Men's exhibition
Turgeon likes what he sees from new talent
Trimble's sprained ankle gives coach a look down roster in only tuneup game
The Terps lost Trimble, their leading scorer a year ago and only returning starter, in the first half to what coach Mark Turgeon called a Grade 1 ankle sprain. But all that did was give a longer look at a roster full of newcomers and former reserves who will be thrust into major roles in the coming season.
Turgeon left plenty pleased by the results.
“I was proud of my group today,” Turgeon said. “They showed great improvement from the week before and executed at a pretty high level. … We had a lot of young guys play. A lot of new guys played a lot of minutes, and we looked like we've played together before. That was really good to see.”
Had it been a bigger game, Turgeon said, Trimble would have played through the ankle injury, which he suffered when he landed awkwardly with 7:22 remaining in the first half. To that point, Trimble hadn't attempted a shot, but in his absence there was no superstar-sized void.
His fellow returning players showed themselves ready to take on larger roles, even if the visiting Indians provided less resistance than a regular-season opponent would. Junior Jared Nickens, who endured a frustrating sophomore season, led all scorers with 17 points, and was even called upon to play some power forward in the absence of forwards Michal Cekovsky (sprained foot) and Ivan Bender (fractured wrist).
“I feel good about myself,” Nickens said. “There are things that I can continue to get better at, and we can get better at as a team. We have a lot of things we want to accomplish.”
Senior Damonte Dodd had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while senior L.G. Gill made all five shots he attempted en route to a 13-point day. In his return from a knee injury that cost him all of last season, sophomore Dion Wiley scored a dozen points in 17 minutes.
Those familiar faces shared the spotlight with a class of freshmen that looked plenty polished as their first season approaches.
Anthony Cowan and Justin Jackson had 15 points apiece, while Kevin Huerter chipped in eight points with a game-high six assists.
“They're good players, and all three of them can really pass it,” Turgeon said. “Ant can really pass it, Kevin can really pass it, and Justin can really pass it. All three have great feel for the game, and they all kind of did their thing today. Ant ran the team, made passes at the right time, was a pest on defense and did some great things defensively — got us some easy buckets, which are always nice to have. Kevin Huerter made some shots, but he also made some great passes, which he can do. … And Justin just makes plays.”
At the outset of the game, Trimble and Cowan shared point guard responsibilities, with the other playing off the ball. Turgeon said that was more than just an exhibition experiment.
“They're going to play a lot together,” Turgeon said. “They're both good players. One of my biggest tasks is finding minutes for everybody. … But those two are going to play together a lot. They're going to feed off each other. They're both learning both spots, and they're going to be a nice little backcourt.”
Compared with last year's Terps, who rode a much bigger team to the Sweet 16, this year's guard-heavy team moved the ball and created easy baskets in a way Turgeon said their predecessors didn't.
As a team, Maryland had 23 assists — matching last year's game high in that category — and there seems to be optimism that its ball movement will only improve once the regular season begins Friday night against American in College Park.
“The ball movement was great,” Jackson said. “We play with a great group of guys and have camaraderie on and off the court. Off the court, if we come together well, when we get on the court, then it's going to jell.”
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