J. Williams is learning on the job for Terps

The Maryland basketball team found out much about its current state on a trip to the Maui Invitational last week.

Perhaps no one was afforded quite as many lessons as freshman Jordan Williams.

Facing comparable competition for the first time this season, the Terrapins stumbled with losses to Cincinnati and Wisconsin. And Williams, thrust into a prominent role in the frontcourt at the beginning of his career, scored eight points in 43 minutes in the two losses.

“The only way you learn is to really go against somebody and get taught a few things, and then you bring them back and work on them and you see for yourself what you have to work on rather than some coach telling you,” coach Gary Williams said.

Maryland (4-2) will quickly gauge the growth of Jordan Williams and fellow freshman James Padgett during what is probably the Terps’ most crucial week before conference play begins next month. First comes Tuesday’s visit to Indiana (3-3), followed by Sunday’s BB&T; Classic meeting with No. 3 Villanova.

The Terps, who are no longer ranked after last week’s losses, will attempt to fix some obvious flaws - notably rebounding and free throw shooting - going forward. And Jordan Williams, last year’s player of the year in Connecticut, will be a large part of it.

Although his offense was stifled in Hawaii, the 6-foot-10 Williams remained relevant with his work on the boards. He’s averaging 7.7 rebounds and managed 25 in three games last week.

“Every time the ball goes on the glass, I want to get to the rim,” Williams said. “I wasn’t used to that in high school because I was taller than everyone else and the ball would just fall into my hands. Now I’m just working to get to as many rebounds as I can.”

He easily leads the team in the category, in part because of his size and skill. Yet opportunity plays a role as well, and Williams received a big one far sooner than anyone would have guessed when he was first recruited.

With junior Dino Gregory suspended until Dec. 12, a starting spot opened up at the beginning of the season. Williams filled it the first six games, becoming the first Maryland freshman to start an opener in the frontcourt since Joe Smith and Keith Booth in 1993.

“That helps him grow early,” forward Landon Milbourne said. “He has a lot more pressure on him than any of the other guys, because he’s starting the game off and he knows how important that is for us to have a good start. When ACC time comes around, he should be ready because he’s been playing so much early.”

It’s not a perfect process. Cincinnati forward Yancy Gates had 17 points and 13 rebounds against the Terps last week, and Williams faced foul trouble at times. Learning to defend 6-9, 260-pounders is an inevitable task, and Williams just had to deal with it early.

Showing improvement, though, would be a welcome step this week for a player still adjusting to the college game.

“I feel like I’m not 100 percent prepared, but I’m more prepared than I would have been had I not played coming into these next couple games,” Williams said.

Expectations remain tempered around the Terps, who will likely be able to alleviate some of the added responsibility Williams and Padgett took on in the opening weeks of the season when Gregory returns.

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