Embracing Expectations

Just over four years ago, in the fall of 2017, Maryland basketball received a commitment from a player who would become one of the university’s biggest stars. 

Eric Ayala came to College Park as a top-flight recruit via famed IMG Academy in Florida and has gone from freshman combo guard to a bonafide senior star, as he’s one of the most recognizable student-athletes in the Big Ten.

Come Nov. 9th against Quinnipiac, Ayala will begin his senior season in College Park, looking to capture more championship hardware.

“I imagine he's going to have a great year and give himself [an opportunity at] another championship,” head coach Mark Turgeon said. “Maybe [his jersey will] hang from the rafters. Who knows what kind of year he's going to have. He has a chance to do that."

Ayala was anything but a typical freshman upon his arrival in College Park. Carrying a demeanor mature beyond his years, he settled into college life ready to make a splash. But his role was far from defined. 

The team was returning point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. and combo guard and defensive stalwart Darryl Morsell, in addition to adding Ayala’s future running mate Aaron Wiggins. Turgeon decided to bring Ayala off the bench in the season opener against Delaware, but he knew Ayala was too good to sit after that game. 

Ayala became one of the team’s starters because of his steady play and immediate chemistry with players like Cowan Jr., Bruno Fernando, and fellow freshman Jalen Smith. 

The first game where Terp fans could see the potential in Ayala came in a Nov. 23 matchup against Marshall, where he scored 20 points, pulled down four rebounds, and collected one block and one assist.

As the Diamondback reported, Ayala asked Turgeon early in the Marshall game if he trusted him to make plays. Turgeon responded, “You’re in the game right?”

Ayala subbed back in and made three consecutive triples to close the half.

That kind of versatility allowed Turgeon to deploy the 6-foot-5 scorer in a multitude of ways and in fashions that could maximize the team’s potential.

Turgeon’s trust in Ayala was never more evident than against the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers. Ayala played 35 minutes and scored 13 points while matching up and holding his own against players like Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome. 

The Terps lost that game, but Ayala’s performance only confirmed what everyone knew: Ayala had the potential to be special. 

The Wilmington, Delaware, native shot 43 percent from the field and over 40 percent from 3-point range that season.

The following season, Maryland won its first-ever Big Ten championship with an overall record of 24-7 and a conference record of 14-6, but the team was prevented from playing in the postseason due to the outbreaking COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ayala appeared in all 31 games the team played, but saw his shooting percentages dip. He set out to change that as a junior in 2020-21.

With the team having faced immense adversity with the pandemic and the loss of both Cowan Jr. and Smith to the professional ranks, Ayala embraced a leadership role and stepped up for his team, coach, and program. 

While the expectations from fans may have been tepid, Ayala and his teammates knew they were still a quality team and proved it steadily as the season progressed. 

Ayala and Aaron Wiggins took on the scoring brunt as the team began to take on a defensive-minded identity due to its lack of interior size but depth of wing players. Maryland was able to ride this strategy all the way to the NCAA tournament, where it upended the UConn Huskies before ultimately bowing out to the red-hot Alabama Crimson Tide.

Ayala’s personal improvements were stark, as well, nearly doubling his scoring average with 15.1 ppg and dramatically improving his shooting. 

After the season, Ayala began the process of testing the NBA Draft waters and received great feedback from scouts to improve his stock with one more year of college ball. 

It was then that Ayala decided to return to College Park, which was music to the ears of Maryland fans everywhere. After the Oklahoma City Thunder drafted Wiggins and Morsell left the program, Turgeon went out and brought in a pair of premiere players in Fatts Russell and Qudus Wahab, among others, to play alongside Ayala. 

The team’s identity will undoubtedly change again with Ayala now able to slide back into his natural position as an off-ball guard who can cut, come off screens, and score the ball. 

“From the top guy to the bottom guy, we’ve all got the common goal to try to win,” Ayala said. “We all like each other, and chemistry is such a dynamic word because there's so much stuff inside of chemistry that people won't see. We’ve got a lot of guys from the same area, and we all just like each other.”

Fans will be allowed back inside the XFINITY Center this season after being forced to stay away because of the pandemic. It was difficult playing in front of no fans last season, especially as they began to make their run to the NCAA tournament. 

A sign of the immense turnover the roster has seen in just two years, only Ayala, Donta Scott, and Hakim Hart have played in front of the XFINITY Center faithful. For Ayala, it’s something that he’ll never take for granted again. 

“It's a different type of energy when it’s sold out,” Ayala said. “You come to Maryland to play in front of stuff like that, so I'm definitely excited for this year.”

Now, as the senior leader of the Maryland men’s basketball program, Ayala has taken it upon himself to pass down his knowledge of the game and the expectations of the program to the younger players on the team like Julian Reese, James Graham, and Ike Cornish. 

But before he begins to think about passing the torch, Ayala wants to remind people that he’s still the one carrying it. With a revamped lineup, students returning to ‘The Wall,’ and NBA dreams in his sights, Ayala is ready for one last ride wearing the red, white, black, and gold. 

“Winning is the most important thing to me,” Ayala said. “I’ve got aspirations of being the number one team in the Big Ten, winning the Big Ten regular-season championship, the Big Ten tournament championship, and then making a deep run in March. I’ve been through the ropes, and I’ve been eliminated in the Round of 32 twice. Now is the time we take that extra step. I’m excited.”