The focus here at Testudotimes has been on football for the past few months, and rightfully so. But there is some new basketball news that is worth reporting, especially since Midnight Madness is just a few weeks away (October 17th).
The Terps posted their Men's basketball roster, which included freshman Steve Goins (C) and Jin Soo Kim. Both Goins and Kim initially had an asterisk next to their name, which indicated that they were pending approval from the NCAA Cleaninghouse. Since yesterday though, the asterisk next to Goins name is gone, so hopefully that means he's at least cleared to play. Apparently Goins will wear Steve Blake's old number of 25. I doubt that Goins will be the type of impact player that Blake was, but he could in that like Steve Blake, he'll play a significant role as a freshman.
There was much confusion on Terps message boards and on blogs and newspapers when the Terps roster initially came out, as one of the new names on the roster was Jin Soo Choi, not Jin Soo Kim. Apparently, Jin Soo goes by two different last names in Korea and the U.S., which is what lead to the confusion according to a couple of sources. But Kim's last name has since been changed to Kim on umterps.com. My bet is that someone (i.e. an intern) over in the athletic department screwed up when entering in the roster. The mishap did result in conspiracy theories that Gary recruited someone else and that we weren't really getting the Jin Soo that had been advertised, etc. etc.
Kim will be the first Korean-born player to play Men's D-1 basketball, so give credit to Gary for thinking outside the box on recruiting. If you can't beat out Duke, Georgetown, Illinois, and Florida for top recruits, go recruit the top recruits in other countries.
The biggest question about Kim is what will Gary do with him? Kim has a great stroke and can stretch defenses with his 3-point shooting ability but he's also only 180 pounds, so he needs to hit up the weight room in a hurry. Also, Kim was initially suppose to be a 09 commit, but is trying to reclassify for 08. Does that mean MD will redshirt him, which allows him to get accustomed to Div 1 basketball life, put on some pounds in the weight room, and get in some practice before starting his college career? Or, because of Maryland's lack of front court players this year, does Gary have little choice but playing him?
I feel Kim will be behind Milbourne, Tucker, and Burney. If they do play Kim, I'd expect him to play for a few minutes, try to nail a 3 and then he'll be subbed back out. A lot of Kim's playing time will be determined by how well he can play defense.
Here is some video of Kim. Looks like he has great ability around the basket, has a very nice touch, and seems to be able to make his free throws (thank God!). Maybe he'll shoot up the depth chart upon arriving. My only fear is his speed and weight, which could slow him down.
Regardless, I think he has a great chance to make a big impact, either coming off the bench or starting as a second forward with Milbourne.