Chol Marial, a 7-foot-2 freshman from South Sudan who has yet to play for No. 7 Maryland men’s basketball this season after undergoing surgery in early September to help heal stress fractures in both legs, will suit up Thursday and could play for the first time when the Terps take on Seton Hall at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The team announced Marial’s availability after its shootaround Thursday afternoon.
Once considered among the nation’s most promising young big man after arriving in the U.S. in middle school, Marial nearly disappeared from the landscape after being unable to stay healthy and gain his eligibility academically.
When he signed with the Terps last spring, his ranking had fallen to No. 129 in the country and he was a three-star prospect, according to 247 Sports. He had played in a handful of games last winter at Compass Prep in Tempe, Arizona, averaging 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks a game, according to coach Pete Kaffey.
Kaffey said at the time that Marial was an “NBA player” when healthy.
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said recently that he hoped to have Marial back by the time the Big Ten schedule resumed in early January.
On Monday night, Turgeon said on his weekly radio show that Marial was “starting to practice, which is good to see. He’s a shadow of himself right now. For two years he really hasn’t played. So his timing’s off. And I see these guys catching around the basket and scoring on him in practice.
"About a month or six weeks from now, that’s not gonna be happening because I know what a defender he is around the rim ... But he’s just happy to be back out there. So he’s practicing. He’s not having pain and he’s getting better every day.”
Marial spent much of the early portion of the season watching practice and then working out afterwards with assistant coach Matt Brady or Kyle Tarp, the team’s director of basketball performance. He has been seen shooting soft mid-range jumpers with textbook form, especially for a player over 7 feet tall.
Marial’s potential availability comes at a time when the Terps have struggled to find a consistent presence inside offensively, aside from sophomore forward Jalen Smith, who at 6-10 and 225 pounds is still more of a perimeter player with more of an offensive game facing the basket.
Defensively, Marial’s reported 8-foot wing span should be an immediate help to Maryland at the back of the zone defense Turgeon has used with more regularity this season. It isn’t certain whether Marial will play against the Pirates, who are expected to be without star guard Myles Powell, who suffered a concussion last week against Rutgers.
When Marial plays, he will be among the tallest ever to play for Maryland. The tallest player in program history remains Matt Slalinka, a 7-4 center who arrived from DeMatha in 2000, redshirted during the season in which the Terps made their first Final Four and transferred before the 2001-02 season, when Maryland won its only national championship.