Three storylines to watch in Maryland men's basketball's exhibition vs. Georgia Tech

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After finishing last season with its worst winning percentage in 37 years, Maryland men’s basketball begins its road to redemption Sunday. The Terps will take on former ACC foe Georgia Tech in an exhibition matchup at UMBC’s Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Here are three things to watch as Buzz Wiliams kicks off his second season in College Park.

Is Pharrel Payne at full strength and ready for an All-Big Ten season?

This will be the first opportunity to see Payne, one of 11 players named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, in game action since he suffered a season-ending leg injury against Michigan last December. After receiving a medical waiver this offseason, Payne is back for another year with the Terps.

When healthy, Payne was Maryland’s most consistent inside scoring threat and best overall player. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man averaged 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 games before missing the rest of the season.

For Maryland to return to the NCAA Tournament, it will need Payne to be at full strength and ready to play at an all-conference level. Sunday’s game will offer the first indication of how close Payne is to returning to his pre-injury form.

How many minutes will Payne play? Will he look fatigued after playing for extended stretches? Will he be able to effectively move laterally? Will he look explosive when defending the rim? These are all aspects of his game that will hint at how he’s progressing.

It will also be fascinating to watch how Williams deploys Payne alongside 6-foot-9, 250-pound New Mexico transfer Tomislav Buljan. Last season, Buljan led the Mountain West Conference in rebounding and double-doubles while setting the New Mexico single-season record for offensive rebounds. Together, Payne and Buljan could make up a formidable frontcourt duo that cleans up on the glass and provides Maryland with the second-chance opportunities that have been a staple of Williams’ most successful teams. However, neither player is a perimeter threat and playing both together could create spacing issues on the offensive end. Payne has only attempted one 3-pointer over his previous four seasons of college basketball and Buljan shot 30.8% from beyond the arc last season on just 26 attempts. To avoid clogging the lane, Williams will likely need to split the pair up in certain situations.

Is Baba Oladotun ready to contribute against power conference competition?

Oladotun comes to College Park as the centerpiece of Maryland’s four-player freshman class. The 6-foot-10, 205-pound Silver Spring native was the top-rated prospect in ESPN’s class of 2027 recruiting rankings before reclassifying to the class of 2026 and committing to the Terps. Oladotun’s slim build, length and perimeter skills have drawn comparisons to 16-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant. Durant averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds in his lone season at Texas. Expecting similar production from Oladotun isn’t realistic. That’s a tall order for anybody, much less a still-developing 17-year-old who played just two games during his senior season due to injury. It’s an even taller order to do it in the rugged Big Ten.

But how good can Oladotun be? His mix of size, skill and athleticism is intriguing and there isn’t another player on this roster with as much long-term potential. The Terps will need a reliable third scoring option behind Payne and redshirt sophomore guard Andre Mills, who emerged late last year as Maryland’s best perimeter scorer. Sunday’s game will provide an early indication of Oladotun’s readiness to fill that role and where he will need to develop as the season progresses.

Is D.J. Wagner the point guard Maryland lacked last season?

From Steve Blake and Greivis Vasquez to Melo Trimble and Anthony Cowan, Maryland has been known for exceptional point guard play across eras. Last season, that was missing. Maryland ranked 332nd out of 365 Division I teams in assist rate, recording an assist on just 45.2% of its made field goals. David “Diggy” Coit led the team with 2.8 assists per game and nobody else averaged more than 1.6.

While finishing in the bottom quarter of the country in both 2-point and 3-point percentage compounded the issue, Maryland simply lacked the lead guard required to run an effective Big Ten offense. While Coit scored over 40 points in multiple games last season, the Terps needed a playmaker who could consistently create scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. Do they have one this year?

Wagner, the former five-star prospect who spent his freshman year at Kentucky with John Calipari before following him to Arkansas for the next two seasons, is the best option to fill that role. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Wagner is an attacking guard with an explosive first step and the size to finish at the rim.

Throughout Wagner's career, he has shown flashes that he can be the point guard Maryland needs. In his return to Rupp Arena in 2025, he had 17 points, eight assists and just one turnover in Arkansas’ 89-79 win over Kentucky. But at times he has struggled with turnovers, posting a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio during his sophomore season. Last year, Wagner moved to an off-ball role next to SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff and came off the bench for much of conference play. While Wagner’s usage rate and scoring average decreased, his 3-point percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio improved. Wagner never publicly complained about his reduced role and he came off the bench to score 11 points in Arkansas’s SEC tournament title game victory over Vanderbilt. Wagner’s team-first attitude and postseason experience as a contributor on back-to-back Sweet 16 teams, may be just as important as anything else he brings to College Park.

In an ideal scenario, Wagner would be Maryland’s primary ball-handler, a scoring threat and a playmaker, while keeping his turnover rate low and his 3-point percentage high. If he can do that while providing leadership and playing high-quality defense, the Terps will be cooking with gas. Sunday will provide the first glimpse of just how much propane is in the tank.

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