Seth Allen
Terrapins men’s basketball guard Seth Allen will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks after fracturing his left foot in practice Tuesday night, the team announced yesterday
Allen, a sophomore, was slated to be the Terps’ starting point guard for the Nov. 8 season opener against Connecticut in Brooklyn, N.Y., before the injury.
Allen suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly while driving to the basket late in the practice session. He is scheduled to have surgery today in Baltimore.
“We are devastated for Seth,” coach Mark Turgeon said in a release. “He was playing at a very high level throughout the summer and fall and was poised to have an excellent start to the season. We will support Seth during his rehabilitation process and will prepare him, so he can get back on the court with his teammates.”
Allen made seven starts as a freshman last season and was fourth on the team with an average of 7.8 points per game and fourth with 84 assists and second with 36 steals.
Multiple media outlets reported yesterday that Turgeon will start forward Dez Wells at point guard to begin the season, and highly touted freshman guard Roddy Peters will serve as the backup. Wells, the Terps’ leading scorer last season, was set to start at a wing position before Allen’s injury but spent significant time handling the ball at the team’s open scrimmage Saturday.
Wells was second on the Terps with 113 assists last season but led the team with 108 turnovers. Turgeon mentioned Wells’ role as a key decision-maker earlier this month, before the junior was thrust into the starting point guard role.
“The ball’s in Dez Wells’ hands a lot to make decisions for us, and he’s got to do a better job,” Turgeon said at the Terps’ media day Oct. 8. “He had too many turnovers last year. He’s getting better in practice, but to me, it’s just about being a basketball player and making the right decisions, not necessarily the position.”
Peters is considered a more natural point guard than Wells, and various outlets rated the freshman as one of the nation’s top 50 recruits in the class of 2013. Turgeon said Peters has exceeded expectations in early-season practice, though he’s still struggling when forced to play in half-court sets.
“Roddy doesn’t get us into our offense as well as Seth does,” Turgeon said. “But on the break, Roddy’s good at finding teammates and making guys around him better.”
Peters and Wells will combine to replace Allen, who Turgeon said had been making strides in his transition to the starting point guard role. The third-year coach mentioned that Allen performed well in the Terps’ foreign tour to the Bahamas this summer and had impressed in early season practice.
Allen had some marquee performances as a freshman, scoring 16 second-half points and hitting the game-winning free throws in an 83-81 upset of Duke in February at Comcast Center and pouring in a game-high 21 points as the Terps topped Virginia Tech, 94-71, in their ACC opener last season.
“Seth’s come a long ways,” Turgeon said. “He had a good trip to the Bahamas. He played well, had 10 assists in one game. Now that’s not really the competition, preparation and coaching that you’re going to see when we get into our schedule. But Seth’s a dynamic scorer. Seth’s going to score.”
The Terps have an exhibition Sunday at Comcast Center against Catholic before opening their season in Brooklyn on Nov. 8. Allen is expected back no earlier than the middle of December, causing him to miss a majority of the Terps’ nonconference schedule and likely at least one conference game, a Dec. 12 tilt at Boston College.
