Breaking News: Maryland Terrapins PG Pe’Shon Howard To Transfer

Feb 19, 2013; Chestnut Hill, MA, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Pe

According to a tweet Monday afternoon by ESPN’s Andy Katz, Maryland point guard Pe’Shon Howard will be transferring out to be somewhere closer to home. Howard’s grandmother is ill, and he wishes to finish out his final year of eligibility at a school nearby his native residence, Los Angeles, California.

Howard, currently heading into his senior season, played three years at the University of Maryland in an up-and-down fashion. Howard played his high school ball at Oak Hill, becoming the first sophomore starter ever there. During his junior year at Oak Hill, his team finished 40-1 on the year. As a Terrapin freshman year, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.2 assists playing alongside Terrell Stoglin. Heading into his sophomore year he was considered a bight spot. Unfortunately, a string of injuries sidelined him throughout his first two years at Maryland and he struggled to regain the speed and playmaking shown his freshman season.

Coming into his junior season at Maryland, Howard was named the started but unfortunately struggled quite a bit. He finished the year averaging 3.3 points and 3.6 assists, but oftentimes found himself on the bench due to turnovers and an inability to hit shots. Howard was suspended one game this year for a violation of team policy as well.

A clearer point guard situation

So what does this mean for the future of the Maryland Terrapins basketball team?

Well for one, it means that the point guard situation just got a whole lot more clear. With Pe’Shon leaving, the Terrapins will hand the keys over to soon-to-be sophomore guard Seth Allen or incoming freshman and highly touted recruit Roddy Peters of Suitland, Md. While neither one is considered as much of a pure point guard option as Howard, the two are much more capable scorers on the offensive end.

Is that a good thing? Probably. There will be no team turmoil about benching a senior in favor of two underclassmen, to be sure. It’s now Seth Allen’s position to lose at this point, given that he has the most experience of the two. Allen was on-and-off as a point guard his rookie year, at times looking clearly overmatched while other times looking incredibly dominant offensively. His turnover rate is, to put simply, not good at all, but neither was any other Terrapin player’s turnover margin. Allen displayed a bit of playmaking ability, but he is going to need to work hard in the offseason at protecting the ball in order to ensure his place on the team.

Meanwhile, Peters has to feel confident in that he is going to get a legitimate shot at becoming a Day One starter upon entering school. At the very least, he is going to see plenty of minutes off the bench. Given that he is coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him this entire high school season, and may well be slightly rusty, there is a good chance he comes off the bench to start the year. Still, Peters is the Terrapins biggest recruit coming in, and will more than likely impress immediately, so there’s a good chance he could start by the end of the year.

Either way, both players will alternate between one another, and it’s no longer a three-man race for the position. That is a good thing for team chemistry and establishing an identity as a team should Alex Len declare for the NBA draft. Both players are going to fit in just fine with other slashing guards like Dez Wells and Nick Faust, so this offense might get a whole lot more explosive in the future.