No painting over Terps’ shortcomings
No one needs to remind Maryland coach Mark Turgeon that size is a premium in men’s basketball.
In the Big Ten alone, Maryland has struggled against the likes of Rutgers’ 6- foot- 11 junior center Myles Johnson ( 10 points, 16 rebounds), Purdue’s 6- 10 junior forward Trevion Williams ( 10 points, eight rebounds), Michigan’s 7- 1 freshman center Hunter Dickinson ( 26 points, 11 rebounds), Indiana’s 6- 9 sophomore forward Trayce Jackson- Davis ( 22 points, 15 rebounds), and Iowa’s 6- 11 senior center Luke Garza ( 24 points, seven rebounds).
And Sunday night, the Terps ( 6- 6, 1- 5 Big Ten) will tangle with N o. 12 Illinois ( 9- 3, 5- 1) and 7- foot sophomore center Kofi Cockburn. It’s a daunting task for a team that is mired in a three- game losing streak and has dropped four of its past five games.
“If you think about it, from Purdue to Wisconsin to Michigan to Indiana’s five man to Luke Garza and this kid, it’s just not a good year to be small,” Turgeon said Saturday afternoon. “Normally we’re big
and long and athletic around the rim, but we’re not this year. It’s bad timing for us.”
Unfortunately for Turgeon and the program, neither Bruno Fernando nor Jalen Smith is walking through any doors.
“We’re a different team than with Bruno here and with Stix [ Smith] here,” Turgeon said. “We’re different, but I think we’re getting closer with how we have to play to be successful.”
Sophomore forward Donta Scott, who leads the Terps in rebounding ( 7.3) and ranks second in scoring ( 12.9), is their most consistent presence in the frontcourt but stands only 6- 7. Six- foot- 8 junior forward Jairus Hamilton is more of a wing player, and 6- 9 senior forward Galin Smith’s production and playing time have waned since a seven- point, five- rebound showing in a 74- 60 loss to No. 15 Rutgers on Dec. 14.
After dismissing a question about whether 7- 2 sophomore center Chol Mariol could have made a difference in the loss at Iowa in a postgame conference that night, Turgeon said Saturday that Mariol would be counted on to try to contain Cockburn, who leads the Fighting Illini is rebounding ( 10.1 per game) and ranks second in scoring ( 17 points per game).
“There’s just not many humans on earth that are that skilled,” Turgeon said of Cockburn. “It’s a load, especially for this year’s team. We’ve got a few different ways we can try to help our centers out the best we can.… We’ll play Chol, and hopefully he plays well and his length can do a good job in there for us.”
With Cockburn, Illinois ranks second among all Division I teams in rebounding margin of plus- 13.2. Maryland ranks 172nd at plus- 1.2, whichwould seem to punctuate the need for the guards to hang back a little longer on defense for long rebounds. But senior shooting guard Darryl Morsell said that has long been a point of emphasis.
“As team, we always try to preach finishing every possession with a rebound,” the Baltimore resident and Mount St. Joseph graduate said. “We know how important it is against teams in this conference to finish every possession. If you give up too many offensive rebounds, that score can change real quick, so we’re just challenging each other as a team.”
Morsell insisted that even a small lineup can present problems for opposing defenses in terms of spacing and quickness, but he said Maryland can help itself by playing with a certain attitude.
“You’ve got to have a mindset that if you’re small, you’re already at a disadvantage,” he said. “And if you’re at a disadvantage, you’ve got to give more if you want to win.”