College of Charleston poses a tougher test
Maryland coach Gary Williams said Monday night that he hopes to firm up the Terps’ rotation by the end of this month. Early indications are that he’ll have plenty of options, especially in the backcourt.
In Maryland’s sometimes-ragged, 105-76 opening-night victory over Seattle, the most encouraging aspect was the play of freshmen guards Terrell Stoglin (15 points, five assists) and Pe’Shon Howard (five points, eight assists, three steals).
Wednesday, when Maryland (1-0) hosts the College of Charleston in a 2K Sports Classic regional, Williams is anxious to get another look at his high-energy duo.
“They did great for their first college game,” Williams said. “They came out with a lot of confidence.”
The 6-foot-1 Stoglin was in attack mode in his productive 18 minutes on Monday, forcing the tempo, drawing fouls and converting all nine of his free-throw attempts. Less than a minute into his Monday debut, Stoglin fed forward Jordan Williams for a basket and followed with a backcourt steal and layup.
It took even less time for Howard (6-3, 205) to emerge — three seconds to be exact — as he stripped a Seattle rebounder clean and, moments later, swooped to the basket for a dunk.
“They came out with tremendous energy off the bench, not really looking for their shot, but setting up the offense,” junior guard Sean Mosley said of the freshmen.
Balancing aggression with prudence will be required for the precocious freshmen. They combined for seven turnovers Monday. In the Terps exhibition victory over Florida Southern the previous week, Stoglin had five turnovers in 18 minutes.
“They are going to try some passes that they probably got away with in the past and you won’t at this level, but they will learn,” Gary Williams said. “That’s where you see if they are making progress, if they don’t go back and do the same mistake again.”
If Stoglin and Howard remain in the lineup, Williams will be able to mix and match them with starters Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Sean Mosley, giving him flexibility similar to last season when the Terps rotated five players at the three perimeter positions.
On Wednesday night, the backcourt will be tested by a veteran Charleston backcourt, including last year’s top scorer, 6-2 senior Andrew Goudelock (19.4 ppg), and 6-3 senior Donavan Monroe (12.3 ppg).
