Maryland men’s basketball’s frontcourt will be defined by Pharrel Payne — but there’s help
· Yahoo Sports
With the leaves turning in color and the days shortening, the weather outside is harkening the start of the hoops season, when Maryland men’s basketball will hope to make a big turnaround in year two of head coach Buzz Williams’ regime.
With two preseason exhibitions and a secret scrimmage in the books, attention now turns to Nov. 2, when Maryland welcomes Bucknell to Xfinity Center to officially kick off the 2026-27 season.
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The Terps’ roster saw heavy turnover, with just four players returning for another year under Williams. To count down to the start of the regular season, Testudo Times will be previewing the Terps’ frontcourt, backcourt and freshmen before offering their predictions for the season’s outlook.
House of Payne
This time last year, Maryland had just four healthy forwards — and two of them were Collin Metcalf and Aleks Alston, who didn’t contribute much over the course of the season.
Now, Maryland has twice as many options to run the rim and dominate the boards. For forward Pharrel Payne, another of last year’s early options who asserted himself early in the year, the extra competition is a good thing.
“A lot of relief there,” Payne said, “just knowing and looking to my side that I got a guy that’s always going to be on the court with me that can help as well as guys on the bench that are coming off the bench ready to play.”
The biggest offseason question mark for Maryland was the status of its star forward. At the team’s media day, Payne said he only became fully sure of his extra year of eligibility shortly before this offseason’s summer workouts.
While the paperwork process left it late, Maryland never outwardly doubted the chances of Payne’s return. His return raises its floor and ceiling.
The 6-foot-9 Payne averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and was unquestionably Maryland’s best player for the 10 games he was able to play. He was one of 11 players named to the preseason all-Big Ten team this season and will be a legitimate All-American candidate if Maryland meets its potential this season.
Experienced contributors enter
New Mexico transfer Tomislav Buljan is expected to be Payne’s primary partner in the frontcourt and should be an instant upgrade on anything the Terps had in the position last season.
The 23-year-old Croatian is listed as a sophomore entering his second season in the United States. He was a professional in his home country and Spain from 2021-25, bringing a trove of experience with him to New Mexico last season.
Buljan averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds per game while in the Mountain West with the Lobos and snagged a school-record 141 offensive rebounds. His steady double-doubles were founded on efficiency — he has shot 48% or better from the field since turning professional.
In his lone public preseason appearance with Maryland, Buljan went 0-of-6 from the field but grabbed seven rebounds, earning the Terps valuable possessions. While his offensive abilities are comparatively limited, his ability to recycle the ball and physicality — which Payne said is “borderline the same” as his — have earned rave reviews from Williams and company.
While there was comparatively less fanfare around the offseason arrival of Robert Jennings II from Oklahoma State, he will likely get significant minutes as an energetic rotation piece.
Like Payne, Jennings earned a medical redshirt after getting hurt early last season, so the best frame of reference for him is two years ago. While playing for the Cowboys in 2024-25, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game. He excelled at drawing fouls and defending, which aligns perfectly with Williams’ philosophy.
“One thing Coach Buzz always emphasizes to me is that I do a lot of things good, and he says that because you can put me on the floor with a lot of different people in a lot of different positions,” Jennings said. “I’ve played the five in college at a high major program, so I’ve had to figure out how to be an undersized big, but also I’m agile and athletic enough where if I have to switch on a two or three or one, you can also do that with me.”
There is perhaps no greater indicator of the Terps’ depth difference than George Turkson Jr., who had double-digit minutes in 14 games last season and started in four Big Ten games but may struggle to see the court consistently in 2026-27.
Turkson was serviceable when called upon to play spot minutes at center or either forward spot; his presence may be appreciated more as the Terps wade into a dense Big Ten slate.
Bets on big upside
While the Terps’ top three forwards will be out of eligibility after this season, Maryland invested heavily in the frontcourt when recruiting. Freshmen Baba Oladotun, Austin Brown and Adama Tambedou could be useful players for Maryland both this season and in the years to come.
Oladotun entered the season with the hype for Maryland, but he struggled to make an impact in Maryland’s two public preseason games. He played just two minutes across the second half and overtime of the Terps’ game against West Virginia, and expectations may need to be tempered as the 17-year-old adjusts to the physicality of the college game.
Brown and Tambedou, meanwhile, looked more ready to make an instant impact in their limited minutes. Brown gives the Terps a legitimate 3-and-D option on the wing, while Tambedou has immense size and aggression on the interior.
For more analysis on the first-years, Testudo Times’ freshmen-specific preview will come out later this week.
The last addition to Maryland’s roster, Alex K’Medehouto, is also its biggest mystery. The 7-foot junior averaged 3.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game at the junior college level over the last two years and earned the step up to Maryland.
He figures to be a break-glass-in-emergency option to fill out the bench, something the Terps found themselves desperately wishing for last season — but look far from needing this time around.