Big man Williams has a big start

Last season, when the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s lack of frontcourt depth proved one of its biggest weaknesses, fans turned to a YouTube video of incoming recruit Jordan Williams breaking a backboard on a follow-up slam dunk in hope for the team’s future.

Friday night, the now-freshman forward took the first step toward fulfilling those hopes.

On the Terps’ first possession against Charleston Southern, guard Sean Mosley found Williams, who became the first forward to start in his Terp debut since 1993, in the lane for a gentle lay-in and the first points of the new season.

While his performance lacked the flair of his high school highlight reel, Williams was the biggest surprise in a balanced Terp attack that produced an 89-51 win before an enthusiastic Comcast Center crowd.

Williams, who got the start with forward Dino Gregory suspended due to an unspecified team rules violation, scored six of the team’s first 10 points en route to a 12-point, nine-rebound performance. Fellow freshman James Padgett added 10 points and eight rebounds as seven players dropped at least nine points to help the Terps win their 33rd straight home-opener.

“I think last year we got away with not scoring inside,” coach Gary Williams said. “We have to be able to score inside, and both James and Jordan are going to be able to do that as time goes by. It’s going to be inconsistent. It’s not going to be pretty all the time.”

The Terps (1-0) got points from everywhere against Charleston Southern, which finished toward the bottom of the Big South last season. Forward Landon Milbourne paced the Terps with 16 points and guard Sean Mosley chipped in 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Terps pulled away late.

“For the first regular season game, I thought we did a good job of doing what we had to do,” Williams said.

Charleston Southern (0-1) hung around throughout the first half. But the Terps came out of halftime on a quick 7-0 run and put the game away, cruising to their biggest opening-night win since 1998.

Williams was happy his team continued to play hard — even as the lead ballooned. The Terps hit six second half three-pointers and kept up their pressure defense for nine steals, which led to easy points in transition.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said guard Eric Hayes, who had 10 points. “We were moving the ball well. Guys were making shots. We were getting out on the break, and we had a lot of dunks, which is always a lot of fun for us and the crowd.”

Although guard Greivis Vasquez hit just three of his 14 shots, he finished with an impressive stat line, including nine points, 13 assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Vasquez, a preseason All-ACC pick, wowed the home crowd with several nifty passes for easy baskets. His highlight reel included a double-fake behind the back pass in transition to  Mosley for an easy finger-roll — a play Williams described as a bit over-the-top, “but that’s Greivis.”

“I was trying to get [my teammates] involved because I was really off today,” Vasquez said. “I’ve got to continue to work. I’m really happy because it was a team win.”

With the outcome no longer in doubt, the fans who stayed around turned to wooing another coveted frontcourt recruit. Tobias Harris, the country’s No. 3 high school power forward in the class of 2010, according to Rivals.com, took in the game courtside and students started chanting “We want Harris!” during a break in the action with about four minutes remaining.

However, Friday was about the more immediate future and the newcomers’ impressive debuts. Williams acknowledged that Gregory, who also missed the team’s exhibition win, would’ve started if he was available. But with no clear timetable set for the junior’s return, Jordan Williams’ strong start eased some concern about filling the void.

“It’s something [Jordan Williams is] definitely capable of,” Milbourne said. “He’s a big body, and he knows how to use it. You’ll probably see that a lot this year.”

TERP NOTE: The Terp frontcourt took another potential blow when forward Jin Soo Choi went down with a sprained right ankle in the second half. Choi, who had no points and one rebound in six minutes, didn’t put pressure on the leg as teammates helped him off the floor. Williams wasn’t sure of the injury’s severity after the game, but the coach said he hopes to have Choi available for tomorrow’s game against Fairfield.

edetweiler@umdbk.com