Though NCAA tournament season is perhaps the most wonderful time of year for college basketball fans, the approach to the NBA draft is pretty exciting too. And for Maryland Terps fans, the 2016 NBA draft might feature some familiar names, and thankfully, it will not include the name Melo Trimble, who has withdrawn his name from the draft for 2016, as he will return to College Park and the Terps for his junior year to the pleasure of Terps everywhere. So we’re saddened to think of how much loss the team could face in one year, especially a loss of players who were not all seniors. But the 2016 NBA draft will feature names that are near and dear to the hearts of Terps in Maryland and beyond. Jake Layman, Rasheed Sulaimon, Diamond Stone, and Robert Carter, Jr. have all entered the NBA draft this year.
According to the Inquisitr , this last year was a great one for the Maryland Terrapins , but there were some things that could be done for the Terps to get back on track after they slipped off a bit before the Big 10 tournament. In particular, Diamond Stone, who has decided to leave the Terps after his freshman year, is an excellent player, but has some growing up to do. During the season, Stone was prone to losing his temper and committing fouls that would have been easily avoided in a more mature player.
. @Diamond_Stone33 from @TerrapinHoops thinks he and @Original_Turner could be “the twin towers” for the Pacers. https://t.co/exyqL1H09h
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 15, 2016
The Boston Herald wonders where Massachusetts local and recent Maryland Terp graduate Jake Layman will end up in the 2016 NBA draft. Layman, a 6’9 forward, finished all four years of his undergraduate career at the University of Maryland, and is now hoping to parlay his NCAA success into an NBA career. Layman was a Terp favorite, and Maryland fans are hoping that Layman will find a place in American professional basketball. Lately, Layman has had a workout with the Los Angeles Clippers (his 10th team workout) which helps to create at least some optimism.
“It’s still too early to know. Up until draft night, I really won’t know what teams really like me, what teams don’t really like me. You go in, you do these workouts, they say, ‘Great job.’ And then that’s really it. That’s why it’s so stressful because you really never know.”
Maryland PG Trimble withdraws from NBA draft https://t.co/CZB8jkIW77
— Tobi Ten Boom (@tobystic) June 17, 2016
Some mock drafts have shown Layman going to his hometown Boston Celtics, which would be a dream come true for Layman.
“Growing up always being in that area, I was a huge fan of that team. That’s every kid’s childhood dream, to play for the team they grew up being a fan of.”
Wrentham’s Jake Layman waits to see where he lands in NBA draft https://t.co/O8UxqFus5e pic.twitter.com/TRztxPVXz0
— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) June 18, 2016
But while Jake Layman’s stock is rising, Diamond Stone’s is falling according to Terrapin Station as the NBA draft approaches. It was thought that if Stone left the Terps this year, he would be a slam dunk in a good placement of the first round of the NBA draft, but his supposed placement is slipping, but why? Stone is a solid player, and as someone who has just finished one year at Maryland, he should be on an arc of improvement at this point in his career.
It is thought that Diamond Stone isn’t as aggressive as he could be on the glass, and in the NCAA tournament, his rebound percentage was less than impressive. Stone does not seem to ever put out maximum effort in a game, and doesn’t tend to push himself to outrun other players in rushing towards the basketball. To be successful in the NBA, Stone is going to have to up his physical game, and this will be more difficult, as he will be playing against bigger and stronger players.
Prospect Profile: Robert Carter Jr. https://t.co/KPJhxLplJa pic.twitter.com/2B41LKqym1
— Gung (@Agung_2023) June 13, 2016
The Bleacher Report believes that Maryland Terps player Robert Carter, Jr would be a catch for any NBA team. Carter is a power forward that at 6’9 continues to grow as a player. Though his numbers in the last year might not have been the best of those in the draft, Carter might be the best combination of outside shooting and back-to-the-basket scoring from the power forward spot in this draft.
Carter did not graduate from Maryland, but as a fourth year junior (he was a transfer to the Terps team from Georgia Tech), he has run out of time in the NCAA.
Which Terp do you think will have the most promising outcome in the 2016 NBA draft?
[Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP Images]