Dez Wells Decision Thread

A decision from Xavier guard, Dez Wells is imminent.  It's between Maryland, Memphis and Oregon for Wells' services.   Dez spent the weekend in College Park taking in the William and Mary game and then retiring to Bentley's.  Wells tweeted his whole way through the festivities and it's clear he had a great time.  He even used the hashtag #terpnation at one point.  In other words, things are looking good.

In terms of talent, Wells was a top 75 recruit coming out last year.  He averaged nearly 6 points per game (CORRECTED TYPO: nearly 10 points per game) as a freshman and shot well from beyond the arc (38%). 

At 6'4", Wells is listed as a small forward, but that seems awful small to play upfront in the ACC.  My guess is he will filter in with Aronholt in backcourt as a shooting guard.  Either way, he's another scorer who will no doubt make the Terps more competitive in the wake of Stoglin's departure. 

If, that is, he is able to obtain a hardship from the NCAA and get eligible this season.  Otherwise, he'll join Smotcryz on the shelf until 2013-14.  I think he's got a decent shot given his history (he was expelled from Xavier despite having sexual assault charges against him dropped).

Regardless of whether he gets the exception, Turgeon is walking a tightrope with scholarships by my estimation.  I'm going to need some help on the math here, but I'm not sure there will be enough slots for the Harrison Twins if no underclassmen leave after the season (if Len has a breakout year, he's the most likely).  I'm sure I'm wrong because there is no way that Turgeon would do anything to jeopardize those two from donning Terp Red next season.

Let's assume for a minute that the scholarships are worked out and Wells is declared eligible for this season.  This year's Terps will be the most intriguing and mysterious one we've seen in decades.  Add up the departure of Stoglin, the return from injury of Pe'shon, the improvement of Len and Faust, and the newcomers Aronholt and Wells; who knows what to expect?  This team could be great or they could be disastrous.  My guess is with Turgeon at the helm, these Terps will be much better than anyone suspects.

Wells or not, I'm excited.  With him, I'm a lot more excited however.
Author: Jeremy | 9/3/2012 8:15:18 PM | Tags: recruiting, basketball, dez wells |