Jaylen Brantley isn’t used to sitting on the bench. The Terrapins men’s basketball guard said he played the entire game in high school. And last year, Brantley was one of the top junior college transfer prospects in the country and a regular starter.
But this season, Brantley has grown accustomed to a courtside seat. When his teammates take the court for the opening tip, Brantley settles into a chair, alongside two other teammates. He’ll remain there for much of the game, and sometimes even all of it.
As the season progressed and the nonconference cupcakes turned into Big Ten games, Brantley’s role has diminished. Before Tuesday’s 93-62 win over Division II Bowie State, in which Brantley played a career-high 21 minutes, the sophomore hadn’t played double-digit minutes in any of the previous nine games.
A couple of years ago, Brantley said he wouldn’t have been able to handle the limited minutes. But he hasn’t grown frustrated this year. Coach Mark Turgeon wants him to improve on defense and play harder, Brantley said, so he focuses on that in practice. That effort paid off Tuesday, and Brantley hopes he can build on that performance.
He wants to provide crucial minutes off the bench and allow guards Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon to take a breather.
“They won’t have to play as many minutes,” Brantley said. ” I can bring another ball handler into the game. When I’m open, I’ll shoot it, try to make a few shots for them. Take the pressure off them.”
After the blowout win Tuesday, Turgeon was hopeful that Brantley would use his performance as a springboard heading into the final six regular-season games. Against the Bulldogs, Brantley had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting and added an assist and a block.
“Jaylen played with a lot of confidence on offense,” Turgeon said. “He’s a guy who can score points, which is nice to see. I have to watch the film and see how his defense was tonight, but it should give him confidence.”
At times this season, Brantley has appeared hesitant to shoot the ball, instead deferring to his more experienced teammates. While he’s shown flashes of potential, such as a season-high 14 points against Princeton in 12 minutes, he’s struggled to secure a spot in Turgeon’s rotation. After playing 10 minutes or more in seven of the Terps’ first 12 nonconference games, Brantley has played 10 minutes or more just once in 12 Big Ten contests. Plus, he didn’t see the floor in four games.
“Today definitely will help me build, just giving me confidence,” Brantley said Tuesday. “Basketball’s all about confidence. I’m going to have enough confidence on Saturday if [Turgeon] puts me in.”
With Brantley’s minutes declining, senior Varun Ram, a former walk-on, has become the Terps’ backup point guard. The 5-foot-9 Clarksville native is a tenacious defender but is limited offensively. He’s 3-for-17 from the floor, and some teams have left him open on offense.
With neither Ram (4.9 minutes per game) nor Brantley able to secure a stable spot in the rotation, Trimble and Sulaimon are first and second on the team in minutes played, respectively.
While Brantley’s performance Tuesday was against a Division II team hovering near .500, it offers the Terps a glimmer of hope with tournament play looming. Brantley won’t be a starter like he was in high school and junior college, but he could provide much-needed depth.
“Anytime you have multiple guards on the floor, it can make it easier,” Sulaimon said. “When you have two and three guards on the court at the same time, it can really put a lot of pressure on the defense as far as penetration, IQ, running the team, getting people open shots. It’s definitely something going forward we’re hoping can happen more often.”
