Questions Raised By Departure Of Pe’Shon Howard From Maryland Basketball

Mar 16, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Seth Allen (4) takes a shot against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the semifinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

With the departure of Pe’Shon Howard from the team due to personal reasons, the Maryland Terrapins have had a few questions surrounding next year’s back court answered for them. What was once going to be a three-man race between Howard, Seth Allen, and Roddy Peters is now down to two. Still, there are some questions brought on by the presumed senior starter for next season leaving the school.

1.) Who will start at the point guard for the Terrapins next season?

This one means using seer stones to peer pretty far into the future, but it’s something we can take an educated guess on. As it currently sits, the roster next year will come with four players who are technically “guard”: Nick Faust, Dez Wells, Seth Allen, and Roddy Peters. I think we can first nix Dez Wells from the equation not because he is terrible at point guard, but because he is way more effective off the ball. Wells’ offensive game is limited when he is required to take the ball up the court and initiate the offense on ever possession. He also turns the ball over at too high of a rate for him to be a realistic option at the point. Wells can use his athleticism to set guys up off his own drives into the lane, but he’s better suited at the 2 or the 3, where he can get into open space and score without expending energy setting up tons of teammates.

Nick Faust’s performance at the point was mixed; at times he was great, other time turnover prone. We also run into the same problem as Dez Wells on the offensive end, where Faust’s game suffers by not playing off the ball. While I do think he can perform well in small doses, I’m not inclined to believe Mark Turgeon is going to want him at the one for the majority of the game.

That leaves Seth Allen and Roddy Peters to man the point in a traditional offense (which is what Mark Turgeon tends to run). Of those two, you have to imagine that the Terrapins roll out a guy with a bit more experience to start the year in Seth Allen. Allen is not really a point guard, and he may be the biggest culprit when it comes to turning the ball over, but he does have the added benefit of a full year of play in the ACC under his belt. It’s why Roddy Peters is going to more than likely start things off on the bench. Allen is going to have to spend the offseason working on his ball-handling skills, though, or the Terrapins are going to have even worse turnover issues than last year.

2.) Will Turgeon try to bring in a transfer player?

This offseason will be a goldmine for acquiring transfer players, as there are a number of very talented kids who have decided to take their talents elsewhere for next season. The biggest fish, Rodney Purvis of N.C. State, is already off the board after transferring to Connecticut earlier this month. Still, there are very talented guard’s available that Turgeon could try to lure in. This is just complete speculation, but a few names stick out as potential candidates:

• Justin Edwards, G, Maine – Edwards was a stud at Maine and pretty much the Black Bears only strong point. He wants to play for a better program to get more recognition, and Maryland might be a place for the 16 ppg scorer.
• Dominique Bull/Negus Webster-Chan, Missouri – Bull is a lesser known player, but he was a top 110 player coming out of high school before committing to Missouri. He is a Mass. native, and didn’t do a ton during his time at Mizzou, but you have to figure he has some talent. The same goes for Negus Webster-Chan, who may actually be an underrated player at 6’6 and capable of being a guard. He was offered by Cincinnati, Florida State, Louisville, Clemson, and lot of other colleges coming out of high school. His AAU team was the heralded Team Takeover, and the kid definitely has talent and could be a guard for the Terrapins.
• Jerome Seagears, Rutgers – Seagears is just one of the many players on Rutgers that could be setting sail for greener pastures/anywhere he won’t get homophobic slurs and basketballs chucked his way. Getting Seagears would actually be the best option for the Terrapins at this point, as he is an excellent passer and has familiarity with the D.C. area as he’s from nearby Silver Spring and played for AAU teams in the area. He would be a junior, and has experience playing tough basketball at Rutgers

And these are just to name a few, honestly. There are countless other players who the Terrapins could look at for direction at the point guard position. It may also be the best move to make, given how important transfer players are (some guy named Luke Hancock comes to mind.)

3.) Will Seth Allen or Roddy Peters be healthy to start the year?

This one is actually my biggest concern heading into next season. Roddy Peters had shoulder surgery that sidelined him his entire senior season at Suitland, and while he will have plenty of time to mend there is no telling how rusty or in shape he’ll be. Meanwhile, Seth Allen was also injured at the end of last year, breaking his hand during the NIT. Allen opted to not have surgery now, but there is definitely the chance he may end up needing it sometime during the offseason. If that’s the case, then the Terrapins will be in a serious pickle.

Still, I think with the amount of time that will elapse between now and the start of next season, you have to figure they’re both going to be at full-strength coming into ’13/’14.