Maryland men’s basketball signees Aaron Wiggins and Jalen Smith faced off in the National Hoops Festival on Sunday and were named co-MVPS in one of the highlights of the showcase.
Head coach Mark Turgeon and his assistants were in attendance as Wiggins and his Wesleyan Christian team from North Carolina topped Smith’s local Mount St. Joe’s squad, 74-68. Anthony Cowan and Bruno Fernando came to the game, too, along with Smith’s former teammate Darryl Morsell, according to InsideMDSports’ Josh Stirn.
Not pictured (but in attendance): Anthony Cowan and Darryl Morsell pic.twitter.com/pazmhokMDb
— Josh Stirn (@Josh_Stirn) December 10, 2017
The future teammates, and two-thirds of the Terps’ current 2018 class, were named co-MVPs of the game and had phenomenal performances. Wiggins scored 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting, hitting 6-of-9 behind the arc, with five rebounds to go along with two assists and a steal. Smith turned in a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds, going 7-of-16 while hitting 1-of-2 threes and all 10 of his free throws. He also added four blocks, albeit in a losing effort.
The win for Wesleyan came just a day after Wiggins put up 25 points in a losing effort against one-time Terp target and Villanova commit Brandon Slater and Paul VI.
The festival is an annual gathering of some of high school basketball’s top talent. Another former Maryland target, Silvio De Souza, also played in the event. However, the performance of the festival came from 2018 Duke commit Cam Reddish. The No. 3 player in the class put up 53 points on Sunday, after scoring 34 on Saturday.
In other news
Cornerback JC Jackson is taking his talents to the NFL Draft. He was an All-Big Ten honorable mention and the Terps are still awaiting other draft decisions.
Men’s basketball won a Saturday afternoon matchup against Gardner-Webb that made Turgeon “proud” and included this botched open layup. Here are some pictures from the game.
Women’s basketball cruised to a win over George Washington on Friday. The Terps hope to make it eight straight wins when they take on Loyola at home tonight at 6 p.m. ET on BTN.
Wrestling is still winless in Big Ten duals since joining the conference. Maryland dropped two more on the mats last week to Wisconsin and Iowa.
A fight broke out as the Jaguars tried to kneel out the clock at the end of their win over the Seahawks. After being ejected for his role in the kerfuffle, former Terp Quinton Jefferson tried to run into the stands when fans threw objects at him. Who else can smell suspensions?
The No. 7 ranked football player in Maryland, Jaron Woods, is committed to Nebraska.
We brought back The Takeaways to unwind a bit after the Terps blew out the Running Bulldogs.
The Takeaways: Maryland cruises past Gardner-WebbPosted by Testudo Times on Saturday, December 9, 2017