Sweet 16 Recruiting Flashback: Kansas vs. Maryland
Other Sweet 16 recruiting flashbacks: Miami-Villanova | Oklahoma-Texas A&M | Duke-Oregon | Iowa State-Virginia | Wisconsin-Notre Dame | Gonzaga-Syracuse | Indiana-North Carolina
THE MATCHUP
Storylines will be easy to find in the South Region when No. 5 Maryland and No. 1 Kansas tip off around 9:40 PM ET Thursday from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon is a Kansas graduate who played on the Jayhawks' 1986 Final Four team. The Jayhawks, who have won 12 straight Big 12 conference titles, are looking to erase the label of postseason underachievers after some earlier-than-expected tournament exits since their last Final Four in 2012.
Turgeon is 0-6 in previous games against his alma mater but this will be his first against the Jayhawks as the Maryland head coach.
THE KEYS
Make no mistake, the point guard battle between Maryland sophomore Romelo Trimble and Kansas junior Frank Mason is going to be important. But, this is one of the few Sweet 16 games that should feature some legitimate low post battling.
Assuming he draws senior Perry Ellis defensively, can Robert Carter defend the Jayhawks' versatile big man when he goes out and faces from the perimeter? Landen Lucas isn’t a huge scorer, but can his size help to neutralize the Terps' likely first-round draft pick in training, Diamond Stone?
HOW THEY WERE BUILT
Eric Bossi on Kansas: There is a really interesting dynamic at Kansas. Many expected that both of its leading scorers in junior guard Wayne Selden and Ellis to be gone for the NBA by now. On top of that, Mason and sophomore Devonte Graham were originally ticketed for Towson and Appalachian State before developing into four-star prospects at prep schools. Bill Self has managed to build a cohesive, veteran unit and hasn’t succumbed to any of the early calls from his fanbase and many analysts to play five-star freshmen bigs Carlton Bragg and Cheick Diallo more.
Bossi on Maryland: Building Maryland has been a steady process for Turgeon and his staff but there’s little doubt that landing a local star like Trimble to play the point helped to jump start things. Like many others, the Terps have done a nice job playing the transfer game landing Carter from Georgia Tech and shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon from Duke. They’ve been able to identify and land versatile players with size like senior forward Jake Layman. Pulling one of 2015’s elite prospects, Stone, out of Wisconsin was a coup and the Terrapins have built a team with great positional size across the board.
| STARTERS | STARTERS |
|---|---|
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Frank Mason - Junior, 5-11, 185 4-star PG from 2013 class (ranked 76th nationally). Led the state of Virginia in scoring in 2011 at 27.4 PPG, again in 2012 at 27.1 PPG. 2015-16 Stats: 12.8 PPG, 43.4 FG%, 39.0 3PT%, 4.6 APG, 1.3 SPG |
Melo Trimble - Sophomore, 6-3, 185 4-star SG from 2014 class (ranked 39th nationally). Averaged 23.1 points as a senior in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 14.8 PPG, 41.4 FG%, 32.2 3PT%, 87.9 FT%< 5.0 APG, 1.2 SPG |
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Devonte Graham - Sophomore, 6-2, 175 4-star PG from 2014 class (ranked 36th nationally).Originally signed his NLI with Appalachian State in 2012. Picked Kansas over NC State and Virginia. 2015-16 Stats: 11.4 PPG, 46.3 FG%, 43.8 3PT% 74.7 FT%, 3.8 APG, 1.4 SPG |
Rasheed Sulaimon - Senior, 6-4, 190 5-star SG from 2012 class (ranked 18 nationally). Transferred from Duke. 2015-16 Stats: 11.1 PPG, 46.1 FG%, 43.0 3PT%, 73.7 FT%, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG |
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Wayne Selden Jr. - Junior, 6-5, 230 5-star SG from 2013 class (ranked 12th nationally). Was AAU teammates with Nerlens Noel and Georges Niang. 2015-16 Stats: 13.6 PPG, 47.7 FG%, 40.4 3PT%, 59.8 FT%, 2.5 APG |
Jake Layman - Senior, 6-9, 220 4-star PF from 2012 class (ranked 70th nationally). Averaged 26 points and five blocks as a senior in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 11.7 PPG, 50.4 FG%, 40.7 3PT%, 82.8 FT%, 5.3 RPG |
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Perry Ellis - Senior, 6-8, 225 5-star PF from 2012 class (ranked 24 nationally). Four-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. 2015-16 Stats: 16.9 PPG, 53.3 FG%, 44.4 3PT%, 77.8 FT%, 5.9 RPG, 1.3 APG |
Robert Carter - Junior, 6-9, 235 4-star PF from 2012 class (ranked 33rd nationally). Transferred from Georgia Tech. 2015-16 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 56.0 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 74.5 FT%, 7 RPG, 1.3 BPG |
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Landen Lucas - Junior, 6-10, 240 3-star center from 2012 class. Grew up in Japan where his father played professional basketball and speaks Japanese fluently. 2015-16 Stats: 5.5 PPG, 61.9 FG%, 66.3 FT%, 6.5 RPG |
Diamond Stone - Freshman, 6-11, 255 5-star center from 2015 class (ranked No. 6 nationally). Father named him Diamond because a Diamond is the hardest rock on the planet. 2015-16 Stats: 12.7 PPG, 56.9 FG%, 76.5 FT%, 5.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG |
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KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
KEY BENCH PLAYERS |
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Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk -Sophomore, 6-8, 195 5-star SG from 2014 class (international players are not ranked). Besides basketball, also played soccer and ping pong in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 5.6 PPG, 44.9 FG%, 40.7 3PT%, 68.2 FT%, 1.0 APG |
Damonte Dodd - Junior, 6-11, 250 3-star center from 2013 class. Averaged 24 points and 16 rebounds as a senior in high school. 2015-16 Stats: 2.9 PPG, 61.9 FG%, 66.7 FT%, 2.7 RPG |
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Brannen Greene - Junior, 6-7, 215 4-star SF from 2013 class (ranked 29th nationally). Concluded his high school career with more than 2,000 points. 2015-16 Stats: 5.4 PPG, 52.4 FG%, 49.1 3PT%, 84.0 FT%, 2.1 RPG |
Jared Nickens - Sophomore, 6-7, 205 4-star PF from 2014 class (ranked 97th nationally). Attended the same high school as Kyrie Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. 2015-16 Stats: 5.5 PPG, 37.0 FG%, 80.0 FT%, 1.9 RPG |
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Cheick Diallo and Carlton Bragg - Freshmen Both were 5-star prospects from 2015 class (Diallo ranked No. 5 nationally and Bragg ranked 21st nationally). Diallo 2015-16 Stats: 3.0 PPG, 56.9 FG%, 55.6 FT%, 2.5 RPG Bragg 2015-16 Stats: 4.0 PPG, 58.2 FG%, 57.1 3PT%, 66.7 FT%, 2.4 RPG |