The Maryland Terrapins will be without their rising star big man Jalen Smith. He has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft and plans to forgo his final two years of college eligibility. There was some talk about him going last year but wanted a bigger role this year to improve his draft stock. Smith is projected to be a late first-round pick or early second-round selection. This will leave a massive hole in the rotation for Maryland next year.
Congratulations on an amazing college Career Brodie???
On the the Next One???
See Ya Soon @JalenSmith2000Another One????? https://t.co/PzdgooW9d9
— Bruno Fernando™ (@BrunoFernandoMV) April 7, 2020
Jalen Smith had a very good year last year with the Terrapins and should translate fairly well to the NBA. The sophomore averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game in his second season with Maryland. He paired that with an impressive field goal percentage of 53.8 percent and a three-point percentage of 36.8 percent. Maryland was a force this year and had the 2020 NCAA Tournament took place they may have made a deep run into it.
Smith has good height for the NBA at 6’10” and he pairs that with weight listed at 225 pounds. Smith plays like an NBA center, but he could play some power forward. Defensive minded and rebounding big men are valued highly by NBA teams. Smith has the added bonus of being able to hit three-pointers. NBA teams near the end of the first round will take a long hard look at the big man when the draft happens.
The biggest downside is the big man may not be able to work on his draft stock much due to the Coronavirus Outbreak. NBA teams will have to depend largely on what they saw him do with the Terrapins these past two seasons.
