2023-24 Big Ten Women's Basketball Preview: Maryland
Are the Terrapins able to continue their decade of dominance in the Big Ten?
We are in the final stretch of previews, my friends.
This begins the top four, the College Football Playoff of previews, so to speak. These teams can, and should, have some major expectations for this season, and that means I have a lot of very good things to say about all of them. Let’s get it started.
Last Week’s Preview:
Overview
Two previews ago, it was teetering on boring to talk about how comically good Maryland was.
The Terps’ first season in the Big Ten was the 2014-15 campaign. That year, Maryland went 18-0 in conference during the regular season, then capped it off with a win in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terrapins won their games by an average of 14.7 points.
Winning the regular season and tournament crown was something Brenda Frese’s Maryland teams did in five of their first seven years in this conference. They also added a sixth regular season crown in that span.
But times have changed, and Maryland has went from invincible to simply extremely good, and other in-conference foes have made significant improvements to match. The Terps finished fourth in the conference in 2021-22 — the first and only non-top-two finish to date — then ended tied for second place last year.
All of this is to say that Frese, entering her 22nd season with Maryland, has turned this program into a juggernaut that has won at least 20 games in 19 straight seasons.
Maryland’s stats don’t necessarily fly off the page for a team that won 28 games and made the Elite Eight. That’s because the Terps faced one of the most difficult schedules in the country, battling the likes of South Carolina, UConn, Notre Dame and Baylor in the non-conference slate.
The Terrapins, per usual, were excellent offensively, scoring well from all areas of the court while being able to get to and convert at the line (78.6 FT%, 13th in NCAA) and avoiding turnovers (1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, 14th nationally).
Without a true post player — players listed as pure forwards played a *total* of four minutes all season for Maryland — the Terps did not rebound well. It made their style of play very frantic on both ends, which resulted in a whole lot of steals (10.4 per game, 16th in the nation).
All of this is to say that, and I know this is a surprise, Maryland was excellently coached last year, and Frese was able to get the most of the pieces she had available to her.
Here’s last year’s Maryland roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:
Another trend with Frese rosters is a large amount of year-to-year turnover. Clearly, it hasn’t stopped the train from rolling along yet, but it’s happened again here with six departures. Only three of the exits were through the portal, while the other trio entered their names into the WNBA Draft.
Two of those players — Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers — were selected in the first round. Let’s start with Meyers, who came to Maryland for one year after a very successful stint at Princeton. She immediately injected life into the Terrapins offensive attack as one of the best shot-creators in the conference.
After being selected 11th by the Dallas Wings, Meyers has bounced around a few rosters, but her ability as a shooter, and her consistency in big moments, will hopefully get her to stick on a roster in the future.
Miller spent four years with Maryland, transforming into a true superstar by the time her collegiate career was over. She was an exceptional interior scorer as a guard, brought outrageous athleticism to both ends and hit one of the best shots of last season, a buzzer-beater on the road against Notre Dame. She was one of the coolest players I’ve watched since Hoopla began.
Miller went No. 2 in the draft and enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign in Minnesota. You’ll be hearing about her for a long time.
Returnees and Transfers
I am so excited to see what third-year Shyanne Sellers is going to be for this Maryland program.
Sellers made significant leaps from her freshman campaign, a campaign that saw her win Sixth Player of the Year in the Big Ten. As a full-time starter, Sellers’ minutes barely changed: She went from 26.5 to 28.3 per game. What did she do with those extra two-ish minutes?
PPG: 7.8 → 13.9
RPG: 3.8 → 4.8
APG: 2.6 → 3.9
FG%: 41.6 → 48.6
SPG: 1.8 → 1.8
BPG: 0.2 → 0.6
Outside of steals, which were already at an excellent number in year one, Sellers improved everywhere, becoming more efficient as she carved out a larger role in the offense. She’s also an unbelievable defender, earning an All-Defense spot on the conference list.
Sellers has the tools to be the No. 1 without question, and she is going to get every opportunity to prove that this season. She had some struggles with foul troubles at times last season and her turnovers went up, but neither of these issues are so glaring that I’d call them concerns.
She will be fined by three returning players with loads of experience. Faith Masonius started all 35 games last year and was one of Maryland’s best rebounders, specifically on offense with 2.0 offensive boards per game. She’s also a capable scorer who hit half of her shots from inside the arc.
Both Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs primarily came off the bench last season, but are each prime candidates to enter the starting lineup this season. I also think both had cases for Sixth Player of the Year in 2022-23, with Alexander’s tremendous shooting and Briggs’ all-around play, plus even more good shooting, consistently providing sparks for the Terps.
I’m also expecting a major role change for Bri McDaniel, who looks ready to make major contributions after promising bursts as a freshman. I was at the Maryland-Notre Dame Sweet 16 matchup, and even though her shots weren’t falling, McDaniel’s energy stood out to me as a difference maker every time she was on the court.
Forwards Emma Chardon and Allie Kubek both suffered season-ending injuries, with Chardon’s coming in the first game and Kubek’s in the preseason. Chardon played some as a freshman for Maryland, while Kubek had some strong seasons at Towson before coming over, so there’s a chance for some playing time here for either of them, especially with the continued lack of experience at the forward position on the roster.
Despite some major exits, Maryland only went for one addition in the portal, but it’s a big one. Jakia Brown-Turner has well over 100 starts for an excellent NC State program, and has been about as rock solid as a player can be throughout the entirety of her college career. The former five-star prospect have averaged over 9 PPG every season, despite some career-low efficiency as a senior.
If Brown-Turner can rebound from her slight shooting slump last season and get back to shooting 37 percent from three like she did as a freshman and sophomore, Maryland is going to rely on her as a primary scoring option.
Freshmen
Surprise surprise, Brenda Frese has an exciting freshman class. This one holds a lot of intrigue, but the one to watch for immediately is Riley Nelson.
Nelson is the Big Ten’s only five-star commit in the 2023 class, via ESPN’s rankings. She’s an All-American talent that comes in as a gifted scorer and rebounder, and she was a finalist for Team USA. This is the type of player that is likely to see a whole lot of minutes very quickly.
This is no one-person class, though, and Frese also brings in another top 100 player with Emily Fisher. Fisher has some excellent diversity as a player, and could be very useful as a facilitator at the wing position.
Summer Bostock was an early enrollee, which can often times be great for early development. She also has international experience and was a dominant scorer prior to her arrival in College Park, all signs for someone ahead of the curve for first-year players.
Finally, Hawa Doumbouya may be the least proven of the class, but I will be curious to see if Maryland finds a way to utilize her natural gifts. Doumbouya stands at 6-7, something you simply can’t train. For a team that struggled with forwards and rebounding, Doumbouya is the clear answer in the future if she develops well.
Outlook
Projected Starters
G - Shyanne Sellers
G - Jakia Brown-Turner
G - Riley Nelson
G/F - Brinae Alexander
G/F - Faith Masonius
Projected Big Ten Finish: 4th
Maryland remains the Gold Standard program in the Big Ten, as a fourth-place finish would be tied for the worst in the 10 seasons the Terrapins have been in the conference.
Losing Miller and Meyers was always going to happen, but it doesn’t make replacing them any easier. The Brown-Turner addition is excellent, and I’m really excited to see this freshman class make a dent.
Predicting the starters outside of Sellers, Brown-Turner and Masonius is difficult, but almost any logical combination results in one of the most position less lineups you will ever see, aka, what Maryland did last year. Yeah, the forward depth is still not there, and rebounding will likely not turn into a strength. But all but one player on this roster (McDaniel, 5-10) is 6-0 or taller, and the athleticism at every spot on the court makes defending this team a true nightmare.
I think Nelson’s talent will be too much to keep to a reserve role, and her rebounding ability would be of great use to this roster if it translates. I also think Alexander’s shooting and versatility as a guard/forward allows her to leap into the starting five over Briggs.
This is a very talented roster mixed with loads of experience, but Maryland’s ceiling may come down to how much Sellers thrives as the No. 1 option. The leaps she has made through two years are undeniable, and it gives me very little doubts that she’s up for that challenge.
I think the Terps are in for a somewhat similar year to last season, where they are once again excellent, but not quite there to get another conference crown. That year also ended in the Elite Eight, let me remind you.
Brenda Frese is one of the best coaches in the sport, and this roster looks ready for her to prove that once again. To say that after Miller has departed is proof as to how good and rock solid Maryland continues to be as a program.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
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