Jordan Williams and James Padgett do everything together. The Terrapin men’s basketball freshmen are roommates, walk to class with each other and often eat meals together.
Padgett said they often laugh at each other’s jokes, and Williams often finishes Padgett’s sentences.
You could say they are two very big and very athletic peas in a pod.
Now, if the talented big men can develop together into viable frontcourt options for coach Gary Williams — and quickly — the Terps might be onto something.
As well as the Terps played toward the end of last season, they seriously lacked a frontcourt presence. That instantly put them at a disadvantage against any team with a powerful big man.
Rebounding was often an issue, as was defending their opponents’ best low-post player and finding consistent inside scoring in their half-court sets.
This year’s team will be led mostly by its veterans and is certainly the most experienced Terp squad since the D.J. Strawberry-led crew of 2006-2007.
But the Terps’ ultimate success this season could depend on how big an impact the freshmen can make right away.
Padgett and Jordan Williams need to be ready to go from the jump.
“We need to get those two guys up to speed with our other guys,” Gary Williams said the week leading up to the start of preseason practice. “I’m excited about our two new guys and looking forward to that.”
While the goal for each of them should be the same — to simply contribute positively — Padgett and Jordan Williams offer different styles and complementary games.
Padgett is long and is a superior athlete. At 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Gary Williams said Padgett reminds him of a young James Gist.
And if any freshman should be unfazed by making the jump from high school ball to big-time college basketball, it is Padgett.
Padgett starred alongside super-recruit Lance Stephenson, occasionally on national television and in Madison Square Garden, for famed Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“In New York, you have to be very tough,” Padgett said. “You have to be very confident, or you won’t prosper.”
The Railsplitters churned out NBA stars Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, as well as fictional superstar Jesus Shuttlesworth of the 1998 movie He Got Game — that should give you an idea of where Padgett is coming from.
Padgett said he thinks his pedigree should give him a little bit of an advantage over other freshmen, but mostly he’s just looking to do what he can to help the Terps improve.
“I saw a team that had an opportunity to get better and was just missing a couple pieces,” Padgett said. “I look forward to playing with them.”
Jordan Williams, on the other hand, is a wide body. At 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds, he gives the Terps the back-to-the-basket scorer they did not have last year.
He can slow things down for the Terp offense when it needs a change of pace and — if he is ready — he gives the Terps a viable low-post scoring option.
Jordan Williams said he also prides himself on being a defensive presence in the middle, and Gary Williams praised his passing skills.
“Last year they didn’t really have any back-to-the-basket players,” Jordan Williams said. “This year it’s a little bit better.”
In contrast to Padgett and his city upbringing, Jordan Williams joins the Terps out of Torrington High School in northwestern Connecticut.
But Jordan Williams was the Connecticut Player of the Year last season and earned some YouTube notoriety when he shattered a backboard during a game.
“It’s a great honor to be able to come in and hopefully work hard and build myself up to a starting position,” Jordan Williams said. “And if I don’t start, I just want to help the team any way I can.”
The Terps will be relying on the freshmen even more than Padgett and Jordan Williams may have anticipated when they were being recruited, making their quick development even more imperative.
Disappointing center Braxton Dupree transferred to Towson after two ineffective seasons, and Dino Gregory’s playing status remains in question after the junior forward was held out of the Terps’ exhibition game against Indiana (Pa.) last week for violating undisclosed team rules. The team declined to elaborate on when he might return.
Either Padgett or Jordan Williams was on the floor at all times during the exhibition, and if Gregory isn’t cleared to play in the regular season opener tomorrow, one of the freshman will likely have to start.
The pieces are in place, but the biggest ones need to fit in.
Jordan Williams and Padgett have clearly become acquainted with each other, but they need to get acquainted with logging meaningful minutes for the Terps to be successful.
schimmel@umdbk.com
