On the first play of the Terrapins’ game against Illinois, freshman guard Eric Hayes made a mistake. Hayes tried to throw a pass to Mike Jones, but the ball instead ended up in the palms of Illini guard Chester Frazier, who coasted back up the court for an easy layup.

It was an early error for the heady point guard, who didn’t repeat that mistake often in the game – and hasn’t in any game, for that matter. Under the tutelage of senior guard D.J. Strawberry, Hayes is quickly adapting to the college game without a big learning curve.

Sunday, he and the No. 23-ranked Terps look to continue their progression – and their winning streak – when they face Notre Dame in the BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center in Washington.

Through the Terps’ first eight games, Hayes has been quietly consistent, seeming to rack up a handful of assists every night that go largely unnoticed. Tuesday night at Illinois, while freshman combo guard Greivis Vasquez stole the show, Hayes silently dished out six assists in 26 minutes.

One person who has been noticing the freshman’s stellar play on a daily basis is coach Gary Williams. After praising the performances of Vasquez and junior forward Bambale Osby, Williams didn’t leave Hayes out of his post-game remarks.

“Given this crowd, this great home court here, he really stayed tough most of the way,” Williams said.

Hayes has done that all season. In eight games – all starts – Hayes has recorded 42 assists while turning the ball over only 19 times, good for an impressive 2.21 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has certainly built up the reputation as the solid under-the-radar point guard, thanks in large part to Strawberry’s leadership.

Strawberry showed his versatility last season by assuming point guard duties when the Terps had a void at the position. Hayes, Vasquez and the other Terp freshmen saw Strawberry make that adjustment and learned firsthand from the senior how to become college players.

“I’ve just been going out and having fun and trying to be a leader for this team,” Strawberry said. “I know this team goes off my energy and my emotion, so I try to bring that early to games so that everybody else can get going.”

After scoring a season-low seven points against Illinois, Strawberry said he had a “pretty terrible” game. Williams disagreed.

“Strawberry is one of those great leaders,” he said Tuesday night. “Even if his stats aren’t good … he does a lot of things to help us win games.”

That’s something that has apparently not only worn off on Hayes but has also become a staple of the freshman’s game. Hayes has only averaged 4.4 points per game, but it doesn’t seem to matter. The comparisons to Steve Blake aren’t far off there, either, as Blake averaged 7.0 points per game as a freshman starter.

As the freshmen watched Strawberry improve over the past few seasons, the freshmen have also seen the Terps struggle in the BB&T Classic. The Terps have gone 1-4 in the event the past three years.

Committing few mistakes – and no disastrous ones – Hayes has remained almost invisible. But as he continues to manage games and makes fewer freshman errors, Hayes will likely garner lots of attention and for the right reason.

“Everybody knows on this team the more you win, the more you’re gonna get recognized as a player,” Strawberry said.

At this rate, Hayes is well on his way to becoming a household name.

Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.