College Park — In the corner of the court at Xfinity Center on Wednesday afternoon, Maryland freshman guard Darryl Morsell pedaled at a furious pace on an exercise bike under the watchful eye of Kyle Tarp, the team’s director of basketball performance.
Earlier, while practice was still going on, Morsell took part in some light drills trying to show coach Mark Turgeon he had recovered sufficiently from the slightly strained hamstring he suffered early in Monday’s 76-45 win over Jackson State.
Turgeon held Morsell out of much of the practice, but isn’t certain whether the 6-foot-4 guard from Baltimore (Mount Saint Joseph) will be back on the court Friday night, when Maryland takes on St. Bonaventure at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
The Terps will play either TCU or New Mexico on Saturday before going directly to Syracuse to face the Orange at the Carrier Dome in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
“I think he’s much better today than he was Monday,” Turgeon said. “He did a little bit in practice today, nothing live. He’ll do a little bit more tomorrow. I don’t know if he’ll be ready this weekend or not. It’s just kind of day to day.”
Two years ago, point guard Melo Trimble tried to play through a similar injury early in the Big Ten season and struggled to stay healthy the rest of the year.
“We’re thinking long term. Darryl knows that,” Turgeon said. “He’s a competitor. When he says he’s ready and the doctors say he’s ready, we’ll give him a shot.”
Before the injury, Morsell was averaging 10.8 points per game off the bench, including a season-high 15 (12 in the second half) of Maryland’s 80-78 win over Bucknell on Saturday. He also made a huge contribution in terms of defense and energy.
St. Bonaventure might also be short-handed. Senior guard Jaylen Adams, who preceded Morsell at Mount Saint Joseph and led the Bonnies in scoring last season (20.6 points per game), has yet to play or practice this season because of a foot injury. A team spokesman said Wednesday that Adams’ status will be a game-time decision.