Maryland guard Serrel Smith finds new home
Maryland guard Serrel Smith is transferring to East Tennessee State, he announced on Wednesday. He chose the Buccaneers over interest from USF, East Carolina, Charleston, Louisiana and Louisiana Tech, per college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
Smith left the Terps program in May after appearing in 61 games over the last two seasons. He made regular appearances but never carved out a concrete role for himself and played just 13 minutes over the final five games last season after talented newcomer Hakim Hart moved ahead of him on the team’s depth chart.
Smith, who averaged 1.5 points per game and shot 25 percent from the field as a sophomore, left the program on good terms. The 6-foot-4, 175 pound guard was praised for his dedication and work ethic for most of the season by head coach Mark Turgeon. He bought into his role fully following the team’s back-to-back losses to Penn State and Seton Hall in December, gaining Turgeon’s trust and respect.
"I told him after the first practice [after Christmas break], 'I love your attitude and I appreciate it.' A lot of guys wouldn't have gotten back on the plane. He got back on the plane and came back with a great attitude. I know his mom and dad are constantly talking to him. They're competitors, he's a competitor. He's been really good in practice, so he'll be our fifth guard tomorrow," Turgeon said in January.
"There's a lot of things that come into play. And I don't want to get into all that. But sometimes you just have to hit the switch of, to reality, and the way it should be and the way it's gonna be and just lock in and just be a part of something great into Maryland basketball. And that's what he's done. He loves his teammates his teammates love him."
Smith is the third Terps player to find a new home this offseason, joining forwards Joshua Tomaic (San Diego State) and Ricky Lindo (George Washington). The Florida native originally committed to Ole Miss out of high school before the Terps added him as a late addition to their six-man 2018 class. Junior guards Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins, who are expected to make up the team’s starting perimeter along with senior Darryl Morsell next season, are the only players from that class still on the roster. Freshman guards Aquan Smart and Marcus Dockery should help fill Smith's void, but the team still has a lot to replace in the backcourt with Anthony Cowan graduating.
Maryland has three scholarships available to fill and are seemingly running out of options with Utah transfer Both Gach committing to Minnesota over the weekend.
