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Maryland Basketball: NBA Draft Combine primer

By Chris Bengel

Dec 19, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins Robert Carter and Jake Layman and Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon (left to right) huddle before a free throw against the Princeton Tigers at Royal Farms Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 19, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins Robert Carter and Jake Layman and Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon (left to right) huddle before a free throw against the Princeton Tigers at Royal Farms Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
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March 20, 2016; Spokane , WA, USA; Maryland Terrapins center Diamond Stone (33) moves to the basket against Hawaii Rainbow Warriors center Stefan Jovanovic (15) during the first half in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
March 20, 2016; Spokane , WA, USA; Maryland Terrapins center Diamond Stone (33) moves to the basket against Hawaii Rainbow Warriors center Stefan Jovanovic (15) during the first half in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

Diamond Stone

Unless Trimble really blows up at the Combine, Stone looks primed to be the highest Terp selected in the 2016 Draft. The former five-star recruit put together a solid freshman season at Maryland and displayed a tremendous amount of potential for when he made the move to the next level.

Stone averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks for the Terps. Despite being a highly-touted prospect, Stone spent the bulk of Big Ten play coming off the bench. In nine of Maryland’s 12 nonconference games, Stone did score in double figures, but struggled in the rebounding department. In 22 games during the 2015-16 season, Stone did manage to grab five or more rebounds. However, some games he would wouldn’t grab a single board then others, he would secure anywhere from six to 10 rebounds. Stone did end up putting together a very strong season and NBA scouts can clearly see that the potential is there.

One of the biggest issues for Stone was relatively simple. Effort is something that Stone didn’t give 100 percent of the time. At times, he played down to his competition and didn’t seem like he wanted to be an elite big. He also proved to be immature at times, in particular the incident against Wisconsin. The 6’11 center just needs to make sure he’s giving maximum effort, especially at the Combine. This is because Stone will be trying to stand out among a talented group of bigs that includes Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Skal Labbissiere (Kentucky), and Jakob Poeltl (Utah).

Much like Trimble, DraftExpress is projecting Stone to be selected early in the second round at No. 33 by the Los Angeles Clippers. Stone isn’t likely going to play a ton of minutes early on during his NBA level. He could even spend some time in the D-League to work on his craft.

Next: Looking to make an impact