Maryland's inside game will get a boost of experience as Dino Gregory is set to return to action on Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. In Gregory's absence, freshmen Jordan Williams and James Padgett have filled in admirably. Williams is coming off of his best game of his young career posting 19 points and 12 rebounds against Villanova.
Gregory was suspended for the team's first 8 games for violation of team rules. The specific violation was never released but rumored to be related to academics.
Gary Williams and the Terps are looking forward to having more experience in the paint...
Since Williams cleared up some of the mystery surrounding Gregory’s suspension by announcing the forward’s expected return date Nov. 19, the coach has clearly been looking forward to Gregory’s return. After each of his team’s losses, Williams has mentioned the Terps’ youthful big men and the fact his team was at less than full-strength.
Gregory’s loss has been magnified because the Terps (5-3) have struggled to rebound and keep their big men out of foul trouble early this season. They’ve been outrebounded in all four games against power conference teams this season.
“James and Jordan are doing a tremendous job. Don’t get me wrong on that,” guard Sean Mosley said last weekend. “But having a guy that’s a veteran and knows where he can get his rebounds at and his shots from — having Dino back — is definitely going to be a plus for us.”
Gregory has been able to practice throughout his suspension so conditioning should be a non-factor. I would expect Gregory to come off the bench initially, but look for Gregory to earn starter minutes rather quickly and emerge as a starter when conference play picks up in January.
