Talking Terps basketball all the time!
According to Brandon Parker of The Washington Post, 2014 Bishop O’Connell guard Romelo Trimble has committed to the University of Maryland.
Trimble is a top 60 player on most recruiting sites and called Maryland his “dream school.”
Contrary to other reports, Trimble’s final list included Cincinnati and Xavier, not Rutgers.
I’ll be adding to this post later this afternoon.
In a game riddled by turnovers, Maryland was still able to roll over Monmouth 71-38 behind a strong effort from sophomore guard Nick Faust.
Faust had perhaps his best game of the young season as he had a spectactular line of 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. The Baltimore City College product shot 5-of-10 from the floor including three three-pointers.
It wasn’t just Faust that dominated the Monmouth Hawks from the jump.
Sophomore center Alex Len did his usual damage. The Ukrainian big man netted 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Terps. He also had five blocks.
This was the first time in over two years that the Terps allowed under 40 points. The last time was against Penn State on Dec. 1, 2010.
The Terps led the way from the get-go and jumped out to an early 15-7 in the first four minutes of the contest. Maryland made seven of their first eight shots.
Despite committing 14 first half turnovers, the Terps took a 31-21 lead into the break.
Maryland stepped up their game in the second half and only allowed 17 points in the second half. They also cut down their turnovers from 14 to 10 which still ended up giving them a season-high 24 giveaways.
The Terps have nine days off before returning to the court to face Stony Brook at home on Dec. 21 at 8 p.m.
2014 point guard and Bishop O’Connell (VA) star Romelo Trimble confirmed this afternoon that he will announce on Thursday afternoon according to Alex Kline of The Recruit Scoop.
Trimble will be deciding between Maryland, Cincinnati, and Rutgers. The general consensus is that the DC Assault star will choose Maryland and keep the DMV pipeline going with local talent Roddy Peters and Damonte Dodd already committed to the Terps. Trimble is ranked #59 in the latest Rivals rankings and is rated as the second-best player in the state of Virginia on ESPN.
It certainly is an odd list for a player of Trimble’s status. The one interesting thing is that once again Rutgers is staying in the picture until the very end. When Peters announced and ultimately chose Maryland, he had the Scarlet Knights on his final list and even said that they finished second in his recruitment.
Cincinnati is a upper-tier school much like Maryland. They are usually a tourney team and have a lot to offer a kid like Trimble. The Bearcats are having a strong season as they are ranked #11 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
But I highly doubt that Trimble shocks the world and strays away from the Terps. This would be a great way to start off the 2014 class with many of the big fish still out there. Rashad Vaughn and Dwayne Morgan are where Mark Turgeon likely focuses his attention if he lands Trimble.
According to DMVelite.com’s Marcus Helton, Suitland guard and Maryland commit Roddy Peters announced that he is going to have season-ending shoulder surgery.
It would’ve been fun to see what Peters would do for Suitland throughout the season but it’s better to be safe and not risk doing any further damage to his shoulder.
We’ll just have to hope that Peters is ready for summer practice at Maryland.
With Maryland facing an 0-7 Maryland-Eastern Shore team, it was a chance for Mark Turgeon to tinker with his starting lineup and give some of his bench players substantial minutes.
Senior guard Logan Aronhalt led the Terps with 17 points (6-of-9) in a 100-68 Maryland win over the Hawks. Aronhalt made five of seven attempts from three-point range and has emerged as the best three-point sniper on the team.
Turgeon went with a starting five of Shaq Cleare, James Padgett, Jake Layman, Dez Wells, and Seth Allen.
Despite not starting, freshman Charles Mitchell quietly notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Mitchell has been a tremendous force on the glass and is a big reason why Maryland ranked 2nd in the country with 46.4 rpg.
One of the most encouraging performances was that of Layman.
In 22 minutes, the Massachusetts product netted 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, and had an assist. Layman only turned the ball over once and was 2-for-4 from beyond the three-point line.
Guard/forward Nick Faust also had a solid game. Faust scored 10 points and dished out a career-high seven assists for the Terps.
Allen added eight points and eight assists for Maryland.
The Terps will face another MEAC opponent on Saturday afternoon when the South Carolina State Bulldogs come to College Park.
Despite beating decent teams like Northwestern and George Mason, Maryland still finds itself on the outside of the Associated Press Top 25 poll which was released on Monday afternoon.
The Terps did receive nine votes in the poll which features three ACC teams. Duke (#2), North Carolina (#20), and NC State (#25) all made the list.
Among teams outside the Top 25, Virginia Tech received the second-highest number of votes with 170. Kentucky received the most with 186 but were absent from the poll for the first time under the reign of John Calipari.
It looks as though Maryland will have to wait until they win a few ACC games before they can crack the Top 25. If it’s any consolation, former Virginia Tech coach and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg had the Terps at #17.
1. When Alex Len is on, there’s few better – Coming into the 2012-2013 season, Len was the wild card for Maryland. If he was able to build on his freshman campaign and step a huge leap forward, the Ukrainian could be a potential lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and an absolute force for the Terps. In Tuesday night’s 20-point drubbing of future conference rival Northwestern, Len had probably his best game of the season aside from the Kentucky game. The Maryland center posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds while blocking a pair of shots as well. Len was able to do whatever he wanted against the Wildcats. To put Len’s post presence in perspective, Northwestern only grabbed 15 rebounds the entire game (that compared to Len’s 13). The Ukrainian big man also is developing an array of moves in the post. He’s really working his spin move to perfection and was able to use it to perfection and get to the basket for a few thunderous throwdowns.
2. Logan Aronhalt is a huge asset – When Logan Aronhalt transferred to Maryland from Albany, very few thought that this kid could be an integral part of Mark Turgeon’s rotation. Aronhalt was thought to be a senior leader along with James Padgett and that would probably be the extent of his role. However, Aronhalt has turned out to be so much more. Against Northwestern, the former Albany guard had arguably his biggest game for the Terps. Aronhalt absolutely burned the Wildcats from three-point range as he scored 9 points (on 3-of-5 shooting). All of his makes were from beyond the three-point line. Northwestern was playing a 1-3-1 defense and it seemed to be having a bit of success against Maryland. To combat the 1-3-1 defense, Turgeon subbed Aronhalt into the game and he wreaked havoc. The Terps have clearly found their three-point specialist and that is big for a team that didn’t have many above average three-point shooters a season ago.
3. Maryland could be the deepest team in the ACC – Dare I say that the Maryland Terrapins are the deepest team in the ACC? If they’re not, they’re pretty close. Most teams have seven or eight guys that they rely heavily on and give substantial minutes to. But the Terps have 10 guys that they can rely on to score and give them productive minutes. Obviously, you know what you’re going to get out of Len, Padgett, Dez Wells, Nick Faust, and Pe’Shon Howard. That’s where the bulk of the points are going to come from. But sprinkle in guys like Charles Mitchell, Aronhalt, Shaq Cleare, Seth Allen, and Jake Layman and you really have a recipe for success. Okay maybe Layman can be excluded for now as he hasn’t really shown much quite yet. But you have nine key players that can produce on any given night. It may be a disadvantage to have a bench of mostly freshmen but that’s what the non-conference schedule is for. It’s to teach Seth Allen not to bite on the back door cut like he did on Tuesday night. It’s to try to limit the turnovers and teach them about adjusting to the college game. Next to Duke, Maryland could be the next best team in the ACC.
MD: 4-1 (0-0 ACC) NW: 6-0 (0-0 Big 10)
When: November 27, 9:15 p.m. EST (Game will be broadcasted on ESPN2)
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)
Probable Starting Lineups:
Maryland: C Alex Len, F James Padgett, F Nick Faust, G Dez Wells, G Pe’Shon Howard
Northwestern: G Dave Sobolewski, G Reggie Hearn, G/F Drew Crawford, F Jared Swopshire, C Alex Olah
Analysis: Despite losing all-time leading scorer John Shurna to graduation, Northwestern has started off the season with a 6-0 mark and is getting very balanced scoring from their lineup. As is evident just from looking at statistics, Drew Crawford leads the way for the Wildcats. But Northwestern has many solid parts that make their squad go. Four of their five starters average double figures in points and four of five also average at least 4.7 rpg. Northwestern is one of the most unselfish teams in the country and are sixth in the country in assist (19.3 apg). Sophomore guard Dave Sobolewski leads the Wildcats as he is averaging 5.0 apg. This is one of Maryland’s few chances for a solid non-conference win. A win against the Wildcats and one against George Mason could propel the Terps into the Top 25.
Opposing Player to Watch: G/F Drew Crawford – Crawford is the straw that stirs the drink for the Wildcats. The Illinois native is Northwestern’s leading scorer (13.7 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (5.3) to senior forward Jared Swopshire (6.5 rpg). Crawford can shoot the basketball from just about anywhere. The senior guard/forward can drill a three-pointer ( but also has a very strong midrange game. Despite only averaging 1.8 apg this season, Crawford seems to have a knack for finding open teammates for easy buckets. Stopping Crawford is definitely going to be a big key for Maryland if they want to get a solid road win in Evanston.
Key Matchup: Dez Wells vs. Drew Crawford – This is probably the matchup of the two best athletes on both teams. Both Crawford and Wells can play the shooting guard and small forward spots. They both are strong on the glass and are no slouches when it comes to getting in the scoring column. Wells is a very good defender and shutting down Crawford will be Maryland’s top priority if they want to win a game for the ACC. It’ll be interesting to see if Wells can finally break out and have that signature game that really gets him going. If he does, this is a very dangerous squad.
Even with Georgia Southern leading by eight early on and Maryland’s starters struggling, the Terps still found a way to win on Saturday night.
Behind freshman forward Charles Mitchell’s first career double-double, Maryland easily defeated Georgia Southern 70-53. Mitchell scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Terps win.
Maryland fell behind 9-1 to lead off the game. The Terps did manage to regain the lead but only led 29-26 at halftime thanks to a floater at the buzzer by Nick Faust.
The Terps led off the second half on a 14-4 run which was highlighted by a Faust three-pointer to extend the lead to 43-30 with 15:25 left in the contest.
Georgia Southern did trim the lead to single digits (9) at the under-12 timeout but that was as close as they would get.
Maryland received balanced scoring once again as five players finished in double figures. Alex Len continued his strong play despite getting in foul trouble as he finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Logan Aronhalt had his best game as a Terp. The Albany transfer netted 12 points, all of which came from three-point range. Faust added 11 for Maryland.
Aside from the Kentucky game, Maryland has asserted their dominance on their mid-major opponents. The same held true on Tuesday evening when the Terps downed Lafayette 83-74.
Center Alex Len led the way just as he has thus far this season. The Ukrainian big man scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for the Terps. Nick Faust added 13 points and 8 rebounds while Dez Wells scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Maryland never trailed in the Leopards and jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start off the game. The Terps ended up closing the half on an 11-3 run to take a 40-30 lead into the half.
Maryland led off the second half with a 14-5 run and took a 54-35 lead.
The Terps were able to hold off several Lafayette rallies. Leopards guard Seth Hinrichs led the way for the visitors with 20 points.
Maryland had five players in double figures. The frontcourt played very well against an undersized Lafayette squad. Senior forward James Padgett had 14 points and 4 rebounds while freshman forward Charles Mitchell added 12 points and 5 rebounds.
The Terps take the court again on Saturday night when they host Georgia Southern.
