The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 9 – Nebraska @ Maryland

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 9

January 2 – Nebraska vs Maryland

I got off work around 3 ish. I drove about 20 minutes or so to my parents house to pickup my kids. The game was a 6:30 start time. Weird start time in my opinion but what can you do. I guess it was due to the Big Ten Network having a game after this one for a nightcap. Anyways, I drive my kids back to my house and prepare to leave for the game. My wife had an appointment in Silver Spring and was on her way back home, which is why I had to pickup the gremlins. I left my house around 4:30 and I arrived at the XFinity Center at around 5:35 or so.

This was a great matchup for both teams. Nebraska has a veteran team with a lot of talent. It is probably Coach Tim Miles’ best team he has had there. He has senior forward and Georgetown transfer Isaac Copeland, senior point guard Glynn Watson Jr., junior forward Isaiah Roby and leading scorer and senior guard James Palmer Jr.

For Maryland they have the fifth youngest team in the country. Turgeon made this very clear in the post game press conference. They are led by junior point guard Anthony Cowan, sophomore center Bruno Fernando and a cast of other underclassmen. One of those underclassmen played a key role in the last few minutes of the game.

The game was back and forth throughout. It had the feel of a game that would go down to the wire. Nebraska had stretched their lead out a couple of times but failed to put Maryland away. Their foul shooting was an issue in the second half. They outshot Maryland 23 attempts to 14. This was a road game for them. It’s pretty rare for a road team to have more attempts than a home team at any level. Ask Turgeon about that. Oh and I forgot to mention…. Palmer shot 13 on his own, almost eclipsing Maryland’s total as a team. With all this said…. Palmer is a monster at drawing fouls. He has long arms and is kind of awkward when he drives. He has the strength to take contact and finish through it. He did most of his damage at the beginning of each half it seemed. He is working his way into NBA draft discussion I’m sure. Watson had a solid game as well. He spread the ball around, provided leadership and is just a pest on defense. Roby struggled to get going. He was completely overmatched against Fernando. Fernando would just bully him in the post. Roby is a versatile player on offense. He is an explosive athlete and is still expanding his range. If he can continue to extend his range and get stronger he will be a very interesting prospect. He already has a lot of attention on him.

Fernando was an absolute monster in the game. It was like if your 35 year old uncle was playing against you as a 10 year old. Like if your uncle was like 6’4 210 and you were like 5’5 140. There was no chance. No matchup for him in the paint. With that said, Bruno struggled at times. Nebraska dug down hard in the paint with extra defenders and forced him to pass out. Every time he put the ball on the floor a defender was swiping at it. Fernando didn’t have great hands today. Was he getting fouled, maybe, but you can’t have 6 turnovers. So when he wasn’t turning it over, he was scoring in very close range or rebounding everything. He finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Pretty impressive stat line overall.

The underclassmen I teased earlier was Jalen Smith. Smith had a bad first half. He lacked intensity and physicality. He seemed slow to react to everything. The second half was different. Smith had more intensity and more assertiveness. In the press conference after Coach Turgeon said he was getting on him and so were the assistant coaches. Not only them but Fernando as well. Like I said earlier Fernando is a monster. When Smith made a few plays in the second half Fernando would get in his face and shove him in his chest to pump him up. Now, Smith is a quiet guy. He doesn’t show much emotion. Bruno is the opposite. Smith is about 215 pounds and Bruno is probably 250. Bruno looked like he was going to snap “Stix” in half. Stix is what Smith goes by due to his thin physique. So hopefully Bruno will be a bit more gentile next time, but hey it worked. Stix scored the last seven points for Maryland, including a game winning floater with 3 seconds left.

SIDE NOTE : Food for the game was ok. Three chicken tenders, a mini cheeseburger slider and some tortilla chips. My pastor Tim sat next to me for some of the game. He is a Maryland season ticket holder. We chatted about Maryland lulls in offense and how Palmer was doing some work on the terps. Great game to see, but he seemed to be feeling like it would be a lack of execution in the end that would doom the terps. This has been the case since Melo Trimble left. Melo made clutch shot after clutch shot. No one has done that since. Well someone did tonight, so have a little faith Pastor!

Isaac Copeland Scouting Report

Isaac Copeland

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isaac-copeland

Maryland Completes Epic Comeback Against Georgetown

Maryland @ Georgetown

Maryland Completes Epic Comeback Against Georgetown

Washington D.C. – Maryland completed a seven point comeback with a little more than a minute left to play, with an emphatic block by freshman wing Kevin Huerter (6’7 190) at the rim, against Georgetown guard Jagan Mosely. The final was 76-75 in a game littered with fouls and sloppy play. Maryland held an early lead and the game ended up being tied 31 all at the half. The real story of the game was the officiating, which was poor to say the least. At half there was 29 total fouls and at the end of regulation there was 56! There was a lack of flow to the game clearly with all of the fouls, but the game itself was entertaining and competitive throughout.

For Georgetown this loss will be a tough one to swallow. Blowing a lead in the final minute is never easy let alone a seven point lead. Georgetown had several key turnovers at the end, a Rodney Pryor travel and a Tre Campbell stepping out of bounds. These turnovers kept Maryland alive and they capitalized. Rodney Pryor (6’5 205 SG) a graduate transfer from Robert Morris, scored 32 points against SC Upstate last week but struggled to get much going against Maryland. Pryor used his length to get in the lane, but made more of an impact from the perimeter making 3 of 6 from three. Pryor has the ability to score in bunches by using his driving ability and perimeter game to keep defenses honest. Other than scoring he does not provide much ability to get his teammates involved. Pryor finished with 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting and 3 of 6 from three, while getting six rebounds and two steals. Isaac Copeland (6’9 220 SF Jr.) showed an ability to score off the bounce attacking the lane often. Copeland is an intriguing prospect due to his size and versatility. He will need to become more of a consistent shooter to be effective at the next level. Copeland was extremely active on the glass using his length to keep balls alive on the offensive boards corralling six total. Copeland finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and 2 assists.

The player who started to take over for the Hoyas was L.J. Peak (6’5 215 SG Jr.). Peak had a very efficient game. He did not come on until the second half, but attacked the lane at will and drew fouls regularly. Peak’s strong frame allows him to take on contact while maintaining control and finishing scoring plays in the lane. If Peak shows more of an ability to make the three point shot he will have a shot to be a draft pick after his career. Peak finished with 21 points, one three pointer, 5 of 8 from the field, on 10 of 12 free throws with two rebounds in only 20 minutes due to foul trouble.

For a young Maryland team this was a huge confidence booster. Led by Melo Trimble (6’3 185 PG Jr.) the Terps stay composed and pulled out a tough road (albeit 17 miles from campus) win against an old rival. Trimble was quiet much of the first half until the second he looked like the Trimble of old. He has his explosive burst back when going by defenders. He doesn’t rely on his body shielding defenders off as much on drives like he use to. Now he just blows by them or uses his patented crossover dribble to shake them off. Trimble finished with 22 points on 7 of 9 free throws, with two assists. Majority of his points came by blowing by defenders for layups. The most impactful player for Maryland was Justin Jackson (6’7 225 F Fr.). Jackson has a ridiculous 7’3 wingspan and he uses all of it when playing defense and crashing the glass. Jackson was the steady offense during the game when the Terps looked to be struggling or fading from the Hoyas. Jackson showed an ability to stretch the floor hitting 3 of 5 three pointers, while also being able to put the ball on the floor and driving the lane. Jackson’s versatility will be a mismatch against a lot of teams especially if Maryland decides to play small ball. Jackson final stat line was 17 points, on 7 of 12 overall and 3 of 5 from three, as well as seven rebounds.

A couple other key performers for the Terps were Anthony Cowan (6’0 170 PG Fr.) and Kevin Huerter. Cowan had eleven points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals. Huerter finished with six points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

The Maryland and Georgetown rivalry needs to happen every year. The real question is will it. What do either team have to lose by scheduling each other. It’s one of the best areas in the country for basketball. Hopefully pride doesn’t get in the way of making it a tradition.

Up next for Georgetown is vs Arkansas St. on Thursday

Up next for the Terps is vs Saint Mary’s (MD) on Thursday