Featured image courtesy of Maryland Athletics.
On the heels of a 75-71 victory over Georgetown, guards Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon and forward Robert Carter Jr. perched up behind a table and in front of a University of Maryland backdrop.
The trio fielded questions from an audience of reporters. Carter Jr. explained how he took over the huddle during a timeout late in the game with the team trailing.
“I repeat myself numerous times,” Carter said. “I feel like it’s never enough, everybody just looks at me.”
“Rob likes to say a lot of the same things over and over again in the huddle,” Sulaimon added. “We listen to him though. He’s like Dad.”
As the Maryland Terrapins approach their game against Rider on Friday, their 21-year-old, 6-foot-8-inch “Dad,” is helping them stay focused.
After two seasons at Georgia Tech and redshirting last season, Carter Jr. has finally assumed the role as a starter and leader for the Terps.
Head coach Mark Turgeon believes that Carter Jr.’s redshirt year gave him the opportunity to observe him and learn what he expects.
“He’s just a good kid,” Turgeon said. “He’s been around the block and he gets it. Sitting back last year too and not playing helps you, you just sit back and watch, there’s no pressure.”
Through two games this season, Carter is averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds per game and is pushing the team to succeed.
His current task is keeping the team focused on Friday’s battle with the Broncs and not their getaway to Cancun, Mexico for the Cancun Challenge next week.
“We take it one game at a time,” Carter Jr. said. “We don’t think about Cancun, we’ll worry about that after. Rider is a really good team.”
The Broncs are out to an 0-2 start after losses to Princeton and La Salle. The Terps find themselves undefeated throughout two games after trouncing Mount St. Mary’s 80-56 and squeezing by Georgetown on Tuesday.
No matter who the opponent is, the Terps’ figurative father Carter Jr. is prepared to continue leading the Terps and wants them to be the best.
“I’m just a guy trying to make sure everybody is doing the right thing,” Carter Jr. said. “Just reiterating a lot of stuff, just repeating myself a lot.”
Additional Reporting by Hannah Yasharoff
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About The Opponent – Rider Broncs (0-2, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
- Last game: 73-60 loss to La Salle
- Player to watch
- F Xavier Lundy (Jr.): Lundy has led the Broncs in the early going. He is currently averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 56.5 percent from the field. On Tuesday against La Salle, Lundy scored a career-high 19 points.
- All-time series: Maryland leads 3-0
- Last meeting: 1995-96 season, Maryland won 83-67
- Associate Head Coach Adam Hughes named Maryland Volleyball head coach - January 23, 2018
- Terps land three-star tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo - August 18, 2017
- Israeli Basketball Player Elevates Sports Over Politics - July 4, 2017
