# 10
Anjalé Barrett
Guard
5-10 Sophomore (RS)
Bronx, N.Y./St. Michael Academy
As a redshirt freshman last year, Barrett appeared in all but one game, starting two, and she averaged just four points per game but she was third on the team in assists with 72 while only turning it over 55 times for an assist/turnover ratio of 1.31, which is very solid. She was usually one of the first players off the bench and often provided a spark with key plays at key times, as well as showing a knack for dishing the rock as evidenced by her gaudy assist total for a reserve player. Also, she led the ACC with a .615 shooting percentage from beyond the arc during conference play in 2009. This year, however, it's a totally different game for her and she might be one of the biggest keys to a successful season. It's easy to play a reserve role behind the great Kristi Toliver but it's a whole new ballgame when you're the starting point guard and expected to run the offense on a regular basis. She'll also need to pick up her scoring load this season. No, she doesn't have to pour in points and threes like Toliver did (our next player could be responsible for that) but she has to become a reliable third or fourth option. If she can put up somewhere in the ballpark of 10 points per game while continuing to distribute the basketball and take care of it, the Terps' machine should run well on offense. So far, however, she's thrived at least as a passer dealing out four assists in each of the preseason exhibition games in limited time. Also remember that she's now a year further removed from the knee surgery she had as a freshman so that could provide a boon to her production as well.
# 31
Lori Bjork
Guard
5-11 Senior (TR)
Johnston, Iowa/Johnston/Illinois
And now to perhaps the most intriguing player of the lot. Bjork was a success at Illinois, there's no doubt about that. Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2005-2006. Second Team All-Big Ten in 2006-2007. Preseason First Team All-Big Ten in 2007-2008 before ending up as a third team All-Big Ten selection that year. She's a sharpshooter to be sure, as she's 1-2 on the list of most three pointers made in a single season at Illinois with 84 threes in 06/07 and 77 in 07/08. At one point in 06/07, she had a streak of 35 consecutive games with a made three pointer. She was seventh in the Big Ten in scoring with 14.3 points per game that year and she is the all-time Illinois free throw percentage leader at 83.5 percent. So basically, she can score, she can really shoot the three and she makes her foul shots. She sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules and now she's going to be expected to carry a big part of the scoring load that Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman are leaving behind. She put up double digit points in both of the preseason exhibition games, including 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting including 4/8 from three point range. She'll need to be one of the team's best players this season.
# 21
Tianna Hawkins
Forward
6-3 Freshman
Clinton, Md./Riverdale Baptist
If her exhibition performances are any indication, Hawkins is on a mission to prove that recruiting rankings don't mean jack. Not highly touted coming out of high school (ranked outside the ESPN and Scout.com top 100), she's put up double doubles in both of the first two exhibition games. She scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 22 minutes against Bowie State and then she put up 12 points and 11 rebounds in just 19 minutes against Catholic. Despite not being on the radar of the big recruiting services, she was still the Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2008-2009 and she was first-team all-Met as a senior and most valuable player in 2007 and 2009. She'll be expected to contribute off the bench this season but could very easily crack the starting lineup if she keeps playing like she has in the preseason.
# 12
Lynetta Kizer
Center
6-4 Sophomore
Woodbridge, Va./Potomac
If the Maryland Terrapins have a superstar, Kizer is it. Or at least she's the one with the most potential to become one. A superstar recruit coming out of high school last year, she did not disappoint with 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, starting all but one game last season. She also blocked 31 shots and caused 39 steals so she was a force on the defensive side of the ball as well. At 6'4, she has the potential to absolutely dominate the women's game and she had a few dominating performances last season (TCU, Georgia Tech) but it could be more difficult this year with no Toliver and Coleman and, especially, no Dee Liles to help her out down low. Like Anjale Barrett, there's a lot more pressure on Kizer this year. She's no newcomer to the starting lineup but she will be looked at as one of the team's leaders and star players. She will have to be a reliable option night-in and night-out in the post and she'll have to be a force on defense, preventing opponents from scoring at will in the paint. She had 10 points and 8 rebounds in the second exhibition against Catholic in just 15 minutes. She'll need to put up a double double or close to it every game if the Terps are going to succeed this season. That's asking a lot but that's how it goes when you're supposed to be a superstar.
# 3
Jackie Nared
Guard
6-1 Freshman (RS)
Portland, Ore./Westview
After redshirting last year as a mid year enrollee, Nared's ready to play this season. She might not see much more than a reserve role as Barrett, Bjork, Kim Rodgers, and Dara Taylor all seem entrenched ahead of her on the depth chart for guards. You never know, however. Rodgers didn't see much playing time for most of last season and then suddenly she got time in the ACC tournament and played very well. If she gets the opportunity, a certain possibility with all the uncertainty and youth on this team, she could seize it. She struggled in the exhibition games, however, shooting just 2/8 against Bowie State and 5/17 against Catholic.
# 14
Yemi Oyefuwa
Center
6-6 Sophomore
London, England/Dartford Grammar Girls' School
This past summer, Hasheem Thabeet was the # 2 overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Draft. Numerous times last year, I compared the freshman version of Oyefuwa to Thabeet during his freshman year in college. Both were more raw than sushi, showing flashes of their potential at times but looking at times a bit awkward in their very-big skin and perhaps struggling with the crossover from their native land in to the United States. She appeared in 27 games last year but didn't start any and averaged just 0.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. She was the proverbial "last man off the bench", logging only 6.4 minutes per game but this year, she'll be expected to be much more than that. She's the new starting center as Dee Liles is gone. No one's asking her to fill Liles' shoes completely but she still might need to make a quantum leap now that she's been thrust in to the starting lineup. If she can harness that potential though, she could be an absolutely dominating threat at 6'6. It's not a stretch to call her one of the keys to this season.
# 22
Kim Rodgers
Guard
5-9 Sophomore
Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne
When one looks up the phrase "late bloomer", a picture of Rodgers from last season should show up. After doing almost nothing during the regular season aside from a heart-warming 4/4 from three point range performance at Loyola in her first action since returning from knee surgery, she puts up 9 points in 14 minutes to help clinch the ACC regular season title against Miami and then she goes ballistic in the ACC tournament. 7 points against Wake in round 1, 11 points including a pair of threes to give the Terps the lead in the semis against UNC, and then 12 points on 4/5 shooting in the title game against Duke. She also saw a lot of time in the NCAA tournament and she'll certainly be playing for more than 11.4 minutes per game this year. She'll back up Bjork at the 2 and hopefully provide the same spark off the bench that she did at the end of last season.
# 2
Dara Taylor
Guard
5-7 Freshman
Wilmington, Del./Caravel Academy
And now we've arrived at this season's glamor recruit. Called "the quickest player I've ever had in the program," by Coach Brenda Frese, Taylor was ranked as the # 6 point guard by ESPN and the # 9 overall guard by Scout.com in this season's incoming recruiting class. She could challenge UNC's Tierra Ruffin-Pratt for ACC Freshman of the Year if all goes well. She had 7 points and a whopping 9 assists in 26 minutes against Bowie State and then put up 14 points and 7 assists in 23 minutes against Catholic. She'll push Barrett as the team's starting point guard and could take over the job sooner rather than later if she's worth all of the hype.
# 24
Diandra Tchatchouang
Forward
6-3 Freshman
La Courneuve, France/INSEP
First of all, I absolutely dread saying this name on the air. But she could be one of the great wild cards on the Terps this season. A top European recruit, it's hard to know what to expect from her this season. She could have trouble adjusting to crossing the pond like Yemi did last year or she could be an impact player right away. She's gotten the start in both of the exhibition games so clearly she's done something right in practice. After a modest showing against Bowie State, she exploded for 16 points on 6/9 shooting against Catholic, also grabbing 6 boards. She'll probably compete with Hawkins for the starting job at the 3, which appears to be the area where the Terps are looking most vulnerable coming in to this season as neither of their starting candidates has played a minute of college ball that counts. They both certainly have the potential to play a positive role for the Terps this season.
# 5
Essence Townsend
Center
6-7 Freshman
Paterson, N.J./Paterson Catholic
Oyefuwa might be the starter at center right now but if she's unable to perform, Townsend is waiting in the wings to take her job. Somehow, she's even taller than Yemi at 6'7 and as you can tell from the picture, she's very lean. A top 100 recruit herself according to both ESPN and Scout, she certainly has the potential to do big things (no pun intended.) She performed modestly in the exhibition games, either showing us that the best is yet to come or that she may need some seasoning before she's ready to take a large (again, no pun intended) role with the Terps. And hey, a Terps big girl recruit from New Jersey. Where have I heard that one before?
# 33
Emery Wallace
Forward
6-1 Senior
Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley
By far the most embattled player on the Terps, Wallace has had three knee surgeries in her career. She's the lone senior on the team. If she can't play, she'll be the team's head cheerleader once again and continue to be a positive influence on the bench just like she was last season.
So there you have it, each player on the Terps previewed in to this coming season. I'll be back tomorrow with an NC Central game preview to kick off the regular season. The season is officially here, people. Get psyched.
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