Terps men’s and women’s teams each welcome 2 players
The Maryland’s men’s basketball program announced the official signing of transfer Jairus Hamilton (Boston College) and incoming freshman Aquan Smart on Wednesday. Hamilton and Smart join incoming freshman Marcus Dockery, who officially signed Oct. 13, 2019.
Hamilton, who announced his intention to join the Terps earlier this month, has two years of eligibility after competing for two seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Boston College. Hamilton averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 25.8 minutes as a sophomore in 2019-20.
“I’m very excited to be coming to College Park this fall,” Hamilton said in a statement released by Maryland on Wednesday. “It felt right committing here because of the tradition of winning and the great family bond the community upholds. It’s also a great institution to advance academically.
“I look forward to playing with a great group of guys and learning from Coach [Mark] Turgeon and his staff.”
Said Turgeon: “Jairus is a very skilled and versatile wing/stretch-four who will fit right into the culture of our program. We recruited him out of high school, so we had a previous relationship and knew the kind of person he is. His skill set fits into our system really well, which will help develop his game. He’s a great kid who loves basketball and [he] has a strong work ethic that fits our culture.”
Smart is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard from Niles North High (Evanston, Illinois). He was a three-star recruit and the eighthranked player out of the state of Illinois.
As a senior, he led Niles North to a 27-6 record, in addition to regional and conference championships, while averaging more than 20 points a game.
Terps women welcome two
The Maryland women’s basketball team will welcome graduate transfer Katie Benzan, a 5-6 guard from Harvard, and transfer Chloe Bibby, a 6-1 forward from Mississippi State, to the roster for the 2020-21 season, coach Brenda Frese announced Wednesday.
Benzan, who will be eligible immediately, comes to College Park after playing three seasons at Harvard, where she was a three-time first-team All-Ivy League honoree.
In her three seasons with the Crimson, Benzan averaged 13.7 points per game with 3.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists while playing over 34 minutes per game. She notched career highs of 27 points at Quinnipiac and10 assists at No. 14 California. Benzan played at Harvard for the 2017, 2018, 2019 seasons and sat out this past year. She will graduate in May with a degree in psychology.
Bibby, a native of Warracknabeal, Australia, played in 88 career games for the Bulldogs and averaged 9.1 points and 4.8 boards per game over the past two seasons. She earned preseason All-SEC honors before the 201920 season.
Bibby started in all 18 games of the 2018-19 season before suffering an ACL tear. Before that, she scored in double figures in 14 games and averaged 11.9 points, 4.1 boards and shot 45 % from 3-point range (36-for-80).
Bibby and Benzan will come to College Park along with Angel Reese (St. Frances), the No. 2 overall recruit in the freshman class nationally.