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Maryland transfer forward Schnider Herard has left the Terrapin basketball program to pursue professional opportunities, InsideMDSports’ Jeff Ermann reported this afternoon.
BREAKING: Reserve big man Schnider Herard is leaving Maryland to pursue a pro career. Would've been the #Terps top center off the bench.https://t.co/oM1panF0Qh pic.twitter.com/VxlL290Nlc
— Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) August 1, 2018
Herard arrived in College Park after playing for Mississippi State for two seasons. There he topped out at five points per game as a freshman before falling out of favor with the coaches during his sophomore season. He announced his intention to transfer in December and chose Maryland in late January 2018. The 6-foot-10, 260-pound forward was slated to be Maryland’s first big men off the bench after becoming eligible in December.
The Texas-native was a top 50 recruit in the 2016 class and chose Mississippi State over offers from Kansas, Arizona, Purdue, Indiana, and Texas Tech amongst others.
The unexpected departure of Herard leaves an already thin Maryland frontline completely without a backup center. The Terrapins have Bruno Fernando and likely Jalen Smith as starters but will have to rely on Ivan Bender and Joshua Tomaic to nail down the other forward spots. Expect a lot of small-ball from Mark Turgeon’s team out of necessity this season.