Terps get ready for life after Cekovsky

‘Big, strong’ Minnesota team presents a tough first test for rotation of centers

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon talked recently about the potential of his team late in the season, and used junior center Michal Cekovsky’s improvement and return to health as the biggest reason.

Now that the 7-foot-1 Slovakian has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after breaking his left ankle in Sunday’s 71-60 loss at Wisconsin, Turgeon might want to remind the No. 24 Terps that they won nine of the last 10 games they played without him.

Though the competition for Maryland (22-5, 10-4) will certainly be stiffer the rest of the way — starting Wednesday at Xfinity Center with red-hot Minnesota (20-7, 8-6) — the Terps are also a more seasoned bunch than they were when Cekovsky was out in November and January.

“First of all, I feel bad for Ceko; the kid’s been hurt all year, he played through a lot this season and obviously he can’t play through this one,” Turgeon said Tuesday. “We’ve got to move on without him, but we’ve played a lot of games and won a lot of games without him, too.

“Did Ceko give us something that no one else on our team can give? Absolutely. He’s just now starting to play the way he was capable, so it’s disappointing. That said, I’ve got a lot of confidence in our guys. …We played a lot of games without Ceko this year, so we know how to do it.”

The rotation at center will be similar to when Cekovsky missed time with another foot injury and Maryland won five of its first six Big Ten games en route to an 8-1 start in the league. Senior Damonte Dodd will remain the starter, with redshirt sophomore Ivan Bender and senior L.G. Gill off the bench.

“Since I’ve done it in the past, it’s not going to be that big of an adjustment,” said the 6-8 Gill. …If I hadn’t played [center] Tonight, 8:30 TV: Big Ten Network Radio: 105.7. FM, 980 AM