After Maryland Basketball exceeded the scholarship limit with the commitment of Indiana transfer Jordan Geronimo, it was expected that someone would be transferring out. That came to fruition on Monday as reserve big Pavlo Dziuba entered the portal. Behind Ike Cornish, Hakim Hart, and Arnaud Revaz, he is the fourth Terp to put his name in the transfer portal this offseason.
Dziuba saw little time over two seasons with Maryland Basketball, playing 46 minutes over 14 games. He has logged six points, six rebounds, and two steals in his collegiate career which began at Arizona State. The 6’8” forward has two years of eligibility remaining. Being a holdover from the Mark Turgeon era that rarely saw the court, it’s not surprising that Dziuba was on the outs as a result of the UMD scholarship situation.
Hailing from Ukraine, Pavlo Dziuba got some international experience with the Ukrainian U16 team, averaging 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game at the 2019 FIBA U16 Division B European Championships. He also played club basketball for FC Barcelona’s U18 squad.
Dziuba entering the transfer portal means Maryland Basketball is squarely at the maximum of 13 scholarships. Further shuffling is not out of the question, but there’s a good chance head coach Kevin Willard will elect to enter next season with his current group. Of course, with the portal closing on Thursday for non-grad transfers, anything can happen to change that.
Maryland Basketball finished this past 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 and stand to return three starters. Following a season of unexpected success, the future is bright in College Park.