COLLEGE PARK, MD.--The cameras caught him. It was a brief moment of weakness, but the national television cameras caught Terrell Stoglin sulking on the bench as his Maryland Terrapin teammates limped to a 73-55 defeat against the Duke Blue Devils.
Stoglin came into the Duke game averaging more than 20 points a game, good for fourth in the nation and leading the ACC. Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski set up a defensive game plan to shut Stoglin down, and it worked. He finished the game with 13 points on an abysmal 4-16 shooting.
After the Duke game, Stoglin had five long days to think about his play and his behavior. A now infamous Tweet from Stoglin after the loss drew the ire of Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon, but Stoglin knew one way to respond. Score.
Facing Boston College Thursday in the first game following the Duke loss, Stoglin lit the Eagles up. He scored 19 points in the first half alone, at one point connecting for 14 straight points during a big Terp run.
"He was hot. He was locked and loaded and ready to shoot. We kept running plays for him and kept him in the flow of the game," junior forward James Padgett said of Stoglin following the BC game. "He did a great job."
Stolin's sweet shooting from three-point-land gave the Terps a lead they would never relinquish. In the process, Stoglin broke Greivis Vasquez's Terp record for most threes made by a sophomore.
"It feels real good. Your confidence is at the highest level and you feel like you're not going to miss. It's a great feeling," Stoglin said of his first half performance.
In the second half, BC stepped up its efforts to pressure Stoglin. He finished the game with 24 points, with just five points coming after the break.
"On the screens they were doubling and pressing out so I had to pass to the big men," Stoglin said of the BC defensive scheme in the second half. "I was just passing the ball. I wasn't worried about it. We got the win, that's all I wanted, really."
Most importantly for the Terps, Stoglin responded when his team needed him most. Maryland got out to an ugly start against BC, and before Stoglin showed his explosive scoring ability, Maryland trailed by six points early in the game. A flurry of Stoglin three pointers later, Maryland had a lead it would never relinquish.
"That is why Stoglin is dangerous, he can get hot. He got in a rhythm," Boston College Coach Steve Donahue. "We allowed him to get a couple of catch and shoots and that is the best thing that the kid can do."
Stoglin is a natural scorer, and the Terps need him to fill it up. But Stoglin lacks the facilitating skills of Pe'Shon Howard. Now, with Howard out the rest of the year after tearing ligaments in his knee, more is needed from Stoglin. At times, Stoglin struggles to trust his teammates and pass the ball to an open man, often forcing a tough shot. To complicate matters, many times Stoglin makes the tough shot.
"He's a big shot maker for them," BC freshman forward Ryan Anderson said of the Terps leading scorer. "He takes and makes hard shots, and bad shots for most people are good shots for him."
Boston College freshman guard Jordan Daniels matched up against Stoglin for much of the game. After the game, Daniels talked about the difficulties facing Maryland's points machine.
"He's a great player. When he's hitting like that, there's not a lot you can do. I did what I could, but he was hitting his shots," Daniels said. "He comes out with good confidence and has a really quick step."
Turgeon spoke about the challenges of coaching Stoglin. During the Duke game, it seemed apparent that coach and player disagreed over shot selection. Things got worse when Stoglin tweeted about his playing time after the game, a tweet Stoglin would later delete from his page. But the damage still occurred, and Stoglin seemed cognizant of it following the win over BC.
"We talked about me just trying to grow up, make the right decisions. I think I'm growing up now," Stoglin said of discussions with Turgeon following the Duke loss. Stoglin added that getting out to a fast start against BC was important because of his poor play in the Duke game.
"We've had a couple meetings. Me and coach, we talk a lot," Stoglin said.
Sensing a team in need of a break, Turgeon gave the Terps two days off following the Duke loss. Turgeon said at this stage of the season, coaching is about psychology as much as strategy.
"It makes my job a lot easier when Terrell hits his first shot. I thought in the second half he really deferred, and tried to help us win the game. It's a roller coaster, no question about it," Turgeon said after the game. "Tonight, I can't believe how well he guarded. He's giving effort. He's trying to do everything I say, but it's a full time job."
In the Duke game, Stoglin could not fill the vacuum left by Howard's absence. Against Boston College, Stoglin showed that he is certainly capable of scoring, but also doing the things necessary to lead his team to a win.
With four regular season games remaining, Maryland's postseason options are yet to be determined. It will certainly be a roller coaster, but one that player and coach must ride together for any success.