Maryland Signs 7'2 Center, Former 5* Recruit for 2019

[scbalt52]

https://247sports.com/college/maryland/Article/Chol-Marial-Commits-to-Maryland-Basketball-Terps-Land-Big-Recruit-131618197/

 

Once was rated the #1 Center in next year's class. Sounds like potentially a great late grab.

[Tony-OH]

If he can stay healthy he could be an impact guy right away! Apparently though he's struggled to stay on the court in high school which is why Maryland was able to get him.

[Ruzious]

If he's healthy, MD's going to be a near NBA sized team, but I don't know if that's a good team.  Plodding offenses just don't win consistently, and the lack of easy transition baskets has marred Turgeon's era.  With Chol being an amazing shot-blocker - along with Stix, they can play presure D with guys like Morsell, Cowan, Ayala, Wiggins and Scott (who's supposed to be a great defender) - they SHOULD play presure defense - with the shot-blockers back to protect the basket and get more easy transition hoops.  His teams have to work so hard to get baskets.   

MD's got some serious depth - also have the Mitchell twins coming, and Hakim Hart looks like an intersting swingman.  And Cowan is the only senior.     

 

[ChuckS]

Probably don't want to have more than two of the big men on the floor at the same time in most situations.  But that's great depth to have to able to replace Smith and Chol with the Mitchell twins at any time.  Won't be able to get us into foul trouble. 

[Ruzious]

https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-basketball/2019/8/27/20834968/chol-marial-freshman-suffers-stress-fracture-both-legs-undergo-surgery

He's out 3 to 4 months with stress fracture on BOTH legs, but they do expect a full recovery.  So the earliest he could possibly return is the end of November.  Gotta figure he won't be available until the 2nd half of the season.  So we need the Mitchell brothers to provide the size and power.  Speaking of which, Turgeon was recently quoted as saying Stix Smith has gained 32 pounds since he came to Maryland.  I think he's ready to be the star of the team.    

[Oriole4Life]

^ Disappointing to hear, just hope he can rest, rehab, and recover fully.  Guys that size tend to have health problems throughout their career.  He can certainly be a contributor if he stays on the court.  7'2 players naturally affect a game.

This team will rise and fall with Stix, imo. 

[Ruzious]

On 8/31/2019 at 3:22 PM, Oriole4Life said:

^ Disappointing to hear, just hope he can rest, rehab, and recover fully.  Guys that size tend to have health problems throughout their career.  He can certainly be a contributor if he stays on the court.  7'2 players naturally affect a game.

This team will rise and fall with Stix, imo. 

To me, Styx is the one guy we know that's gonna be reliable - it's everyone else that's the questionmark.  I think Andy Katz lost his mind when he called Anthony Cowan a top 10 player in America -

considering Cowan shot under 40% from the field and only 33.7% from 3 last season and had only a 4.4/2.8 assist.to ratio.  Honestly, he was quite disappointing last season.  I think MD's talent level is being overrated at the moment - with the exception of Stix.    

[Tony-OH]

On 8/28/2019 at 9:28 AM, Ruzious said:

https://www.testudotimes.com/maryland-terps-basketball/2019/8/27/20834968/chol-marial-freshman-suffers-stress-fracture-both-legs-undergo-surgery

He's out 3 to 4 months with stress fracture on BOTH legs, but they do expect a full recovery.  So the earliest he could possibly return is the end of November.  Gotta figure he won't be available until the 2nd half of the season.  So we need the Mitchell brothers to provide the size and power.  Speaking of which, Turgeon was recently quoted as saying Stix Smith has gained 32 pounds since he came to Maryland.  I think he's ready to be the star of the team.    

I think there is little doubt that Stix will be the start of the team, but this team has a lot of talent around him. Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala were outstanding as Freshman last year and I think they will only get better. One of the drawbacks of Cowan returning is less time for Ayala on the court, but I think Turgeon will play Wiggens up at 3 more to get them all on the court.

Let's not forget about the Mitchell Twins providing depth in the front court and of course Donta Scott is a 4-star recruit who should be able to play immediately. 

Add in Darrell Morsell (who can be a lock down defender at times), gunner Serrel Smith and don't sleep on Ricky Lindo who has all the athleticism to become a Stix like player as his body matures, and there is a ton of depth on this team.

 

[Ruzious]

45 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I think there is little doubt that Stix will be the start of the team, but this team has a lot of talent around him. Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala were outstanding as Freshman last year and I think they will only get better. One of the drawbacks of Cowan returning is less time for Ayala on the court, but I think Turgeon will play Wiggens up at 3 more to get them all on the court.

Let's not forget about the Mitchell Twins providing depth in the front court and of course Donta Scott is a 4-star recruit who should be able to play immediately. 

Add in Darrell Morsell (who can be a lock down defender at times), gunner Serrel Smith and don't sleep on Ricky Lindo who has all the athleticism to become a Stix like player as his body matures, and there is a ton of depth on this team.

 

That's a lot of parts, so they should at least have excellent depth.  I'm just not sure any of those players will be better than ok as starters - other than Stix.  I think Wiggins has the best chance.  They do have tough guys in Ayala, Scott, Morsell, and Lindo - but all seem very limited offensively.  Ayala's the only one of them who can shoot and was better than I thought he'd be, but I don't see him being a playmaker.   I think the team needs Cowan, but they need him to be a much more reliable 3 point shooter.  

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

That's a lot of parts, so they should at least have excellent depth.  I'm just not sure any of those players will be better than ok as starters - other than Stix.  I think Wiggins has the best chance.  They do have tough guys in Ayala, Scott, Morsell, and Lindo - but all seem very limited offensively.  Ayala's the only one of them who can shoot and was better than I thought he'd be, but I don't see him being a playmaker.   I think the team needs Cowan, but they need him to be a much more reliable 3 point shooter.  

I'm not a big Cowan guy so I agree that his shot must become way more consistent and he needs to limit the turnovers. I agree that Wiggens is the best of the rest when it comes to upside, but I think you are downgrading Ayala and Lindo a bit. Lindo was very, very young but he started to earn more time as he season went on. If he comes back and gains some weight, he could be a real force and allow Turgeon not to ride Stix into the ground like he did with Cowan.

This team i still missing that legitimate playmaking PG, but I loved Ayala's poise as a freshman, even though he's probably better suited as a 2. 

Scott could be a real wildcard here. He's a 4-star recruit and could earn playing time early on.

[Greg Pappas]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm not a big Cowan guy so I agree that his shot must become way more consistent and he needs to limit the turnovers. I agree that Wiggens is the best of the rest when it comes to upside, but I think you are downgrading Ayala and Lindo a bit. Lindo was very, very young but he started to earn more time as he season went on. If he comes back and gains some weight, he could be a real force and allow Turgeon not to ride Stix into the ground like he did with Cowan.

This team i still missing that legitimate playmaking PG, but I loved Ayala's poise as a freshman, even though he's probably better suited as a 2. 

Scott could be a real wildcard here. He's a 4-star recruit and could earn playing time early on.

Yeah, Lindo really impressed me, especially being as young as he was.  He's legit and has a chance to be a very solid contributor moving forward.

[Ruzious]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm not a big Cowan guy so I agree that his shot must become way more consistent and he needs to limit the turnovers. I agree that Wiggens is the best of the rest when it comes to upside, but I think you are downgrading Ayala and Lindo a bit. Lindo was very, very young but he started to earn more time as he season went on. If he comes back and gains some weight, he could be a real force and allow Turgeon not to ride Stix into the ground like he did with Cowan.

This team i still missing that legitimate playmaking PG, but I loved Ayala's poise as a freshman, even though he's probably better suited as a 2. 

Scott could be a real wildcard here. He's a 4-star recruit and could earn playing time early on.

Agreed - Scott could be the wildcard.  I watched some video of his AAU play, and he's a physically tough player - kinda reminded me of Justin Anderson - who used to play at UVA.  Anderson became a good 3 point shooter at UVA.  

[Ruzious]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 6:03 AM, Ruzious said:

To me, Styx is the one guy we know that's gonna be reliable - it's everyone else that's the questionmark.  I think Andy Katz lost his mind when he called Anthony Cowan a top 10 player in America -

considering Cowan shot under 40% from the field and only 33.7% from 3 last season and had only a 4.4/2.8 assist.to ratio.  Honestly, he was quite disappointing last season.  I think MD's talent level is being overrated at the moment - with the exception of Stix.    

 

[Ruzious]

[tweet]1182722637467934720[/tweet]

[Ruzious]

Alrighty, so what works on other message boards doesn't work here.  Anyway, some good Terps offseason news:  Wiggins has added 10 plus pounds of muscle and is ready to take a major step up this season.  (I think he's the 2nd most talented player on the roster).  Ayala has lost 10 lbs and looks a lot quicker and fitter.  Scott is looking every bit the tough physical wing player they envisioned.  They're liking Morsell as a small-ball 4 (though I think that's Scott's role).