University of Maryland basketball has been in a state of flux over the past few seasons. While many fans tend to focus on Duke and North Carolina in the ACC, the Terps continually swooped in under the radar to make 11 straight NCAA Tourney appearances between ‘93-’04, even winning the 2002 National Championship under legendary coach Gary Williams.
In that magical ‘02 season, Williams guided the Terps into the record books by becoming the first squad to win an NCAA title without the use of a single McDonald’s All American on the roster, a main staple of the usually stacked UNC and Duke teams. Over Williams 22 years with the Terrapins, Williams has sent numerous players to the NBA like Walt Williams, Steve Francis, Joe Smith, and Juan Dixon.
But after sharing a part of the ACC regular season crown with Duke in 2010, and amid rumblings that Williams had lost his mojo in the heavily talented DC recruiting scene, and throwing in the fact that star big man Jordan Williams was leaving early for the NBA Draft, Williams surprisingly announced his resignation after last season.
With the Williams era now gone, in steps former Texas A&M head man Mark Turgeon, who resurrected the Aggies hoops program, leading them to 4 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and earned his pedigree under coaching icon Larry Brown, both as a player and eventual assistant at Kansas.
On the recruiting front, Turgeon was able to land highly touted SG prospect Nick Faust to play alongside Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin in the backcourt, but with the graduation of Adrian Bowie, Dino Gregory, and the departure of Jordan Williams, that left James Padgett as the only frontcourt player with game experience.
With already committed big time center prospect Shaquille Cleare not arriving on campus until 2012, Turgeon was downright lucky to get a commitment from the 7’1, super athletic big man Olexiy “Alex” Len from the Ukraine for the upcoming season. Many scouting sources consider Len a potential NBA Lottery selection with the proper seasoning on the collegiate level.
Len was a virtual star for the Ukrainian national team, averaging 16 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks in the U-18 European Championships last season, including a rare triple-double. According to Europeanprospects.com, Len is the #7 rated European player and #2 rated Euro center prospect for the 2012 NBA Draft.
He weighs a rather slight 225lbs but has a described “through the roof athleticism” that allows him to run the floor like a SF and is multi-skilled in the low post and midrange areas. Of course, he is still rather raw at the ripe age of 18 but with the proper weight training, conditioning, and acclimation to ACC basketball, Len could be a real get for the Maryland program going forward.
Check out Len showing off his mobility in a Maryland workout:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
