Copyright Baltimore Sun
For now, Maryland men’s basketball will always have free throws. At a time when the Terps’ shooting lacks consistency and the 3-point accuracy has been even more erratic, they have leaned on their ability to draw fouls and get to the foul line to generate offense. With 89 trips to the charity stripe and an 82% conversion rate through three games, Maryland ranks second in the Big Ten in the former (trailing only Ohio State’s 98) and third in the latter (trailing Indiana’s 90% and Wisconsin’s 82.8%). The team converted more free-throw attempts than its opponents took in two games, and the squad was just one made free throw shy of matching Georgetown’s 31 visits in Friday’s 70-60 loss. The Terps went 20 of 27 in Tuesday night’s 84-64 thrashing of Alcorn State with the senior forward duo of Pharrel Payne (6 of 8) and Elijah Saunders (6 of 6) outshooting the Braves (7 of 11). Coach Buzz Williams acknowledged that the team must continue to lean on its prowess at the foul line. “It’ll be a cheat code for this year’s team,” he said. “Can we play and get fouled? And then can we defend without fouling?” Here are three more developments from Tuesday’s game: Buzz Williams is still sorting out his rotations Tuesday marked the first time Maryland (2-1) featured a different starting lineup. Graduate student point guard David Coit replaced freshman Guillermo Del Pino for the first time. But that does not mean the others can get too comfortable. Williams has demonstrated a quick hook, which he displayed when he pulled redshirt freshman shooting guard Andre Mills for junior Isaiah Watts just 53 seconds into the first half against the Braves (0-4) and Del Pino for Coit 56 seconds into the game against the Hoyas. Williams said he is still tinkering with possible combinations on the floor. “I think the consistency that we’re looking for will have to come from practice, not just from the games,” he said. “And I think that we’re trying to make sure that we measure the same things in practice that we measure in the game, so that they understand the growth that we need from them.” So, where does redshirt junior point guard Myles Rice fit in the equation? The Indiana transfer scored 19 points in his debut against Georgetown, but was wearing a boot on his left foot and did not suit up on Tuesday. Without mentioning Rice, Williams said he is focused on coaching the players who are healthy and available. “We really would like to get to where we could have 7 1/2, 8 1/2 tough, smart, dependable guys that are all pulling in the same direction, regardless of position,” he said. “I think that sometimes coaches, particularly me, we try to fit round holes in a square peg, and the most important hole that we have to address is, can we play really, really hard and all care about the same things? And how many possessions in a row can that group do it before we need a sub?” Pharrel Payne is meeting expectations If few Maryland fans knew the 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man who followed Williams from Texas A&M, they’re getting a crash course right now. In three games, Payne has led the team in scoring and rebounding twice. His 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting against Alcorn State set a new season high, and his seven rebounds were just one behind Mills’ game-best eight. To draw a player comparison, Payne has appeared to be a more gifted version of Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate Julian Reese. Reese was probably the more instinctive shot blocker and rugged rebounder than Payne is, but Payne has greater quickness in the post and more refined offensive moves when the ball is in his hands. Mills, who spent last year with Payne even though the former took a redshirt, said he and his teammates know who their first option on offense is. Payne’s influence also goes beyond the stat book. “Pharrel’s impact, to me, is bigger than basketball,” Mills said. “When I see Pharrell every day, he’s just like this jolly green giant. So when we play basketball, I see him be this aggressive giant. He has this little on-and-off switch, and it’s like feeding the beast. Obviously, I’ve seen it last year. I didn’t play, but I’ve seen it last year. He would dominate. So it’s easy points.” Freshmen are making strides Darius Adams has not had much time to be a freshman. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound shooting guard has started all three games for the Terps. He ranks sixth in points per game at 9.7, and is tied for second in total assists with five. If there was one area that might have been cause for concern, the former UConn commit had attempted seven 3-pointers without making one in his first two games. He finally ended that drought with back-to-back long-distance bombs in the second half before finishing 2 of 7. What Adams is doing should not be taken for granted, according to Mills. “Being 18 years old and playing in this league is not easy at all,” he said. “So I’m really impressed with DA.” The learning curve for Del Pino has been steeper. The Spanish native had not scored a point or even attempted a shot in his first two starts and had more turnovers (three) than assists or steals (one each). That might explain why Williams opted to insert Coit into the starting lineup and have Del Pino come off the bench. If that was the plan, it appeared to work as Del Pino scored seven points on 3 of 4 shooting (1 of 2 from 3-point range) and added two assists and one rebound without turning over the ball. Mills pointed out that Del Pino has been asked to leave the comforts of home for a foreign environment and play a style of basketball that is different from what he might have experienced in Europe. “He’s made a lot of progression just being comfortable in his space and our space,” he said. “This is very new to him — the pace of play, who he’s playing. He’s never really seen this before. So I’m personally proud of Willie, him growing as a person because that’s really cool. I couldn’t imagine being Willie at all. That’s really cool.”
