ATLANTA —- Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin said after Friday’s ACC tournament loss to North Carolina he is considering turning pro.
Stoglin scored 30 points in the 85-69 loss to the Tar Heels and averaged an ACC-best 21.6 points on the season. He was a second-team all-conference selection.
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“Right now, I’m thinking about coming back, but it’s too early to make a decision,” Stoglin said. “I’m going to wait until March Madness and everything is done and go back home and talk to my family and coach [Mark] Turgeon and make a decision.”
Stoglin was by far Maryland’s most potent offensive option throughout his sophomore season. He accounted for 31.4 percent of Maryland’s points (he had 690, the sixth-best total in school history) and hoisted 30.5 percent of the Terps’ shots (he had 533, the fourth-largest total ever for a Terp).
The season was also provided a steady give-and-take between Stoglin and Turgeon, Maryland’s first-year coach. Turgeon implored Stoglin to play more defense, which he gradually did. He also wanted Stoglin to become a better teammate, which Stoglin said was a priority during his trip to Philips Arena this week.
Still, it was clear Stoglin would become hesitant to trust Maryland’s inside players when they struggled or the Terps fell far behind, often eschewing a pass for an outside shot or the chance to penetrate the lane. Turgeon said recently he wanted his team to take the best shot possible, even if that meant it was a high-percentage shot the Terps ultimately missed.
In any case, Stoglin said his game has grown throughout this season.
“I proved I’m a scorer and can do other things to help the team win,” Stoglin said. “I think I proved that last game [against Wake Forest]. I just want to show people I can do a lot of things on the basketball court other than score. I want people to see that.”
Stoglin said he started to consider the possibility of turning pro “pretty much in the middle of the season; it’s something I want to look at.” After responding to his exclusion from the all-conference first team this week, he also believes Maryland (17-15) will continue to progress next year.
“We’re a young team and next year we have great recruits coming in and we’re just going to build on it,” Stoglin said.
Whether he decides to remain a part of it remains to be seen.
—- Patrick Stevens
