Terrapin Station
Fansided

Maryland Basketball: Where does Jaylen Brantley’s transfer leave the Terps?

By Chris Bengel

Jan 1, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Anthony Cowan (0) calls a play against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Anthony Cowan (0) calls a play against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

On Monday, Jaylen Brantley announced that he will graduate and transfer this spring.

With the 2017-18 season only a few short months away, where does this leave Maryland going forward?

Shortly after the season ended, it was learned that star guard Melo Trimble would be taking his talents to the NBA. The former face of the program planned to hire an agent this time around.

That was a blow that Mark Turgeon and the Terrapins were prepared to absorb. Anthony Cowan did a fantastic job running the offense and was the team’s primary ball-handler the large majority of the time.

Cowan ended up averaging 10.3 points to go along with 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The former St. John’s College (D.C.) standout also played the third-most minutes on the team (29.0 per game).

Cowan and Trimble proved to be a terrific backcourt duo with Kevin Huerter being very productive as well. Huerter averaged 9.3 points and shot 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Maryland had a terrific starting trio in the backcourt this past season. However, there could be a little bit of uncertainty entering the 2017-18 campaign.

There won’t be a proven commodity at the guard position that Turgeon can just slide in there.

Dion Wiley dealt with a back injury throughout the bulk of last season and only appeared in 20 games. Wiley hasn’t played more than 13.5 minutes in his three years in College Park despite being a four-star recruit.

If he has a good training camp, Wiley could get the starting nod or at the very least, be the first guard off the bench. That should be a given with Brantley transferring.

Freshman Darryl Morsell could also see minutes as a starter if he appears as advertised. Morsell was impressive in last weekend’s Capital Classic and will be suiting up on Friday in the Jordan Brand Classic.

Morsell can do a little bit of everything, which certainly bodes well for his chances of getting big-time minutes early in his Maryland career.

You also can’t rule out Turgeon adding a guard via the graduate transfer market. In addition, Maryland is still chasing Georgia five-star guard M.J. Walker in the 2017 class.

Next: Maryland imposes will against top-ranked Penn State

All in all, the Terps still have plenty of talent in the fold when it comes to the guard position. If guys like Morsell or Wiley play well, this could be a group that goes even further in the NCAA Tournament next season.