Midway through the first half Tuesday, Maryland men’s basketball forward Bruno Fernando posted up against his Delaware defender and faked outside before cutting hard into the paint for a two-handed slam.
It was Fernando at his most emphatic, his most dominant, and the 12,703 on hand to watch the Terps’ season opener loved it.
After another forceful dunk — this time a one-hand jam early in the second half — Fernando ran back on defense and motioned for the fans to get up. They obliged.
Guard Anthony Cowan runs the Maryland offense, but Fernando runs the show. And after testing the NBA draft market following last season and deciding to return for his sophomore campaign in College Park, Fernando performed at his electrifying best — for 20 minutes.
But the other half of the game, Fernando sat on the bench due to foul trouble that blemished an otherwise standout season debut and prevented him from influencing a game that finished far too close against a Colonial Athletic Conference opponent.
“I’m still excited, just as much as I was my freshman year coming in for my first game at Maryland,” Fernando said. “So, nothing really changed for me.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s basketball opens season with sloppy 73-67 win over Delaware]
After picking up his fifth foul with 3:42 remaining, Fernando gazed at the rafters and walked with his hands on his hips toward Maryland’s side of the floor. Two of his teammates corralled him and led Fernando to the Terps’ bench, where he could only watch as freshman forward Jalen Smith helped save Maryland down the stretch in the 73-67 victory.
Coach Mark Turgeon said that last season, Fernando may have pouted when he fouled out of a contest. But throughout Tuesday night, Fernando took on a leadership role.
At one point, as Smith was paving his way toward a 19-point, 13-rebound game, Fernando recommended to Turgeon to leave Smith in the game rather than swap them. And when Fernando saw Smith had a height advantage, he suggested Turgeon run a certain play to exploit it.
“It was pretty frustrating for me to not be out there on the court, but at the end of the day I have to control the things I am able to control,” Fernando said. “I was just trying to help the team win, honestly.”
Fernando finished 6-for-6 from the floor, all of them dunks — “that’s the only way you don’t get your shot blocked,” he said. He accumulated 15 points and four rebounds.
But besides his throw-downs, Turgeon was impressed with Fernando’s defensive efforts early on, before fouls began to pile up. Three times in the first half, Fernando blocked Delaware shots. At one point about four minutes before halftime, Fernando loudly called out a pair of down screens to his teammates, showing the improved communication Turgeon has talked about. Midway through the second half, Fernando added a steal, battling a Blue Hen down the court before he corralled possession.
For his final points of the game, he picked up a loose ball on the offensive end and slammed it home, pumping up a crowd happy to see him back in College Park. So often, Xfinity Center feels like Fernando’s domain. But he needs to be on the court to command it, and for far too long Tuesday, he wasn’t out there.
On the same possession he notified his teammates of a pair of screens, he fouled Delaware guard Kevin Anderson, his second of five whistles.
Fernando’s teammates held on for the win, but for tougher contests down the road, his presence in the paint will be imperative.
“Felt bad for Bruno, because he was terrific,” Turgeon said. “His energy was great; his leadership was great. And for him to get in foul trouble was disappointing.”
