Maryland men’s basketball head coach Mark Turgeon turned to the transfer portal to round out this year’s team and with under one month until the Terrapins kick off the season, Turgeon noted the chemistry and buy-in among the 2021-22 Terrapins. “Obviously excited about my team, added a lot of new players, got some good veteran guys coming back and we've had a great summer, we've had a great fall,” he said.
The first two signings out of the portal came from Fatts Russell and Qudus Wahab, giving the Terps their starting point guard and center as Turgeon shifts back to a more traditional lineup compared to a season ago. “I think if you watched us play last year, it was pretty evident we didn't have a point guard, we didn't have a center, a true center that was ready to play at a high level so we were able to get a couple early out of the portal local kids, which really helped. And then we just kept trying to piece it together.”
While Wahab will play an impact role on both ends, Russell is stepping into a situation where he transitions into a passing point guard with less of a need to become the go-to scoring option. That’s a role that Turgeon and Russell touched on prior to his decision to transfer in, but it’s a move that has helped alleviate pressure off the senior’s shoulders as he acclimates himself.
“When I recruited Fatts we talked about that and that he didn't need to score 17 a game even though he's capable of getting 17 in a game for Maryland, or 25 in a game he's capable of doing that. So we talked about that and he wanted that, his body was worn out, he was breaking down a little bit and he's terrific. I mean, I know he was good but I mean, he is a heck of a player and he can make an impact on both ends. You know, some kids can just make an impact on one end, but he gets shots, his team wins every scrimmage it seems like and then he gets two or three steals a practice just because he's so fast and anticipates well, so I knew he was good. I didn't know he was this good and for—I always tease him—for a guy shorter than me, he's a heck of a player.”
With a pair of starters secured to kick off summer, the remainder of the offseason allowed the staff to scour the transfer portal to round out the rotation, leading them to Utah guard and former four-star Ian Martinez as assistant Matt Brady leaned on preexisting relationships to get Martinez to the east coast. Maryland also inked former Arizona State four-star forward Pavlo Dziuba, the youngest player in college basketball last season, before rounding out the rotation with Xavier Green as a grad transfer out of Old Dominion.
“And then you know, Xavier Green late, you know, we go through the summer, do we have enough? He thinks he's gonna go pro, he's been in college for a long time, he puts his name in the portal and we studied them, we watched him, we played against them last year, we felt like he was a good piece so he just kept trying to add pieces. We got great depth, added Pavlo [Dziuba] in the summer, too. So yeah, we've got we got some really good depth, we've got some really, we're probably as big and athletic as we've been in a while so we're faster. And then the guys that were with us really worked hard too.” The biggest question remains whether Maryland can put it all together on the court with so many new pieces, but the culture within the program helped accelerate the buy-in from the player. “Chemistry is good because we have good kids, we recruit good kids from good families and our culture is really good. We have a great culture and our guys buy into it right away.”
Fans took note of the attention that Maryland gave the transfer portal as they rounded out the roster following an offseason of attrition. While part of the responsibility as a coach in today’s game is recruiting your current players each offseason to maintain roster stability, Turgeon once again noted the benefit of the evolving transfer portal with this summer a perfect example why.
“I do think the portals can be a big part of what we have going forward. I don't know if there'll be 2,000 kids in it again so it's an important piece of recruiting. Roster management is the most difficult thing that we do as coaches year in and year out and you have to do a really good job of recruiting the players you have, make sure they stay that's important and you know you didn't have to do that 20 years ago, guys just stay but you have to do that. Now we know it's part of the game so we work hard on that, it's a big part of our strategy, don't keep them all and then you just try to blend it. You try to get the best high school players you can and you look at your needs and then but I do think the portal gives you a second chance of early signing doesn't go well to try to fix your team and I think that's why our league is so strong this year at the top, really throughout the whole League, but some guys did a really nice job in the portal and it's given them a chance to be an elite basketball team again.”
A big piece in maintaining the culture that Turgeon strives for is the return of Eric Ayala and Donta Scott, the two Terps in attendance for media day. Turgeon once again reinforced that Ayala will play “mostly off the ball this year” as a “multiple position guy” and will need to become a bigger scorer given the departure of Aaron Wiggins, but the consistency out of Scott this offseason has also instilled further confidence in the frontcourt.
“He’s been a great player, one of the most improved players I've ever coached from his freshman year. Donta wasn't a great shooter coming out of high school, shot 45% from three last year in the league, which is an extraordinary number. He's just really gotten better and he's a tough guy for us. And if you don't know, Donta’ family, their house was flooded. Lost their house September 1 and Terp nation stepped up through a GoFundMe and really did great things for his family. So really proud of our fan base and what they were able to do for Donta’s family gives them a chance now to get their life back together and little bit of normalcy because they lost everything, lost 90% of their belongings, and lost their house. So good job Terp nation, thanks for stepping up.”
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