It’s not that the basketball world was sleeping on Maryland guard Dez Wells, who came into the 2013 ACC Tournament as the Terps’ leading scorer, even if his coach still felt like he was figuring him out as the season wore on.
But Wells has emerged as the breakout star of the 2013 ACC Tournament, leading underdog Maryland to the tournament semifinals with a pair of sublime performances – 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the Terrapins’ 75-62 win over Wake Forest on Thursday, and 32 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the 83-74 upset of #2 Duke on Friday.
Wells, a sophomore transfer, was declared eligible in August after being expelled following his freshman year at Xavier, where he was involved in an infamous on-court brawl and then later faced sexual-assault allegations that were eventually dropped by an Ohio prosecutor.
His late arrival to Maryland made it hard for coach Mark Turgeon to figure out how to best use him.
“I had to learn how to coach Dez,” said Turgeon, noting how Wells was used differently at Xavier, where he was basically a three guard who did most of his damage on offense by moving without the ball.
At Maryland, Wells has had to do a lot more with the ball in his hands, and he’s come to flourish in the Turgeon system.
“A lot of people would consider me a late bloomer,” said Wells, who wasn’t heavily recruited by the power conferences out of high school, but is showing now that maybe he should have gotten more of a look.
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