games so far. As we get closer to league play I expect Turgeon to trim down his rotation a bit meaning more minutes for Len and the starters which should translate into even gaudier numbers. As of right now, Len seems to have firmly entrenched himself into the lottery conversation and if he keeps this pace up it is not out of the question to think he could find himself in contention to be the number one pick.

Willis: False.

He’s a lottery pick, to be sure, but I don’t know that he’s the number one pick. That’s not an indictment on his play as much as it is a criticism of how the draft works. Teams look for upside and freakish athleticism when drafting a number one player, with production coming second sometimes. That’s why Andre Drummond got picked over John Henson last year, and why Kwame Brown got drafted ahead of Pau Gasol. I’m not saying it’s right, but Nerlens Noel has been putting up numbers incredibly similar to Anthony Davis did his rookie year, and that means he may end up getting the nod in spite of getting abused by Len in their first game against one another.

Len is going to be a very good player in the NBA, I believe. His rebounding ability means he has a place in the league, as those numbers almost always translate well (with the exception of, like, Mike Beasley) at the next level. His soft touch on jumpers makes him an absolute nightmare for opposing big men at any level, and that’s why he will end up being a lottery pick. He’s also relatively strong and doesn’t have any issues with getting gritty down low. His adjusted statistics are godlike (24 points per game, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks per 40 minutes), and I think NBA scouts will take that into account.

November 19, 2012;College Par, MD, USA; Maryland chancellor William Kirwan (right) watches as president Wallace Loh speaks during the Big Ten Press Conference at Adele Stamp Union. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE

Editors note: This article was written by Jason Colenda, contributing writer and basketball expert, who is forced to submit work through a proxy until our bosses step their game up. Jason formerly played at Villanova basketball, and knows what he’s talking about on and off the court. When he writes, you read.
The big announcement came last week from University’s Board of Directors: Maryland will be
taking it’s athletic talents to the Big Ten starting in 2014. Although the move was widely leaked
by news outlets prior to the announcement, when it became official the news sent a shockwave
through College Park. Over the last week there have been dissenting opinions about the move’s
viability, about reasoning behind the move (as with all things Conference realignment it came
down to the proverbial buck), and what it means for Maryland athletics moving forward. There are
some influential former coaches and players who support the move (Gary Williams among them),
and there are some who are vehemently against it; but support aside, the Terps will be the newest
members of the growing Big Ten in 2014. Maryland will be leaving a conference that it helped found
(the ACC) and joining a conference that has stronger football tradition and more middle-American
roots. With the Big Ten Network, the financial incentives to join the league are obvious, but what
how does the shakeup affect Maryland hoops? As we prepare for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, I
wanted to take a further look into 5 burning questions that surround the Terrapins’ move to the Big
Ten and what it means for Maryland basketball moving forward.

1. How does the level of competition change for Maryland as it joins the Big 10?

Big Ten basketball historically is definitely a step down from the competition in the ACC. In
my opinion, of the top 5 programs in the two conferences the ACC boasts 3 of 5 (and the top
2) in Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse, with the Big Ten representatives being Michigan
State and Indiana. Outside of these two proud universities, the Big Ten is not made up of
basketball powers, but strong football schools that also happen to play decent hoops. Programs
such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue, although winners currently and at times
historically, have always held basketball as second fiddle to their football programs. In my
opinion, this is the biggest difference between the two conferences. The ACC, although it had
some strong football members, was a league forged by basketball-roots. Top to bottom, the ACC
is a stronger basketball league than the Big Ten.

The talent level in the Big Ten is the second biggest difference between ACC and Big Ten hoops.
The ACC regularly recruits some of the very best athletes in the country each and every year,
and many of its middle of the road competitors (like Florida State) are known to be tough, long,
and athletic. The Big Ten on the other hand, regularly plays the slowest and most methodical
basketball in the country, and this isn’t because the good-folks in Big Ten country love watching
38-43 games. The real culprit for the offensive offense? Big Ten schools attract a slightly lower
quality athlete (much of which is due to the fact of football superiority amongst its members) and
thus play at a grind-em-out pace.

2. How does the move to the Big 10 affect recruiting efforts?

I brushed over this point earlier, but want to come back to it; the Big Ten’s football first
mentality negatively impacts its’ basketball recruiting. The reason is pretty simple: the best and
brightest recruits are treated like superstars and adored on their college campuses around the
country. For a school like Michigan, the “stars” on the basketball team shine nowhere near as
bright as the “stars” on the football team. If you are a big-time recruit, why would you want to
go somewhere and have to play second-best to an entire 120-man team? The answer is pretty
simple: you don’t. For this reason, leagues like the SEC and Big Ten (historic football powers) have always had inferior basketball to the ACC and Big East (historic basketball powers). For
Maryland, this move further complicates things on the recruiting trail. Turgeon and his staff will
now have to fight off the Big Ten football-stigma when trying to land top, 5-star recruits.

Outside this stigma, however, I don’t think the move changes anything for Turgeon and his staff.
As I have always believed, the reason Gary Williams (and thus the Terps program) was not as
successful as he could, or should have been, was due to his inability to keep the top area talent
in the area for college. There are currently 6 NBA players (including three all-star caliber talents
in Kevin Durant, Ty Lawson, and Roy Hibbert) that grew up in the DMV, but chose to attend
a school other than Maryland for college. That goes to show, that the talent pool here is deep,
and vastly un-tapped by the Terrapins. I may be biased, but the WCAC is the best high school
basketball conference in the country (inarguably, its top 5), yet Maryland continues to whiff on
the best players the Gonzaga’s, DeMatha’s, and O’Connell’s of the area have to offer. In order
for Turgeon to be successful, this trend will have to change whether we are competing in the
ACC or Big Ten.

3. What is the biggest difference between Big Ten basketball and ACC basketball?

Big Ten basketball is slow, methodical, low-scoring, and horrible to watch as fans. ACC
basketball is fast-paced, played above-the-rim, high-scoring and generally a very entertaining
brand of basketball. So there’s that. Moreover, the ACC regularly has several NBA-lottery bound
players each and every year playing in the league. Simply put, the Big Ten does not. However,
the Big Ten does boast some extremely high quality coaching, with Bo Ryan, Matt Painter, Thad
Matta, Tom Crean and of course, Tom Izzo, leading the way for their respective programs.
Without the talent of the ACC, these coaches rely more on their program identities of toughness,
great defense and half-court execution to get their team wins. Some can argue that Big Ten
basketball is a purer form of basketball, and they may be right, but who the hell wants to watch
65 points scored on a 40 minute game??!! Knowing that scores of 35-41 are on our horizon does
not get me excited as a fan preparing for Maryland’s move to the Big Ten.

4. With all else equal, will this help or hurt the Terrapins chances for an NCAA Tournament bid
yearly?

This is the one question I am having the hardest time coming to a conclusion on. On the surface,
I would say the move makes it tougher for the Terps as they move from a league destined to get
8 teams minimum every year to a league that will struggle to get 6 consistently. However, I do
believe the weakened bottom of the Big Ten will provide Maryland a few more resume-padding
wins each year, while there remains the same potential for knocking off media-darling programs
every year (Michigan State and Indiana) to get marquee wins. Although, there just aren’t the same
number of top-level teams in the Big Ten, making each big game that much bigger. And “trap”
games against bottom-feeders in the conference are much more damning to a March resume
in the Big Ten than in the ACC. But all-and-all, I would say that it’s a wash. If Maryland takes
care of its business by recruiting well, winning at home, and staying out of NCAA trouble, the
Terrapins should be competing for an NCAA tournament birth each and every year in the Big
Ten.

5. What will happen to the Duke-rivalry game?

Unfortunately, it looks like the yearly Duke-Maryland rivalry game is going to end up as another
victim of conference realignment. Terps fans have loved to hate the Blue Devils for years, and
the series has seen some truly great moments, but 2013 looks like the last time these two rivals
are guaranteed to be squaring off. College sports are all about great rivalries, and it’s a true shame
that this one will be brushed-aside in favor of fatter university pay checks. Obviously, the two
can still renew the matchup in the annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge, but these selections are done
at random and rotated. Another option is creating a home-and-home series between the two
universities. Although neither school regularly schedules a non-conference game as tough as this
matchup gets, a series between the two could be thrown together. Here’s to hoping Coach K and
Coach Turgeon get something worked out, I wouldn’t want to imagine a year without having a
shot at our most hated rival.