Last Year
With Kevin Willard defecting to Villanova, the Terps tabbed Buzz Lightyear Williams to coach the group. His patented style of hitting people with chairs on the offensive glass wasn't quite operational, and the team limped along to a 12-21 record and 4-16 in conference before getting bounced by Iowa in the BTT.
Happy Trails
- The eligibility goblin appears to have claimed David Coit, Solomon Washington, Colin Metcalf, and Elijah Saunders
- Darius Adams fled to NC State
- The portal also claimed Isaiah Watts (UTSA), Aleks Alston (UAB), and Jaziah Harper (North Dakota State)
- Myles Rice and Rakease Passmore entered the portal, but as far as I can tell have never emerged from it. Perhaps they hit a wormhole to another universe. Maybe Penn State just won the national championship there.
Starters
- PG D.J. Wagner, 6'4'' Senior: The former five star prospect has been in Calipari land at Kentucky and Arkansas, and seems to have evolved into his final form. He isn't particularly special on the offensive end but he works hard and can cause problems for other guards with his length.
- SG Andre Mills, 6'4'' Junior: Mills redshirted at TAMU then played his first season last year, where he developed into a starter and offensive weapon. He dropped 30 against Illinois and 39 against Northwestern, so he might be the answer to "who will score" question.
- SF Baba Oladotun, 6'10'' Freshman: We hate freshmen around here, but Oladotun is a special Five Star Freshman. As you might guess, he's very long and will be a tough matchup on both ends. Of course, he's also a raw freshman and other teams will try to stuff him into a locker. Even Buzz might have a slight smile when his star freshman gets thrown through a wall.
- PF Tomislav Buljan, 6'9'' Sophomore: Buljan comes over from New Mexico where he had a very successful season: second team Mountain West and he set a team mark for offensive rebounds. Buzz is just salivating at that.
- C Pharrel Payne, 6'9'' Senior: Payne looked ready to dominate last year before a knee injury cut his season short. Luckily for Maryland, the NCAA granted another year without even involving a lawsuit and so the Payne Train is back on the rails. It sets up what looks to me like a pretty solid starting five.
Bench
- CG Bishop Boswell, 6'4''Junior: Boswell comes over from Tennessee, where he played a lot of minutes. He should be able to spell both guards and is the type of tough defender that Rick Barnes develops and Buzz Lightyear appreciates.
- SG Michael McNair, 6'5'' Senior: McNair comes over from Boston U., so he can tell you all about the Freedom Trail and bombing threes, as he shot over 43% from deep with over 200 attempts.
- PF Robert Jennings, 6'7'' Senior: Jennings comes from Okie State and before that Texas Tech. He's coming off a season missed by injury, but should be a guy who can stand near the basket and throw elbows and grab offensive rebounds. A Buzz Special.
- SF Guillermo Del Pino, 6'5'' Sophomore: All hail Del Pino! He didn't do much last season, but he is back, girthier than ever.
- PF George Turkson, 6'7'' Junior: Turkson is all effort and rebounds and has found his natural spot in college basketball.
- PF Maban Jabriel, 6'9'' Junior: Jabrial comes over from Queens, where he was a Hoover on the glass but also showed some real pop from three, shooting 44% on 109 attempts.
- Three other freshmen in four star guard Kaden House, four star forward Adama Tambedou, and three star forward Austin Brown
Outlook
MaximumSam: The USS Buzz looks to be fully operational this year. A solid backcourt and waves of guys up front who will come in and make you earn every inch of space around the basket. I would not be surprised a bit of Maryland is in the top half of the league this year and maybe even competing for a top four finish if things break right.
glass: We will find out in a hurry how far Buzz's reclamation project has come. The Terps get Georgetown (on the road), Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa St or SDSU and a 3rd Players Era game all before the end of November. There is enough new talent here that it is within the realm of possibility that Maryland enters December with a 4-4 record before going on a run and making the NCAAs. Torvik says 18-12 (10-10) minus the two extra Players Era games, and I would not be surprised if they finish a shade over .500 in league play.
BoilerUp89: Lost in the fact that Maryland was terrible last year is that Buzz is a good coach. He had some talent to work with this year and the Terps are going to be a terror on the glass. Any undersized or unprepared teams are going to lose games due to a rebounding chasm.
A healthy Payne and a rising Mills give Maryland two great options offensively. How fast Oladuton adapts to the college game may determine just how good Maryland can be. Very high floor team (barring injuries), I'm just not sure about the ceiling.
