Facing a small circle of reporters with his back turned to the Xfinity Center court Friday, Mark Turgeon began to answer an ordinary question about his Terrapins men’s basketball team. But when a deep-voiced scream echoed through the arena, the fourth-year coach cut his answer short and whipped his head around.

The holler came from the only Terp left in the gym, senior guard Dez Wells, and it caused Turgeon’s mind to wander. Wells, the Terps’ leading scorer and emotional leader, had missed the past month of action while recovering from a broken right wrist but is slated to return Saturday night against Oakland in time for a final tune up before conference play begins. The scream of frustration, at least briefly, seemed to threaten all that.

But as Turgeon peered onto the court he saw Wells clapping his hands and a ball bouncing away from the baseline. Wells wasn’t in pain at all. He had just watched a free throw roll in-and-out, ending a string of post-practice swishes.

“Sheesh, the way things are going,” Turgeon said, his voice trailing off as he turned back toward the reporters.

Despite the scare, Wells is healthy — he’s practiced the past two days — and will join forward Evan Smotrycz on Saturday night as senior projected starters who have returned to the Terps’ lineup after significant injuries early this year. Ailments aren’t the only factor to define how things have unfolded for the No. 15 Terps, though.

Success has also been a marked theme of the young season.

The Terps (11-1) enter the matchup with Oakland (4-9) on the heels of a thorough 73-64 win at Oklahoma State, which helped the program continue its ascent up the national rankings to a height it hadn’t reached since 2007.

Saturday, the season’s two major storylines will intertwine as Wells is added into the mix with the Terps riding a four-game winning streak.

“It feels good to be out here with my teammates again,” said Wells, who labeled his broken wrist as the most serious injury of his career. “I’m pretty excited to get out here and contribute.”

That’s what Wells has done since he arrived in College Park as a transfer from Xavier before the 2012-13 season. He led the Terps in scoring the past two seasons and averaged 16.2 points and 4.8 rebonds per game during a 5-0 start this year.

It was in that fifth game, an upset victory over then-No. 13 Iowa State on Nov. 25, that the 6-foot-5 wing suffered the wrist injury that would keep him out the next seven contests.

The Terps, though, thrived without their leader in the following weeks, posting a 6-1 record as Wells remained sidelined. Their only loss came at the hands of reigning ACC champion Virginia.

But after Wells practiced Christmas day and the next afternoon, Turgeon said the guard “probably won’t start” but will play a major role Saturday against the Golden Grizzlies.

“Dez is going to help us defensively, he’s going to help us rebounding, he’s going to help us with toughness and our break’s better with him,” Turgeon said. “There’s a lot of things that are better with Dez on the court.”

Turgeon and his players don’t expect Wells to take long to regain his footing after missing more than a month. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native has exercised routinely since his injury and forward Damonte Dodd said it seemed like Wells “didn’t take a day off.”

Wells plans to be at full speed in his return to game action, too.

“My trainers have confidence in me to play tomorrow, my coach has confidence in me and I lack no confidence,” Wells said Friday.

That ultra-competitive nature and unwavering self-belief have helped set the tone for Wells’ exceptionally production career. But such traits tested him as he spent a month away from the game.

He struggled to funnel his competitiveness elsewhere and said he would have to “do some things” to calm himself down before Saturday’s tilt.

Turgeon, a consistent supporter of his star, tends to agree. The Terps have found success in Wells’ absence behind a balanced offense led by forward Jake Layman and freshman point guard Melo Trimble. Both players helped shoulder a leadership role over the past month, too, and now that Wells is back, Turgeon said the veteran’s ability to simply fit in could prove key.

“I just got to keep him in and check and [let him] know he can’t have a 10-point play,” Turgeon said. “He gets pretty amped up.”

Still, Turgeon expressed confidence Wells would strike a balance between his typical aggressiveness and a more passive approach that would allow him to ease his way back into the lineup. The Terps, who open Big Ten play next Tuesday at Michigan State, will look to Wells throughout the season, but as Layman notes, the team has several players who can take over games.

Wells, though, seems cemented at the top of the list of explosive Terps. And Layman said Wells gave his teammates a reminder of that in practice Thursday.

After reeling in an outlet pass, Wells beat four defenders down the floor and rose up for a one-handed tomahawk slam.

“That just reminded me how good he is in transition,” Layman said.

Wells, Layman continued, finished off his dazzling play by landing on the ground and unleashing a triumphant scream, one that left his teammates — and likely his on-edge coach — more excited than anxious about the upcoming conference slate.

“I really don’t have many concerns,” Turgeon said “[Wells] is a veteran, he’s been around, he’s done a lot of things. He knows. He knows how he can help us and how he can’t help us as he works his way back in.”