Can Maryland freshman break out of slump Saturday at Temple?
Freshman debuts rarely go as smoothly as that of Maryland’s 7-foot-1 Alex Len. The question now in College Park: Was it too good to be true?
After averaging 13.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and shooting 77 percent in his first four games, Len has disappeared in his last three, averaging 2.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and shooting 25 percent.
Will the real Alex Len please stand up?
Saturday when Maryland (12-5) travels to Temple (12-5), the Terrapins try to reestablish Len as an interior force. The last time he played well was at North Carolina State, two weeks ago, when he had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“He came to play at State. He had high energy, bouncing around. He was aggressive,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “We haven’t really seen that kid since.”
According to Turgeon, academic issues and struggles with learning English have caught up to the 18-year-old from the Ukraine.
“Not to make excuses for the kid, but he’s had a huge academic load,” Turgeon said. “I’m screaming at my assistant during the game, ‘He’s studying too much.’ He’s had a lot on his plate. He’s back in his extensive English class, six hours a day.”
Also catching up to Len has been the competition. In his first four games, Len didn’t face an opposing center taller than 6-foot-9. Since then, however, he’s looked eye-to-eye against those guarding him.
Wake Forest 7-footers Ty Walker and Carson Desrosiers combined for a triple-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks) while holding Len to five points, two rebounds, and three blocks. Against Georgia Tech’s 6-11 Daniel Miller, Len failed to score but had nine rebounds and three blocks.
Len’s worst game came Tuesday night in a loss at Florida State as he had more fouls (four) than points (three) and rebounds (two), playing a season-low 18 minutes against the Seminoles rugged inside duo of 6-11 Xavier Gibson and 6-10 Bernard James.
“Alex is more of a finesse guy,” Turgeon said. “We’re trying to make him a finesse guy and a power guy, so it’s a transition.”
On Saturday, Len should have an advantage on Temple center Anthony Lee, a 6-9, 205-pound freshman. The next tallest player in the rotation of coach Fran Dunphy is 6-6 junior Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson. Last month, the Owls lost center Michael Eric to a knee injury. The 6-11 senior was averaging a double-double.
“They’ll play four guards a lot, three and a half guards, so we gotta be able to guard the basketball,” Turgeon said. “Fran’s sitting there, he’s worried about how he’s gonna guard our big guys. I’m sitting here worried about how I’m gonna guard their small guys.”
UP NEXT
Maryland at Temple
When: Saturday, 11 a.m.
Where: The Palestra, Philadelphia
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 980 AM
Temple is led by a trio of 6-4 veteran guards – seniors Ramone Moore (17.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Juan Fernandez (11.5 ppg, 4.1 apg), and junior Khalif Wyatt (16.4 ppg, 2.0 spg).
