Guard Nick Faust, right, will likely have to shoulder more of the scoring load for the Terps now that guard Terrell Stoglin, left, has entered the 2012 NBA Draft.
For the first time since Greivis Vasquez shimmied out of Comcast Center for the final time two years ago, the Terrapins men’s basketball team seemed to have hope this offseason. Four of five starters were returning. The nation’s No. 16 recruiting class was set to arrive. And Terrell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer, had decided to forgo the NBA Draft to stay another year in College Park.
Until Sunday, that is.
After announcing just more than a month ago he would return for his junior season, Stoglin – who, along with teammate Mychal Parker, was suspended for one year for a violation of the student-athlete code of conduct, according to a statement issued yesterday by the athletics department – declared for the 2012 NBA Draft on Sunday, officially ending his Terps career.
Three days ago, the Terps were a team with a solid core of returning players, a talented group of incoming freshmen and the conference’s most lethal scorer.
Now? They’re a team seemingly full of offensive question marks.
Stoglin averaged a league-high 21.6 points per game last season, nearly 12 more than any other player on the team. He took 30.5 percent of the Terps’ shots and scored 31.4 percent of their points.
With him on the floor, there was no question about who was going to have the ball on offense. Without him – and departing guard Sean Mosely – the Terps don’t have a single player who averaged double-figure points last season.
“I think the statement ‘we live or die under Terrell’ is correct,” coach Mark Turgeon said on March 7. “Since Terrell is our leading scorer, everything goes back to him.”
The most likely candidate to pick up the slack is Nick Faust. Though inconsistent at times during his freshman season, the guard – whose 8.9 points per game last year make him the team’s top returning scorer – has the talent to carry the Terps’ offensive load next season.
Over the final nine games of the season, Faust averaged better than 13 points per game, including a career-high 19 points in the Terps’ ACC Tournament first round win over Wake Forest on March 8.
“[Faust] has really been playing well now for about three weeks and took it to another level today,” Turgeon said after the game.
Playing alongside Faust in the backcourt will be oft-injured junior Pe’Shon Howard – who was arrested early Sunday for disorderly conduct – and incoming freshmen Seth Allen (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Sam Cassell Jr. (Baltimore). All three will likely be counted on to play major minutes next season.
Howard, the team’s most experienced guard, averaged just 6.5 points and 3.7 assists in 14 games last year, but could play a much more pivotal role with Stoglin gone. He missed the first two months of the season with a broken foot and sat out the final month after tearing his ACL in a February practice.
“I feel for Pe’Shon,” Turgeon said shortly after the injury. “Pe’Shon wasn’t really a true point, but he was doing a heck of a job for us there.”
Turgeon will likely look for improved play from his frontcourt to help ease the burden on the guards. Returning forwards James Padgett and Ashton Pankey, and center Alex Len averaged a combined 19.5 points last year, more than two points less than Stoglin did by himself.
The 7-foot-1 Len could provide the spark Turgeon needs. Though he posted just 6-point and 5.4-rebound averages in 22 games after serving a 10-game suspension to start the season, the Ukraine native showed flashes of potential, most notably a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in a Jan. 8 loss at N.C. State.
“When you take away the first part of the year, which was taken away from him, that is really hard on a kid, especially a freshman,” Turgeon said on March 7. “Our low-post game now isn’t where it’s going to be in the future. I think he’s playing smarter.”
The trio will be helped by the additions of forwards Charles Mitchell (Marietta, Ga.), Jake Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) and Damonte Dodd (Centreville), and center Shaquille Cleare (Houston). Cleare, the No. 30 recruit in the country for 2012, has the opportunity to make an immediate impact in College Park.
With six months until the season starts and no proven scoring threat on the roster, it’s unclear yet who exactly will handle the brunt of the offensive responsibility for the Terps in Turgeon’s second year at the helm.
One thing is clear, though: It won’t be Stoglin.
vitale@umdbk.com
