Jared Nickens expects the Terps to make the Final Four this season. Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Jared Nickens knows Maryland is loaded with talent for the 2015-16 season and he and his teammates have lofty goals as a result.
“We want to go to the Final Four and win a national championship,” the 6-foot-7 wing from Monmouth Junction, N.J., told SNY.tv on Saturday at the Mary Kline Classic.
Asked if he was guaranteeing a Final Four appearance, Nickens said, “We’re going to make it a guarantee.”
The Terps will be the preseason No. 1 team in many polls and rightfully so. They return virtually everyone from a 28-7 team that finished 15-4 in the Big Ten and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to West Virginia.
They also added Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon, Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter, junior college point guard Jaylen Brantley and heralded incoming freshman big man Diamond Stone.
“It’s a good feeling to know that we’re going to be a targeted team, it just goes to show how much talent we have,” Nickens said. “We have to just put in the same work we did last summer and come ready to play every game.”
As for the new guys, Nickens knows they are adding some instant talent.
“Rob is eligible, we got Diamond coming in, we got Rasheed and we got Jaylen Brantley,” he said. “Those are the guys that could play this year plus everybody that came back so we’re going to be pretty loaded.
He added: “I’ve seen Rob all last year. He practiced with us so I know what he’s capable of and I know Diamond is Top 10 in the country so I know what we’re gonna get from him. We’re going to be really good.”
The latest addition was Sulaimon, who will be immediately eligible after being dismissed from eventual national champion Duke during the season.
“I watched him play at Duke so I know he’s good player,” Nickens said.
After averaging 6.1 points and draining 57 3-pointers as a freshman, Nickens is looking to expand his own game.
“Just an off-the-bounce game, just try not to be one-dimensional,” he said. “Just become a better all-around player.”
