Frontcourt depth a concern vs. Fairfield

When Terrapin men's basketball coach Gary Williams worked at American in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team's reputation for guard-oriented play made it tough to recruit quality post players.

The young Williams had to experiment with smaller lineups to maximize the Eagles' talent.
In his 21st year coaching the Terps, Williams is tapping into those memories to prepare a squad that is rapidly losing big men.

Though Williams declined to specifically comment about which players would be available, there's a real possibility that forwards Dino Gregory, Jin Soo Choi and center Steve Goins will all miss tonight's game against Fairfield (2-0). That would leave Williams with just three scholarship players — senior Landon Milbourne and freshmen Jordan Williams and James Padgett — to fill his two frontcourt spots.

And possibly force him to get creative at times with a four-guard lineup.

"I think that's the great thing about coaching: It's never an exact science," Williams said. "You might see some interesting four-men out there against Fairfield."

The newly minted No. 25 Terps (1-0) never expected to have to use a guard in what is traditionally the power forward spot. With the addition of Jordan Williams and Padgett, it seemed their frontcourt depth issues were solved. But an untimely mix of injuries and a suspension once again are testing Gary Williams' coaching mettle at the start of a promising campaign.

Gregory, whom the coach projected as an opening-night starter after a strong finish to last season, apparently remains suspended due to an unspecified violation of the team rules. Williams has offered little information about the junior forward's status, but Gregory was not on the bench for the season-opening win, and the game notes distributed by Fairfield's athletic department do not include him on a list of the Terps' starters and reserves.

"It is what it is," Williams said without elaborating further.

Williams did not rule out Choi, who sprained his right ankle Friday against Charleston Southern, but he intimated it will take a rapid, late improvement for the sophomore to be ready to play against the Stags. Goins did not dress for the exhibition or the season opener with a recurring knee injury and will likely continue to sit.

That uncertainty means an increased spotlight on the freshmen against a Fairfield squad that has outrebounded its opponents by eight boards per game this season. Gary Williams called the Stags "a step up" in competition, and he hopes the post players who are available can build off their early season success.

The frontcourt flourished in the 38-point season-opening win with Milbourne and the freshmen combining for 38 points and 24 rebounds. But the Terps continue to struggle with rebounding early this season.  The Terps were beaten on the boards in the exhibition win against Division II Indiana (Pa.), and Charleston Southern controlled the glass in the first half of Friday's game before fading after halftime.

Williams has stressed team rebounding throughout the season, and those shortcomings could now be magnified with a lack of post options.

"[Rebounding] is just something we've got to do," guard Adrian Bowie said. "Guards have to rebound just as well as big men, and if we get the rebound, we can get out on the break and do some good things."

A quirky four-guard lineup might be appealing against the Stags, who start three guards, including two freshmen. Williams, who has confidence to play any of five guards, brought up the idea earlier this season, highlighting Villanova's success this decade utilizing a guard-heavy offense. He said a four-guard attack might be something the team can use at times, even when the Terps have their full complement of big men.

Both Bowie and guard Sean Mosley, a likely candidate for some impromptu forward play, said the team hasn't specifically worked on a four-guard rotation, but they wouldn't be surprised to go to it at some point.

Williams talked about the offensive benefits of a smaller, quicker lineup — as long as his team can showcase the toughness it displayed last season on the defensive glass.
But for now, it's just another potential solution to a problem the team never expected to have.

"It's going to be an adjustment for us," said Mosley, who played forward early in his high school career. "But each guy knows every position on the court, so it's not going to be that hard."

edetweiler@umdbk.com