While Maryland managed a split on the road last week in the Big Ten – winning at Purdue on Saturday after losing at Illinoid on Wednesday – sophomore center Damonte Dodd had his toughest two-game stretch of the season.
Dodd finished with six fouls, five turnovers, five rebounds, two points and one block in a total of 22 minutes -- including a disastrous two-minute stint in the win over the Boilermakers.
"That's the whole thing when you're dealing with young people. You've got to keep his confidence up, but you got to have him understand what he is," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said Monday on the Big Ten coaches teleconference. "He's been a defender and a rebounder."
Dodd showed the ability to do both – and well as score – right before the road trip, finishing with a career-high 12 rebounds and three blocked shots while matching his career-high of nine points against Minneota on Jan. 3 at Xfinity Center.
After starting the road trip by getting stripped going in for a layup against Illinois, things continued downhill for Dodd.
He finished that game with just two points – going 1 for 2 from the field and front-rimming both free-throw attempts – in 20 minutes. He also had five rebounds, four turnovers and one blocked shot.
Dodd was nearly a no-show on Saturday. He picked up two personal fouls in the opening minute against Purdue's 7-2, 297-pound freshman Isaac Haas. It took 25 seconds for Dodd to get his third foul later in the first half.
After not starting the second half, Dodd quickly picked up his fourth foul after off the bench. He finished with just two minutes of court time, with an assist and a turnover.
"He just didn't play really well on Saturday. He had a lot of silly fouls," Turgeon said. "Mentall,y he wasn't sharp at Illinois. He's good. He'll work hard. Qe expect him to bounce back and play well for us this week."
The Terps -- who dropped three spots to No. 14 in this week's AP poll -- have home games against Rutgers on Wednesday and Michigan State on Saturday.