FanPost

Maryland's Athletic Power Forward Problem

It's been well documented that the Maryland basketball team is in dire need of an athletic power forward; a Chris Wilcox-type, who has the hops to provide some rim-protection, the muscle to battle for rebounds and garbage buckets, and the skill to hit the occasional mid-range jumper. They've proven difficult to come by of late.

To further exacerbate the problem, we could really use one who can contribute from day-one: A Carlton Bragg, or a Cheick Diallo. Unfortunately, the odds are slim we'll find one in the 2015 class. Part of the problem has been the DMV hasn't really produced any athletic PFs in the last few years (Jerami Grant may have sufficed, but that didn't happen). Jake Layman has the height and athleticism, but lacks the muscle and assertiveness. Chuck Mitchell and Evan Smotrycz lack the athleticism. Damonte Dodd? Well, we'll see.

Unless there is some attrition, we won't have the scholarship space to get a JUCO transfer or graduate-transfer to fill the bill in 2014; which leads to my questions: Do we need an athletic power forward to be successful in 2014 and 2015? If not, what pieces do we need to add to experience the level of success we'd all like to see? Is another 7-footer in addition to Reed (**cough** Papagiannis **cough**) enough? Will Dodd be able to develop into a serviceable athletic power forward to cover our needs? Is there someone else - aside from Bragg and Diallo - who could reasonably be expected to step-in and contribute immediately?

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