Terps Host SF State for Exhibition Saturday
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's basketball team begins the 2014-15 slate with an exhibition game against San Francisco State Saturday at 2 p.m. at the XFINITY Center.
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• The Maryland men's basketball program begins its inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten Conference with a pair of exhibition games against San Francisco State and Bowie State on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, respectively.
• Maryland is 2-0 all-time against San Francisco State. Maryland Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson is a 1979 graduate of SF State with a bachelor's degree in political science.
• Maryland, which finished 17-15 last season, boasts a balanced team featuring a mix of veteran leadership and key newcomers. Among the leaders is 2013 ACC-All Conferece and USBWA All-District III selection Dez Wells.
• A total of five players are slated to have their Terrapin debuts on Saturday, including freshmen Melo Trimble, Dion Wiley, Jared Nickens and Michal Cekovsky. Redshirt senior transfer Richaud Pack will also play his first game at Maryland.
• SF State went 14-12 a year ago, including a 12-10 conference record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Gators averaged 69.8 points per game and surrendered 67.4 points. Nefi Perdomo led the team with 17.8 points per game.
• The Terps boast 12 home games at XFINITY Center, including two exhibitions, before beginning the Big Ten slate in late December.
Season Preview: Terps Think B1G in 2014-15
• With a top-10 recruiting class and his most experienced team in four years as head coach at Maryland, Mark Turgeon has the Terrapins poised for its inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference.
• Maryland, which finished 17-15 last season, boasts a balanced team featuring a mix of veteran leadership and key newcomers. Among the leaders is 2013 ACC-All Conferece and USBWA All-District III selection Dez Wells, who changed his number to 44 to honor a deceased former teammate for his senior season. Wells is joined by seniors Evan Smotrycz and Jon Graham and sophomore Damonte Dodd in the frontcourt, in addition to junior Jake Layman on the wing.
• Turgeon also hauled in the ninth-best recruiting class in the nation according to Scout.com, showcasing McDonald's All-American point guard Melo Trimble (Upper Marlboro, Md.), shooting guard Dion Wiley (Oxon Hill, Md.), guard Jared Nickens (Monmouth Junction, N.J.) and forward Michal Cekovsky (Slovakia, Europe).
Scouting San Francisco State
• SF State went 14-12 a year ago, including a 12-10 conference record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Gators averaged 69.8 points per game and surrendered 67.4 points. Nefi Perdomo led the team with 17.8 points per game.
• SF State returns five players from last year's team, inclulding Udun Osakue (6.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Derrick Brown (4.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg), and Bren Haley (1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 40 assists).
• Kevin Anderson, Maryland's Director of Athletics, is a 1979 graduate of San Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in political science.
Meet the Newcomers
• Head coach Mark Turgeon and the Terps welcomed the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to ESPN.com and Scout.com for the 2014-15 season. The class includes McDonald's All-American Melo Trimble, Dion Wiley, Jared Nickens and Michael Cekovsky.
• In addition, Maryland added transfers Richaud Pack (NC A&T) and Robert Carter, Jr. (Georgia Tech). Carter will miss the 2014-15 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules.
Wells Returns for Senior Campaign
• Senior Dez Wells - a Third Team All-ACC pick by both the media and coaches' polls last season - returns to lead the Terps in 2014-15.
• Wells, who also earned All-District III honors from the USBWA, did it all for the Terps in 2013-14, leading the team with 14.9 points per game on 48 percent shooting. He scored double-figures in all but four games, including 15 of his last 16 outings. Wells was also first on the team in total assists (69), blocks (27) and free throw percentage (.817).
• Wells earned First Team All-ACC Tournament honors in 2013 after averaging 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games. He poured in 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting to down No. 2 Duke in the ACC Quarterfinals.
Get to Know the Big Ten Conference
- Big Ten has had seven First Team AP All-Americans over the last five years…same as ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac 12 COMBINED
- Big Ten has had two of the past five Wooden Award winners
- Big Ten has more NCAA Tournament appearances over last five years than any conference (31)
- Big Ten has more Sweet 16 appearances over last five years than any conference (16)…SEC is second closest with 10
- Big Ten leads all conferences with nearly 5 million alumni and more than 460,000 students.
Wiley Excels on Goodwill Tour
• Freshman Dion Wiley performed as one of the top players as he traveled across Europe with Global Sports Academy's 2014 Men's Basketball Goodwill tour this past summer.
• Wiley led his squad is scoring in each of the first four contests against various European opposition. Wiley was the only Terrapin on a team that also included players from NC State and Mount St. Mary's.
Graham, Smotrycz Have B1G Perspective
• Maryland seniors Jon Graham and Evan Smotrycz are quite familiar with the Terrapins' new conference as both competed at Big Ten programs before landing at the University of Maryalnd.
• Graham spent the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons at Penn State where he appeared in 59 games, making 10 starts. He served a redshirt season in 2010-11.
• Smotrycz spent his first two seasons at the University of Michigan. As a rookie, he won Michigan's Sxith Man Award, playing in all 35 games for the Wolverines. He helped Michigan to a share of its first Big Ten regular-season title since 1985-86 as a sophomore.
Cecko Gives Terps Added Paint Presence
• A late addition for the Terps, Michal Cekovsky is poised to bring needed size to the Maryland roster in 2014-15.
• A native of Slovakia, Cekovsky (7-1, 235) spent the past season with Canarias Academy in Spain. He was rated on multiple national websites as a four-star recruit.
ESPN Names XFINITY Center Top 10 Court Design
• ESPN has named XFINITY Center as one of the top 10 court designs in college basketball. Maryland landed at No. 8 on the list.
• In total, three members of the Big Ten made the cut, including Indiana's Assembly Hall at No. 1 and Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena at No. 10.
• According to the breakdown, posted on ESPN.com, XFINITY Center was lauded for its “clean design.”
