In the past few games there have been a couple changes to the Maryland starting five. After Mitchell came down with 14 boards and 19 points in the Delaware State game he earned a spot in the starting lineup over James Padgett. No surprise with this move considering Mitchell’s great play. Jake Layman got the start in the Virginia Tech game over a banged up Nick Faust. The move paid off well as Jake came up with a season high 20 points (18 first half). Jake’s success in the starting lineup will make a case for him to possibly be a starter in any given game.
When I think of my ideal starting five from the 10 man Maryland rotation I have a hard time coming up with a single answer because the team has so much talent (never a bad thing). Below are a few starting lines ups I see being ideal for the next several games and for the down the road depending on match ups.
Option 1 – 1st half of ACC schedule: Maryland plays a team with a stronger frontcourt than backcourt.
1 – Pe’Shon Howard
2 – Dez Wells
3 – Jake Layman
4 – Alex Len
5 – Charles Mitchell
Option 2 – 2nd half of ACC schedule: Maryland plays a team with a stronger frontcourt than backcourt.
1 – Seth Allen
2 – Dez Wells
3 – Jake Layman
4 – Alex Len
5 – Charles Mitchell
Explanation:
When the Terps are going against a team with either good size in the frontcourt or experience they are going to have to counter that with size. Luckily the Terps have plenty of size between Len, Cleare, Padgett and Mitchell. Right now Mitchell is playing better than Cleare and Padgett. I have Layman in this starting lineup over Faust for two reasons. First, Layman brings size inside and out, meaning he can draw some of the larger competition out of the paint opening up some lanes and room for Len/Mitchell. Second, Layman has shown that he can be effective in the starting lineup and I don’t think Turgeon should shy away from using him. I think there will be some mixing and matching for different teams but this lineup (at least the bigs) stays relatively consistent.
The only difference between my early and late ACC play lineup is Seth Allen replaces Pe’Shon Howard. Right now Pe is sporting an impressive assist to turnover ratio but that’s against mediocre talent. Allen, who only averages a few less minutes of playing time, has been less productive in terms of distribution compared to Pe. For the time being offensive production isn’t an issue and the team can afford to keep PeShon in the starting lineup. However If Pe doesn’t start taking open shots he is going to be more of a liability than anything else.
Option 3 – 1st half of ACC schedule: Maryland plays a team with a strong backcourt than frontcourt.
1 –Pe’Shon Howard
2 – Nick Faust
3 – Dez Wells
4 – Alex Len
5 – Charles Mitchell
Option 4 – 2nd half of ACC schedule: Maryland plays a team with a strong backcourt than frontcourt.
1 –Seth Allen
2 – Nick Faust
3 – Dez Wells
4 – Alex Len
5 – Charles Mitchell
Explanation:
Faust and Wells both give Maryland good size on the perimeter with good defense against strong guard play. As the season goes on it will be interesting to watch if Jake Layman can improve his defense. If Layman can improve his defense he might start challenging Faust for his spot in this starting lineup. As it stands, each of these lineups would have impressive size and defensive ability against guard play.
The same as my other lineup, the only difference between the early and late part of the season is the exchange of Seth for Pe. Unless Pe can show he can be an offensive threat while limiting turnovers, this change is going to come sooner than later.
While I enjoy thinking about what the starting lineup should be, the reality of the situation is that it doesn’t matter that much with this team. Maryland is 10 deep with little drop off in skill for the backups at any position. Turgeon loves mixing and matching lineups for different games. I look forward to seeing this chess game played out through the remainder of the schedule.
Game Prediction: Maryland 72 Miami 64.
