It was December 2012, and hardly anyone on campus knew who Jake Layman was.
I was waiting for my MATH111: Introduction to Probability final exam to start when the Terrapins men’s basketball forward strolled into the classroom, a sly grin on his face and blond locks flowing from the back of his hat. Nobody batted an eye.
The soft-spoken freshman’s popularity soon grew, as did the legend of his wild hair — until he chopped it off before his sophomore year. It was around that time Layman shed his role-player tag and cemented himself as a program stalwart.
The swingman played himself into the starting lineup midway through his freshman year, then onto professional draft boards. And on a 2014-15 Terps team overcoming an offseason roster overhaul, Layman took control. He commanded the ball. He took big-time shots. He dunked. He roared. He became Jake Layman.
But before any of that, when he walked into my classroom a little more than three years ago, Layman felt every bit a freshman. From his demeanor — reporters took note of his severe shyness — to his playing style.
“He was a [three-point] specialist when he came here,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “Now he’s a basketball player.”
Less than 48 hours before his final Terps home game, Layman’s entrance to the Xfinity Center pressroom sparked a feeding frenzy for reporters. Guard Trevor Anzmann chuckled and bent his head around a sea of cameras and microphones to catch a glimpse of Layman.
“It’s kind of fun to see, especially guys like Jake, when people just flock to him,” Anzmann said with a grin. “I love to see it. … He’s not a guy who needs a lot of attention to play his game. He’s a super humble guy.”
By now, you’ve heard the narrative the Terps have sold this season: On a team with this much talent, Layman doesn’t need to be a superstar scorer — his role is to play defense and take shots within the flow of the offense.
But the Terps would be wise to give Layman a larger offensive role down the stretch.
Despite the Terps slogging through their worst run of the season — three losses in four games — Layman has been as efficient as ever. While star guard Melo Trimble has done his best impression of former forward Evan Smotrycz, going 11-for-47 during the stretch, Layman has made 20 of 28 in that same period.
This isn’t a call for Layman to be more aggressive — the senior long ago proved that argument moot. There’s only so much he can do when forward Robert Carter Jr. or center Diamond Stone dominate down low.
This is a call for Turgeon to put the ball in Layman’s hands more.
What’s the worst that could happen?
The Terps are in the midst of an embarrassing stretch. A couple months ago, they were a Final Four contender. Now some pundits doubt the Terps will have the resume to enter the NCAA Tournament as a top-three seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed the Terps as a No. 4 seed in his latest Bracketology.
Layman is still a deadeye three-point shooter, as his 37.1 percent mark from long range ranks second only to guard Rasheed Sulaimon among rotational players.
That much hasn’t changed from his freshman year, when he was interchangeable with former guard Logan Aronhalt as a sharpshooter who dances around the arc.
But last year, he showed how deadly he could be when used as a post scorer against slower defenders.
Layman couldn’t pinpoint a specific turning point in his evolution as a player, though.
“It was definitely a gradual thing over the last four years,” Layman said. “Putting in extra work with the assistants, with [graduate assistant] John Auslander, Coach Turgeon, just watching film.”
Before Turgeon fielded questions from reporters Wednesday, he praised each of the four Terps being honored Thursday on Senior Night. He saved Layman for last, a tribute to everything the forward has done for the program.
But now, with a once-charmed season at risk of barreling toward an unsettling conclusion, the Terps need Layman more than ever.
He’s already broken out of his shell. Now he needs to help the Terps break out of their slump.
