Just four days ago, Maryland freshman center Diamond Stone whipped out his phone and sent a simple text to his coach, Mark Turgeon. In the message, Stone told Turgeon that he embraces the role of coming off the bench.
“He said he appreciated that,” Stone said, “and that it means I’m a team player.”
So Stone waited his turn for a fifth consecutive game on Sunday against Marshall at Xfinity Center. He remained patient until he entered the game about five minutes in. By that point, he had already scoped the opponent’s personnel and got a feel for the speed of the game.