Maryland basketball will lose a few key players this offseason, as sophomore Justin Jackson says he will declare for the NBA Draft and junior Dion Wiley has elected to transfer, according to reports.
Jackson, a forward from Canada, averaged 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in the first 11 games of the season but suffered a torn labrum in December and had season-ending surgery. Jackson originally declared for last year’s draft and worked out at the NBA combine, but returned to Maryland.
This year will be different, as Jackson will hire an agent “in the near future,” ESPN reported. He is the 22nd-ranked prospect overall on ESPN’s draft board.
Wiley, meanwhile, is leaving Maryland due to a lack of playing time. The Oxon Hill, Maryland, native played 21.7 minutes per game last year and started 16 games out of 28 he appeared in.
Wiley is considering Clemson and South Alabama, according to The Diamondback.
The guard served in a scoring role off the bench and averaged 5.8 points and 1.3 3-pointers per game in his junior season.
The Terrapins are also graduating role players Michal Cekovsky and Jared Nickens.
The 2017-18 campaign was Maryland’s poorest in four seasons playing in the Big Ten. The Terrapins went 19-13 and 8-10 in conference and were invited to neither the NCAA Tournament nor the NIT.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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