Jake Layman Returning For His Senior Year Solidifies Maryland As a Top 5 Team In The Country

 

And BOOM! Jake Layman is returning for his senior year. There was speculation he would be a 2nd round pick if he made the jump this year, but he’s coming back to boost that draft stock and to take the Terps to the promised land. Because of a ton of transfers, Layman had to play the 4 the majority of the year. He developed his stretch 4 game, but overall it set back his outside shooting a bit. Now with GTech transfer Robert Carter, the 33rd best recruit from 2012, set to join the team after sitting out this last year, Layman can return to the 3 and create disgusting mismatches for opposing teams. And a guy flying way under the radar is top JuCo transfer Jaylen Brantley, who will be the backup PG the Terps sorely missed this year. Add in returning guys like Dion Wiley, Damonte Dodd, and 7 footer Michal Cekovsky, and this team is poised for big things.

With Melo and Layman coming back, 5 star recruit Diamond Stone coming to CP, Carter set to wreak havoc in the Big 10, and sharpshooter Jared Nickens playing the 2, this team on paper is deadly. NBC Sports has them ranked 3rd in their preseason poll. Gary Parrish from CBSSports has them 4th. ESPN.com has them 5th. All those rankings are fair. Yes, we are a long way from the season starting. But we are on the cusp of the biggest Maryland season since the 2002 championship team. The windows in college basketball are tiny. It is hard to get all the pieces at every position to fit exactly right. Transfers, one and dones, etc. Maryland has that team you need right now. Let’s just pray to baby Jesus everyone stays healthy. My anticipation is through the roof. I wish they could start the season now. Fear this team.