2010 JUCO Big Man Berend Weijs Commits to Maryland

One of our posters brought up his name first. We expanded on him. Now he's a Terrapin.

Berend Weijs, a 6-10, 210 pound power forward from Harcum CC in Pennsylvania, committed to Maryland today on an official visit. Weijs takes the final open scholarship for 2010 for now, though it's likely that another will open up if Steve Goins' transfer is made official. He'll be available to play next year and have two seasons of eligibility.

What can truly be expected from Weijs isn't quite certain. He started at Harcum, but averaged just north of 20 minutes per game. He averaged just 6 points and 5 boards per game, but had a ridiculous shotblocking presence: he averaged 4 a game and once blocked 15 shots in one contest. Hopefully that's more due to his natural defensive ability than a huge gap in size.

He's not a back to the basket player, from all indications. In fact, he might not present much at all offensively. But I'm a bigger fan of this commitment than most people probably will be, and I'll tell you why: Maryland doesn't need more low post points. Any JUCO isn't going to be the star Maryland needs on the perimeter. What Maryland needs (and has needed for awhile) is a power forward to pair with Jordan Williams as a center. Weijs is perfect for that. When fans asked for an athletic 4, it wasn't for offensive; it was for shotblocking. J-Dub doesn't possess that aspect of his game yet. Even if all he can offer is a Jarvis Vanardo-lite sort of presence defensively for a few minutes, then he's better than nothing, assuming he can get on the floor.

That said, it probably won't matter. I don't quite expect Weijs to push for playing time. He'll probably get a couple of minutes per game, if that. This move is for depth more than anything else. With Goins likely heading out, Maryland was looking at a very short frontcourt devoid of even practice players. At the very least, Weijs offers that.

There is some good news: Weijs, who is from the Netherlands, continues the international trend of Maryland basketball. When a South Korean and Venezuelan left, an Icelander and a Dutchman took their place. We're a veritable mini-UN of a basketball team here. Also, he has a Twitter, if you find yourself so concerned.

The only video of him I could find is here. Not much, but it gives you an idea of his size.

Thoughts on Weijs' commitment?