On Jan. 29, Duke announced that junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon had been dismissed from the program. It was the first time that Mike Krzyzewski had ever dismissed a player for non-academic reasons.
In the coming months, the Duke student newspaper revealed that there had been an investigation, by the school’s Office of Student Conduct, to determine whether accusations of sexual misconduct by Sulaimon had any truth to them. The investigation yielded no evidence of any such misconduct, and no further discipline was levied against Sulaimon.
Nonetheless, his reputation was tarnished, so much so that the Monday afternoon announcement that he would transfer to Maryland was met with the vitriol that only social media can provide.
Whichever way that an individual chooses to lean on Sulaimon’s acceptance to the program, there’s little doubt that the on-court consequences will be of the positive variety for head coach Mark Turgeon and his team that many will now have as the preseason favorite in 2015-2016.
Sulaimon, who averaged just 7.5 points per game a year ago for the Blue Devils, will give the Terps a similar player as they had a year ago in Dez Wells, when discussing the kind of veteran toughness that he can bring to the floor.
In terms of their skill sets, Sulaimon is a much more focused defender, more capable outside shooter, but similar physically to Wells. His arrival should also solidify Maryland’s starting five of Melo Trimble, Sulaimon, Jake Laymen, Robert Carter, and Diamond Stone.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Maryland will face North Carolina, a match up of two candidates for the preseason No. 1 ranking, in the Big 10/ACC Challenge.
