Maryland Basketball’s Future Got Even Brighter
Mississippi State big man Schnider Hérard has transferred to Maryland. Hérard was the 47th best player in the class of 2016 and helps the Terps improve their front court depth for next season.
As Maryland waits for the announcement from Moses Brown, the Terps were able to land another center to help Mark Turgeon sleep easier at night. With Michal Cekovsky and Sean Obi both graduating after this season, Maryland was hoping to land Brown so they could have another big to backup, or start along with, Bruno Fernando. Brown said in an interview that he will make his decision at the end of the month, deciding between UCLA and the Terrapins. Recent projections has UCLA with a 66% chance of landing Brown, leaving Maryland with a weary 33% chance. (1% for other teams).
Hérard is a 6’10 rim protector who averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds on 18 minutes per game last year. This season, Hérard is having trouble seeing floor time, averaging 1 point and 2 boards in just under 10 minutes per contest. Since Hérard has played under 100 minutes played, there is a good chance he will be allowed to play right away next season. That’s what Turgeon is hoping for at least.
Hérard will join a big time recruiting class for the Terrapins. Guards Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins, and forward, also McDonald’s All-American, Jalen Smith will be in College Park next year. The Terps will lose Cekovsky, Obi and Jared Nickens to graduation and will likely lose Justin Jackson to the NBA. Jackson however, obviously, has missed a majority of the year which could potentially swing him back to college for his junior campaign. Not banking on it though.
As of right now, Maryland will still have their key guys returning next season. Anthony Cowan Jr. and Kevin Huerter will both be juniors, Bruno Fernando and Darryl Morsell will be sophomores. If Jackson returns, he will obviously be in the starting five. If not, those four will likely start, along with either Ivan Bender or Smith at the four. Possibly another Damonte Dodd and Diamond Stone situation, just with Bender and Smith.
The potential rotation for the 2018-19 season sounds great, and looks even better on paper.
- Anthony Cowan, Eric Ayala
- Darryl Morsell, Dion Wiley
- Kevin Huerter, Aaron Wiggins
- Jalen Smith, Ivan Bender, Joshua Tomaic
- Bruno Fernando, Schnider Hérard
That is without Justin Jackson and Moses Brown. I do not see Jackson returning or Brown committing, but there is still a possibility.
The future looks bright for Maryland basketball. With all of the talent Turgeon has in the program, you can’t help but to expect big things from this team. However, it is important to keep faith in the boys he is working with this season. Things seem to be coming together, everyone is learning their new roles on the team, the offense is more fluent, and there aren’t nearly as many turnovers. As exciting as it is to know who is coming to College Park next season, Maryland is still in Tournament hopes. You never know what cinderella team will make a run at the championship. That’s the beauty of college basketball.
