Maryland Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Terrapins against Oakland

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 21: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins dribbles the ball against Kevin McClain #11 of the Belmont Bruins in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at VyStar Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: The Maryland Terrapins bench celebrates as they take on the LSU Tigers during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

2. Get the Young Guys In

This year, Maryland brought in another impressive recruiting class. The class was ranked the 28th best in the nation and 3rd best in the Big Ten. The class was headlined by the big man Mitchell twins, Makhi and Makhel, and forward Donta Scott, who has drawn comparisons to beloved former Terp Dez Wells.

Despite the obvious talent and depth within this year’s freshman Terps, and the returning sophomores, they haven’t been given much playing time. Of the newcomers, Donta Scott has played the most minutes with 16 per game. No other freshman has played more than 10 per game, and sophomore forward Ricky Lindo, who has shown lots of promise, is next closest with 11 minutes per game.

A significant reason for this is that the Terps have a very talented and deep team. There are only so many minutes available in a game, and it is important for the stars to get a lot of playing time. However, playing the young bloods now will help the Terrapins down the line.

The Terps will need to use all of the talent and depth that they have to make a deep run in the tournament now. Getting playing time early in the season will give the newcomers more confidence for the later games. Saturday’s game against Oakland will be the perfect time for the younger Terps to get quality minutes and maybe put on a show.

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