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We don't know a lot about how this Maryland basketball season will turn out. They lost three of their starters (arguably their best players) and are burdened with the task of replacing them with young players without much experience occupying the roles they will be asked to fill.
We got our first look at the new Terps last night in a 105-76 win over Seattle that featured almost 60 combined turnovers by the two teams. Seattle is not Duke or North Carolina, a 29 turnover performance won't get it done in the regular season. But it's the first game of the season, so that's OK. Through all the sloppiness, we did learn something about the Maryland team last night, they are going to be a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
Greivis Vazquez, as good as he was, dominated the ball and killed movement until it was time to make a pass for an assist. There's nothing wrong with that, it can just be frustrating to watch. This new Maryland team doesn't have a single dominant star to be the primary ballhandler, which will hopefully promote movement and touches for everyone. What they do have is a lot of young talent that will be fun to watch grow up.
We know what Jordan Williams (now a sophomore) can bring, and with the weight he lost in the off season, he looks more explosive and ready to contribute in a much larger way. He could become a very scary player in the future. But the guys that really impressed me are the two true freshmen who the play-by-play guy kept calling the "kiddie backcourt"; Pe'Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin.
Howard had five points and an impressive eight assists in just 24 minutes of action. Two of his five came on a very loud dunk, his first points as a collegiate athlete. Stoglin struggled a little bit with ball security, which is to be expected from a true freshman in his first game, but still managed to put up 15 points and five assists. Throw in Mychal Parker and you have a young nucleus of players who are ready to grow up right before our eyes.
They might not win the ACC Regular Season like they did last year. They might not even make the NCAA Tournament. But whatever they do, they will be doing it in style.
Today's must-reads from around the SB Nation network:
- Don;t take my word for it, Testudo Times has a full recap of last night's game.
- Bullets Forever with more on practice-gate.
- Japers' Rink with their newest edition of player rankings.
Today on SB Nation D.C.: Brian Murphy with the ten defining moments of the Redskins' season thus far.