By: Jack Rothenberg
Maryland announced on May 26, that sophomore guard Serrel Smith Jr. will be transferring this offseason. Smith Jr. spent the past two seasons with the Terps, and has two years of eligibility left. Although, he would need a waiver from the NCAA in order to play in this upcoming season.
Also on May 26, Smith Jr. posted a statement on Instagram expressing his gratitude for Maryland. “I want to thank Maryland and Coach Turgeon for these past two years – they have been nothing but amazing. My time at Maryland was filled with memories and relationships that I will always cherish,” Smith Jr. said.
Coming in from St. Petersburg, Florida in 2018, Smith Jr. was a three-star recruit and ranked just outside of the top-100 players in the nation. With his intent to transfer, he now becomes the third Terp from last year’s squad to leave the team this offseason. The other two players that decided to transfer are sophomore forward Ricky Lindo Jr. and now San Diego State forward Joshua Tomaic.
This past season with Maryland, Smith Jr. averaged 7.6 minutes and 1.5 points per game. Most of his playing time came in Nov. and Dec., as towards the middle part of the season Smith Jr. began to be phased out of the rotation. Towards the latter part of the season, Maryland had six or seven players carrying most of the load each game.
In a statement made by head coach Mark Turgeon, he expressed his appreciation for Smith Jr. and what he meant to the team in their championship run in his sophomore year. “Serrel did everything we asked of him the last two years and we are appreciative of his contributions to the program. He was a great person to coach and a great teammate who helped lead us to a Big Ten Championship,” Turgeon said.
The Terps added forward Jauris Hamilton in Apr., transfer from Boston College, and guard Galin Smith in May, graduate transfer from Alabama. If Hamilton doesn’t receive a waiver from the NCAA, Maryland would only have eight scholarship players eligible to play this season. However, now with Smith Jr. moving on from the program, the Terps still have three scholarship spots open on their roster for this impending season. As of now, there are no reports on where Smith Jr. may end up next year.
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