The Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team still has high aspirations heading into the 2021-22 season despite the recent departures of two key players. Aaron Wiggins announced via ESPN, he was remaining in the NBA Draft and forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
Wiggins’ decision comes a week after Morsell withdrew from the NBA Draft but transferred to Marquette over returning to the Terrapins.
But head coach Mark Turgeon has done a solid job constructing next season’s roster to withstand losing two of the team’s top-four scorers from last season.
Even before Morsell and Wiggins’ decisions, Maryland was shopping around the transfer portal to improve their depth. Point guard and center were targeted, two positions the team struggled without last season, despite making the NCAA Tournament. As buzz stirred about who Maryland could potentially add to their well-seasoned roster, ESPN jumped on the bandwagon early, pronouncing the Terps as a top-six team for next season.
Unfortunately, three of its top guards declared for the NBA Draft, Wiggins, Morsell, and last season’s leading scorer Eric Ayala. Meanwhile, Turgeon went on as business as usual, hoping to get all three back.
Top two transfer offset the departures
Maryland landed top-transfer center Qudus Wahab from Georgetown. Then added former Rhode Island star point guard Fatts Russell in the same day. They put the Terps over the top and looking much like a Final Four team.
But those aspirations hinged on the top trio coming back. Ayala has since announced he is returning to Maryland and withdrawn from the NBA Draft. Morsell withdrew from the draft, but he also entered the transfer portal. The reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year ultimately opted to follow Maryland assistant DeAndre Haynes to Marquette to join Shaka Smart.
Wiggins followed suit in leaving Maryland by staying in the draft. Wiggins flashed during the G League Elite Camp and again at the NBA Combine last week in Chicago. The positive feedback he received led him to remaining in the draft.
While the heat on being a top-five or six team has simmered a bit, Maryland is still going to be formidable and a sexy pick to go deep into the NCAA Tournament.
Eric Ayala returns to Maryland to lead a deeper rotation of guards
Ayala is bringing back his 15.1 points per game. As a senior, he’ll be counted on to lead the group in a large way on both ends of the floor. Russell will be alongside him.
At Rhode Island, Russell emerged on the scene during the 2019-20 season as a sophomore. He averaged 18.8 points, earning first team All-Atlantic-10 and made the A-10’s All-Defensive Team. Last season, his scoring and shooting dropped to 14.7 points and 33.7%. But with Maryland’s strong depth there are expectations he will return to his sophomore form.
Maryland also gets back Hakim Hart, who averaged 7.1 points, is coming back. They also landed Utah transfer Ian Martinez. Martinez underwent surgery on a torn mensicus in his knee. He suffered the injury in June during a workout and at the time of injury was set to be out 2-to-3 months.
Martinez went to Utah as a four-star recruit. He played in 25 games for the Utes last season, and averaged 9.7 points over the final six games. He’s expected to add solid depth at guard. At 6-foot-3 he is athletic and can attack the basket off the hop.
Maryland’s influx of guards is said to be one of the factors into Morsell transferring to Marquette, according to Inside MD Sports.
Maryland’s frontcourt may be more impressive and deep
Meanwhile, forward Donta Scott is returning. He averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. He’ll be inside next to Wahab, the 6-foot-11 transfer from up the road at Georgetown.
Last season, Wahab averaged 12.7 points and 8.2 rebounds. He uplifted the Hoyas during their improbable run to a Big East Tournament championship and bid into the NCAA Tournament. Wahab has a great deal of seasoning playing in the post learning from Hoyas and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing.
Maryland also landed Arizona State transfer Pavlo Dziuba. It was led to believe Dziuba was the youngest player in Division I last season. He’ll turn 18 this month. He appeared in eight games for the Sun Devils, playing a mere 33 minutes total.
However, the Ukraine native is 6-foot-8 and has range from three. He was a four-star recruit a year ago. He also played for the FC Barcelona Under-18 team.
Then there is the two four-star incoming freshmen. Power forward Julian Reese from St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) and small forward Ike Cornish from Legacy Charter (Greenville, SC).
Prospects still great
Collectively, Maryland has a great deal of depth and strong talent. Sure, Turgeon would have loved to get back talents such as Wiggins and Morsell. But, even without the two, the Terrapins have high hopes for the Big Ten and NCAA.
CBS Sports dropped the Terps from 11th to 17th following Wiggins’ announcement. That’s the third-highest ranking in the Big Ten behind Michigan (5) and Purdue (9). ESPN has Maryland at 14th following Morsell’s announcement to transfer. They’ve not updated since Wiggins’ departure. Still it’s without question Turgeon’s team will be a top-20 going into the season.
