The Maryland men’s basketball team slipped back into the developmental portion of its early-season schedule Tuesday night, with a low-major opponent supposedly presenting another opportunity for Coach Buzz Williams to codify a rotation that remains largely in flux.
An 84-64 win over Alcorn State at Xfinity Center, however, failed to yield much resolution a little more than a week into Williams’s first season. The outcome — marred by turnovers, more inefficiency from the three-point arc and spotty defense, especially in the second half — only fueled more questions about the Terrapins’ direction.
The Maryland men’s basketball team slipped back into the developmental portion of its early-season schedule Tuesday night, with a low-major opponent supposedly presenting another opportunity for Coach Buzz Williams to codify a rotation that remains largely in flux.
An 84-64 win over Alcorn State at Xfinity Center, however, failed to yield much resolution a little more than a week into Williams’s first season. The outcome — marred by turnovers, more inefficiency from the three-point arc and spotty defense, especially in the second half — only fueled more questions about the Terrapins’ direction.
“We’re trying to find five guys that will play incredibly hard and then try to find the next right guy that can sub in for the first of the five that needs a break,” Williams said. “We haven’t figured out, ‘Oh, he’s this; he’s that.’ We really would like to get to where we can have seven and a half, eight and a half tough, smart, dependable guys that are all pulling in the same direction, regardless of position.”
About the only certainties to date have been contributions from forward-center Pharrel Payne, who again led Maryland (2-1) in scoring with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The Terps also displayed a knack for getting to the free throw line. The Terps made 20 of 27 foul shots; they have attempted at least 25 in all three games.
Otherwise, a victory in which Maryland did not pull away until the final minutes included 17 turnovers, the Terps’ most this season; dismal three-point shooting (8 for 28, 28.6 percent); and the Braves (0-4) going 7 for 13 on three-pointers (53.9 percent) in the second half.
Guard Andre Mills provided one of the few Terrapins highlights from three-point range, making 3 of 6 attempts on the way to a season-high 16 points. The redshirt freshman transfer from Texas A&M, where Williams spent the previous six seasons, shot 6 for 10 with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“We’re still trying to figure each other out,” Mills said. “From a player’s point of view, we are starting to figure it out, figure out who shoots what, how they shoot it, where they’re going to shoot it from, because we’re a very [offensive-minded] rebounding team, so that plays a part in it.”
The Terps’ identity has been a moving target. Injuries have ravaged an overhauled roster that was stripped bare after last season, the result of a mass exodus via the transfer portal combined with expiring eligibility and freshman sensation Derik Queen joining the NBA.
Payne was the first player to sign with Maryland after Williams was introduced April 2, and he has left little doubt that he’s the most indispensable member of the starting lineup. Darius Adams, a five-star prospect per 247 Sports, is the centerpiece of Williams’s first recruiting class and figures to be in the starting lineup for the rest of the season.
Mills has started the first three games, but his staying power there is unclear given the improving health of Myles Rice and Solomon Washington.
Rice is the presumptive starter at point guard for the longer term. The redshirt junior, an Indiana transfer, made his Terps debut in Friday’s 70-60 loss to visiting Georgetown, scoring a team-high 19 points and going 10 for 10 at the free throw line. He was absent against the Braves while nursing an ankle ailment suffered before the season began.
Washington, a presumptive starter at forward, has yet to play while recovering from a more serious ankle injury. The 6-7 senior is one of four transfers from Texas A&M who accompanied Williams to College Park. The defensive specialist started 23 of 32 games for the Aggies last season.
Williams did make one notable change to the starting lineup, inserting guard Diggy Coit in place of freshman guard Guillermo Del Pino, who had started the previous two games. Coit served as the primary ballhandler, although the 5-11 Kansas transfer also was able to get to the rim in the opening minutes, once leading to a look-away assist on Payne’s two-handed dunk.
That basket was part of a 13-0 run that opened a 29-10 lead, but Maryland was unable to put the proceedings out of reach when it went the final 8:58 of the first half without a field goal. Contributing to the cold spell was Adams missing all six of his field goal attempts, although he concluded the game by making two straight three-pointers for separation down the stretch.
“Sometimes coaches, particularly me, we try to fit round holes in a square peg,” Williams said. “The most important hole 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?”
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