Terps men’s basketball columnist

It was easy to lose sight of things for a moment on Saturday. After all, the Terrapins men’s basketball team had just pulled off a monumental 83-81 upset over then-No. 2 Duke at Comcast Center. As students flooded the court and, later, Route 1 to revel in their team’s victory over the hated Blue Devils, hope seemed restored.

Maybe, they might have thought, the Terps were finally ready to live up to the lofty expectations placed on them in the preseason. Maybe that signature win would kick-start their run to the NCAA tournament.

But Tuesday, as those same fans watched the Terps suffer a disheartening 69-58 loss at Boston College, they all likely realized a simple truth.

The Terps just aren’t a good team yet.

Of course, they will be soon. There’s no questioning that. Coach Mark Turgeon has built an impressive young foundation during his two seasons in College Park, and this team is only going to get better from here.

This season, though, they’re simply not ready. Before that win against Duke, the Terps had lost three of their past five conference games, including a 20-point loss to the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They’re 6-7 in the ACC, but only two of those wins — and four of the losses — came against teams in the top half of the current league standings.

It’s not a knock on the players’ talent; it’s a knock on their experience. At this time last year, Seth Allen, Jake Layman, Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare were in high school, Dez Wells was at Xavier, and Logan Aronhalt was at Albany. Nick Faust, Pe’Shon Howard, James Padgett and Alex Len are the only four players in the rotation who had ever experienced the rigors of ACC play entering this season.

That’s the reason behind one of the most prominent themes of the Terps’ season: They have the pieces in place, but they’re a year away. Turgeon has admitted as much. He knows his team has talent — the players just haven’t learned to harness it yet.

“There’s really more commitment being made by each player,” Turgeon said Monday. “We have a young team. We’re building, not only for the next six games and postseason, but for the future.”

That future looks bright. Aronhalt and Padgett will move on, and Len might leave for the NBA Draft. But other than that, the Terps’ core will remain intact next year.

The four freshmen will return, each with a year of experience under their belts. Wells will be more ready to handle a starring role, and Faust will get a chance to move back to his natural position.

Turgeon will get some solid newcomers as well. Evan Smotrycz — a Michigan transfer who sat out this year due to NCAA rules — will provide a solid offensive skill set from the forward position. Roddy Peters, the No. 12 point guard recruit in the nation, should give the Terps the true ball-handler they have lacked this season. And center Damonte Dodd will give an already solid frontcourt more depth and athleticism.

Of course, this season isn’t over yet. The Terps, who will host Clemson tomorrow, still have five regular-season games remaining before the ACC tournament. Their loss to the Eagles decreased their tournament chances drastically, but they could have a shot at a berth if they win out in the regular season and win a game or two in Greensboro, N.C.

But for Turgeon, this final stretch won’t be about whether the Terps make it into next month’s 68-team field. These next five games hold a much heavier weight.

“How we handle the next month will determine how our future will be,” Turgeon said. “I really believe that.”

Hopefully his players do, too. Because if all goes according to Turgeon’s plan, we won’t spend next season talking about how many more games the Terps will have to win to sneak into the NCAA tournament bubble.

We’ll spend the season talking about how high they’ll be seeded.

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