Maryland Basketball: Injuries plagued Michal Cekovsky all season
By Chris Bengel
Michal Cekovsky was slated to receive big-time minutes for Maryland during the 2016-17 season.
The Terrapin big man ended up suffering through multiple injuries and his season ended prematurely.
Ever since he committed to Maryland, Cekovsky has had enormous potential. The former four-star prospect played sparingly in his first two seasons in College Park.
As a sophomore, Cekovsky took a backseat to heralded big man Diamond Stone. Stone ended up playing well for the most part and was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers last summer.
When the 2016-17 campaign began, Cekovsky was dealing with multiple lower body injuries and even missed the first four games to start the season. The Slovakian low post threat also missed the first six games of Big Ten play.
His season finally came to a screeching conclusion when he fractured his ankle against Wisconsin on Feb. 19. Prior to that, Cekovsky was averaging 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes-per-game.
When he came back from his first injury during nonconference play, Cekovsky was playing some terrific basketball. In those nine nonconference games, he averaged 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds and scored in double figures in six of those contests.
However, Cekovsky ended up missing the first six games of conference play. When he returned to the lineup, it was evident that he hasn’t 100 percent.
Cekovsky played in eight games before his season came to an end. He only received double-digit minutes in three of those contests and only scored in double figures in two of them.
Based on what we did see, it was clear that Cekovsky was an extremely talented big man.
He obviously doesn’t have a ton of range and makes his living around the basket on the offensive end. Cekovsky showed just how athletic he can be and runs the floor very well.
Cekovsky certainly wasn’t tentative when it came to scoring around the basket. He does possess an array of low post moves and takes the ball up strong every time.
The Slovakian native also takes a lot of the pressure off of the Maryland guards.
The alley oop seemed to be a favorable play to get Cekovsky involved in the offense. His 7’1 frame allows him to occupy a ton of space and his athleticism allows him to rise above the rim.
The junior’s best performance came against Kansas State on Nov. 26. Cekovsky scored 16 points (7-of-11 scoring) and grabbed eight rebounds in a 69-68 Maryland victory.
In the end, injuries played a huge part in Cekovsky’s season. During nonconference play, he looked very explosive and often looked like the most talented big man on the floor.
In past years, Cekovsky didn’t play a ton, so it was hard for him to establish any type of consistency.
Is he the type of player that can produce playing 25 minutes a night? The injury bug hurt Cekovsky and didn’t allow the Maryland staff to find out.
With his senior year approaching, Cekovsky is going to be an integral piece for the Terps. If Mark Turgeon isn’t able to lure a graduate transfer post player to College Park, Cekovsky is going to have to be a big-time producer for Maryland.
Will he be able to do it? Only time will tell.
Next: NJ linebacker Kihym Anderson commits to Maryland