In Maryland Basketball Land a deep crater needs to be filled. The Melo Trimble Era is dead and gone. Turnover prone and tunnel visioned though he was, Trimble possessed a winning combination of leadership skills and sheer audacity—enough to carry the team through countless tight situations. A huge adjustment will have to be made to compensate for his absence.

Luckily, a brilliantly talented player named Justin Jackson is ready to take his throne as the team's No. 1 offensive option and leader. Helping him in his bid to rule the Big Ten are fellow 2016 recruitment classmates, Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter. Of those two, the player I feel most confident will take a big step forward is Huerter. Playing a low usage role in 2016-17, he figures to get more touches this season, and really has an opportunity to let his talent blossom on a young and hungry squad.

With the 2018 NBA Draft eight months away, Jackson's draft stock is all over the place. Some project him as a top top-six pick while others doubt he’ll go in the first round. Huerter, while a well-known prospect from his team USA stints, has hardly been projected as a 2018 pick at all. The two Terrapins have work to do to solidify their spots, but both possess skill sets that any NBA team should value. And what are these skills?

Let's take a look.

Justin Jackson

Strengths

By the time the draft rolls around, the word you'll be hearing again and again to describe Justin Jackson's game is "modern." Twenty years ago Jackson would have been considered a pure small forward, but in today's game he figures to be more of a combo forward, sliding between small forward and power forward (possibly even center). This is a good thing. Warriors forward Draymond Green may not be the league's best player, but he's the archetype of a new breed of coveted prospects: players who have the strength and length of a big man, yet with the quick feet and offensive skillset of a wing. This is a player-type that even Green himself doesn't quite live up to, owing to his erratic jump shooting. Jackson will be pushed into this role at the pro-level, and he's uniquely equipped to fulfill expectations.

Let's start with his physical tools. Standing at "just" 6'7" in shoes, he would normally be considered undersized for a power forward—that is, if he didn't possess a baffling 7'3" wingspan. Posting a daunting 8'11" standing reach at the NBA Draft Combine last spring, Jackson plays bigger than his height, his spider-limbs extending out into passing lanes and shot trajectories. Weighing in at a somewhat light 219 pounds, he may need to bulk up, but with his broad frame it shouldn't be much of a problem.

What really makes him special, however, is his versatile skillset. Early in their careers, players blessed with superior physical tools tend to coast on their natural advantages, but this isn't the case with Jackson. Spending most of his time on the perimeter last season, he proved himself not a player you can afford to leave open. Knocking down a blistering 43.8% of his three-pointers at a respectable 6.7 attempts per 100 possessions rate, Jackson showed that his ability to stretch the floor is likely his most NBA-ready skill.

He's also shown some potential as a slasher, using his long strides to snake his way to basket. Kyrie Irving he is not, but Jackson is more than willing to put the ball on the floor, sometimes embarrassing plodding, college power forwards.

He's also not a selfish player; he’s able and willing to find the open man. His assist numbers from last season are nothing special, but those stats are likely due to his playing mostly off-ball while Melo Trimble shouldered the majority of the offense.

Another large part of Jackson's appeal is that he can legitimately defend, using his length and nimble feet to harass guards and forwards alike. At one point last season he ranked in the 92nd percentile as an on-ball defender (impressive even if he was mostly guarding underskilled power forwards). While he likely needs to be more active on help defense and quit his bad habit of biting on shot fakes, I expect Jackson has the requisite basketball IQ to get there eventually. There's a very high floor for players who can shoot and defend multiple positions in the NBA, and at the very least Jackson could make a lot of money doing just those two things.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness of Jackson's game is his lack of great explosiveness, which strangely conflicts with his reputation for athleticism. At the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, Jackson posted similar vertical leap numbers to athletically challenged center Omer Yurtseven. I strongly doubt the conspiracy theory that Jackson's measurements were mixed up with UNC's Justin Jackson. If you look at the numbers (UNC) Justin Jackson posted in the 2016 Combine, they're near identical to his measurements a year later.

While sometimes it's best to ignore conventional measures of athleticism when evaluating basketball prospects (not to mention question their accuracy; see the good-not-great measurements posted by Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook), Jackson doesn't appear particularly athletic on the court either. You'd think that someone with his reach would come flying in for dunks and blocks far more often than he does, but that could be his mediocre explosiveness holding him back. Lacking the highlight-reel athleticism of fellow positionally-fluid players like Lebron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the young Terrapin will need to show that the skills he's flashed can become a consistent part of his game.

Despite his size and impressive shooting, Jackson was a pretty mediocre scorer last season, posting a decent but unexceptional 55.5% true shooting percentage and 15.1 points per 40 minutes. While I actually think he was somewhat under-utilized by Maryland last year, there are legitimate reasons why he didn't dominate. For one, go back to his explosiveness—or lack thereof. While Jackson has the agility and coordination to circumvent larger defenders, he doesn't quite have the jaguar-like first step that some of his peers have. And once he gets to the rim, he doesn't have the bounce to get up and finish over rim protectors.

Many players have managed to overcome this at the college level, and I expect Jackson will as well, but it remains to be seen if his ability to create his own offense can translate to the pro-level. He needs to show that his off-the-dribble game can't be completely disarmed by putting a long, quicker defender on him.

Additionally, there's the fear that Jackson may be a jack of all trades, master of none. Even his most impressive skill (three-point shooting) is questionable due to his lackluster 69.8% free throw shooting. It would also really benefit him to exhibit more dynamic, tough shot making. He showed potential as a pull-up jump shooter in his first season, and he'll need to develop that to reach his ideal form. His handle, while above-average for someone his size, should also be tightened up. The passing ability that I complimented him for in the first section is mostly theoretical at this point, and it'll really help his stock if he brings that out in full force this season.

Finally, he's a bit older than you think he is. A full year older than most of his classmates, Jackson will be 21 on draft night, making him above-average aged for a prospect. While he's not exactly ancient, scouts will want to see real production from Jackson right now if he's going to sneak into lottery range.

Kevin Huerter

Strengths

Unlike Jackson, Huerter figures to play just one position at the pro level: shooting guard. Luckily, his skillset lines up very nicely with what teams look for in that role. Possessing an elegant stroke that stays exactly the same no matter where he's shooting from, Huerter will likely be the best pure shooter for the Terrapins this season. While Jackson shot a better percentage last year, Huerter has shown a bit more versatility, hitting tough shots after racing around screens and from a few feet behind the line. He knocked down a solid 37.1% of his three's at a high rate of 10.6 attempts per 100 possessions.

While the skill he's banking on is his shooting, Huerter brings more to the table than does a standard shooting specialist. He’s a decent athlete, able to play above the rim if he has momentum. It's not exactly stereotype-detonating stuff, but, functionally, it helps him make a lot of plays on the court.

Most impressive is how light he is on his feet, constantly on his toes and able to contain most perimeter threats at the college level. Here's an awesome game-winning defensive play he made against Georgetown, diligently sliding with his man and eventually smothering the shot attempt.

Huerter accumulated .9 blocks per 40 minutes last season, a good number for a shooting guard prospect. Ranking in the 78th percentile as an on-ball defender in his freshman season and posting a very positive defensive box score plus-minus, Huerter quite certainly has been an asset on the defensive end.

Huerter also has excellent court vision for a wing. Experienced as a point guard from his high school days, the 6'6" (measured at 6’6" in shoes while playing for Team USA) shooting specialist regularly whips impressive no-look passes around the court. Considering how little time Huerter spent on-ball last season, it's a real accomplishment that he averaged 3.6 assists per 40 minutes. Not particularly turnover-prone, Huerter has a feel for the game that will be a real asset at the next level.

Huerter is also young for his class, having only turned 19 in late August. Believe it or not, he's actually younger than Michael Porter Jr., Mohamed Bamba, and Deandre Ayton, three of this year's most prominent potential one-and-done prospects.

Weaknesses

The opposite of Jackson in this arena, Huerter possesses physical tools that will likely limit him as an NBA player. Standing at decent 6'6" for a wing player, he's let down by his below average 6'7.75" wingspan and thin body. Lacking the mass and length to guard most forwards, or the top-shelf athleticism to stick with NBA point guards, he’ll likely struggle if he has to switch off of traditional shooting guards. Strength has already been a bit of an issue for him at the college level, hindering his ability to power through screens. Unfortunately, he just has a low ceiling as a defender: he won't be a liability, but he’s not a lockdown guy either.

The story is similar with his offensive ceiling. Despite the court vision he displays, Huerter has very little potential as a lead guard. Exhibiting a basic handle and lacking great burst as a slasher, he doesn’t inspire confidence in any other NBA role than playing off-ball as a shooter.

After watching seven of his games, this is the only clip I could find of him driving all the way to the basket.

In his favor, if there's anything the Warriors have taught us, it's that you can never have too much shooting. However, how good of a shooter is he really?

Despite his pretty stroke, Huerter has yet to show truly elite shot-making ability beyond the high school level. Because he has put up good-not-great percentages in college, and also, shot quite poorly in his international showings with Team USA, he still has people questioning whether he can find a place in the league as the "white dude sniper" he’s often stereotyped as. If he's merely a pretty good shooter, NBA teams will take a risk on a bigger, more explosive player whom they hope will learn to shoot. Every time.

Conclusion

Ultimately, I project Justin Jackson as a top-20 pick. What he brings as a player is just too valuable and hard to find to let him fall to the second round. Think about how a similarly skilled and aged D.J. Wilson rocketed up draft boards after a few good NCAA Tournament games. While Jackson is shorter, I trust his shot more than Wilson's, and he's produced more on the court than Wilson had at the same age.

Kevin Huerter, on the other hand, is in a different echelon. He'll likely get grouped into the mass of potential "Three-and-D" prospects who contend for second-round slots every year. Lacking game-changing tools or athleticism, he’ll have to count on his perimeter shooting numbers to boost his stock, which may or may not work out. I'm a fan of his game however, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone takes a chance on him come June.