Maryland Basketball: Impact of Donta Scott returning for next season
By Karl Heiser
On the heels of Jahmir Young announcing his return, Maryland Basketball has another starter coming back for the 2023-24 campaign with forward Donta Scott intending to play a fifth season in College Park. The news was first reported by Jeff Ermann of 247Sports.
Over his four years at Maryland, Scott has appeared in 129 games, averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per contest. Despite being a consistent presence in the UMD frontcourt during his career, the end of the 2022-23 season was not kind to Scott as he shot 30.9% from the field in the month of March. He will look to rediscover his three-point stroke in his fifth year after shooting 43.8% from distance as a sophomore and failing to convert more than 31% in a season since. The experience Scott brings the Terrapins raises their floor entering year two of the Kevin Willard era.
This certainly won’t be the final news regarding Maryland Basketball’s roster for 2023-24. With the recent addition of Chance Stephens, Scott’s return takes the Terps one over the scholarship limit. Someone is on their way out, whether that be a reserve big like Arnaud Revaz or Pavlo Dziuba or a wing like Ian Martinez. If Hunter Dickinson’s visit this weekend goes well and he decides he wants to come home to the DMV, Kevin Willard will need a second player to transfer as well.
Maryland Basketball finished last season with a 22-13 overall record and 11-9 mark in Big Ten play. They entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed in the South Region, defeating No. 9 West Virginia in the Round of 64 before falling to No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the Round of 32.
Looking ahead to 2023-24, Maryland has the No. 17 incoming class per 247Sports. With Donta Scott back in the fold, the Terps stand to return three starters. Following a season of unexpected success, the future is bright in College Park.