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Maryland Basketball: Kevin Huerter and Joshua Tomaic could face one another

By Chris Bengel

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: Kevin Huerter #4 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts a call against the Terrapins during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Verizon Center on March 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: Kevin Huerter #4 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts a call against the Terrapins during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Verizon Center on March 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Huerter and Joshua Tomaic have played important roles in their respective teams’ success in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.

Now the Maryland duo could be going up against one another if the United States and Spain win their next two games.

Huerter and the United States will take on Germany on Friday while Tomiac and the Spaniards will face off against Argentina. The Americans will get the winner of France and Canada while Spain would face Lithuania and Italy.

In four games, Tomaic is averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds-per-game in 18 minutes per contest. The Terrapin big man had his strongest outing against Canada when he netted 10 points and secured seven rebounds.

Kevin Huerter is averaging 5.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 15.7 minutes-per-game. His best performance came against Italy when he scored 8 points and dished out four assists.

Both have had similar production throughout the tournament so far. However, Huerter and Tomaic had very different roles during their first season in College Park.

Huerter excelled as one of Maryland’s most efficient player throughout the 2016-17 season. He shot 42 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc (third on the team).

The New York native ended up averaging 9.3 points to go along with 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He finished second on the team in rebounding behind Justin Jackson.

Without Melo Trimble in the fold next year, Huerter is likely going to be leaned on even more than he was as a freshman. Along with Jackson, he’ll be one of the top options for point guard Anthony Cowan.

On the other hand, Tomaic redshirted last season due to Maryland’s depth in the frontcourt. He got experience with the scout team and now with Spain in a big-time international tournament.

Damonte Dodd has moved on, so it’s expected that Tomaic will be used by Mark Turgeon off the bench this coming campaign. His experience overseas can only help his chances of making an impact much like it did for Huerter last season.

Consistency was a big issue for the Maryland bigs last season. However, the healthy of senior Michal Cekovsky will go a long way towards stabilizing that area.

It certainly would benefit the Terps if both Huerter and Tomiac help lead their teams to the title game. If that happens, even more experience will come to the duo before training camp begins later this summer.