Rather than leaving school to pursue professional basketball, Fernando returned for his sophomore season in College Park, where he’s an emotional leader for the Terrapins. At the Midnight Mile, a season kickoff event with students, Coach Mark Turgeon called Fernando the “happiest kid” there. On the court, freshman Jalen Smith said Fernando is “our fuel.”

“Once he keeps going,” Smith said, “then everybody gets going.”

After a disappointing 19-13 season that ended without an NCAA tournament appearance, Maryland will begin its 2018-19 campaign Tuesday against visiting Delaware with Fernando as a key returner on a youthful roster. Fernando said opting to stay at Maryland wasn’t a difficult decision, citing how he wants to put himself in a better position to potentially enter next year’s draft and how “Maryland means a lot to me.” Fernando wanted to be a first-rounder, Turgeon said, and he wouldn’t have been, so this was the right choice, too.

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“I know in heart of hearts, Kevin wanted to stay and Bruno wanted to leave,” Turgeon said, referencing Fernando’s teammate, Kevin Huerter, who left Maryland after last season and was drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks. “And it worked out opposite for them. … We really felt like Bruno and Kevin would be back. We really did.”

Fernando declared for the draft in the spring but did not sign with an agent, meaning he could test the waters without losing his amateur status. He participated in the NBA draft combine in Chicago over the summer to gauge his draft stock. Some mock draft projections had Fernando as high as a late first-round pick, while others didn’t predict he would be selected at all.

Fernando listened to what NBA teams had to say about his game — “just keep being myself and doing the things I do,” Fernando said — and communicated with Turgeon throughout. Their relationship now is better because of that experience, Turgeon said.

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“He trusted me through the process that he went through after the season, and he let me work with him,” Turgeon said. “During that time, he was really getting better.”

As a freshman last season, Fernando ranked third on the team with 10.3 points per game, second with 6.5 rebounds and earned time on “SportsCenter” for his dunking ability. But as a player Fernando is unrecognizable from the this-time-last-year version of himself, Turgeon said during preseason practice before listing off all the ways the sophomore has refined his play: better leadership, communication and maturity, to go along with and expanded shooting range while not abandoning who he is as a talented defender.

“It’s really great,” Turgeon said. “That’s why you do it — to see kids improve. And Bruno’s really improved at a great rate.”

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Since Fernando began playing basketball as a kid in Angola, the NBA has always been the end goal. At first, he played soccer and only tried basketball off a friend’s suggestion when he was 8 years old. (He wasn’t tall yet.) Fernando eventually represented Angola at the 2014 U-17 FIBA World Championships and had his best game — 12 points and 13 rebounds — against the United States, which ultimately won the tournament.

At 15, Fernando headed to America to pursue college and professional basketball. He’s visited home just twice since then — once in 2016 and again, for four days, this June. Once he arrived in the U.S., the goal of playing at the highest level suddenly seemed attainable.

“You feel like you're getting better every day and that dream is getting closer to you,” Fernando said.

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Fernando still vividly remembers his first game in the new country, and how the game became faster and full of more athletic players. He played at Montverde Academy, a private school in Florida, as a junior and senior in high school and didn’t fully adjust to what he calls “a different type of basketball” until the end of his senior year. After a postgraduate year at IMG Academy, also in Florida, Fernando arrived in College Park.

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So here he is, just one step away from reaching the goal that once seemed distant. Decisions about the 2019 draft are months away, though, and this season remains the task at hand. What Maryland could accomplish in the next five months was also factored into Fernando’s decision.

“I thought about my teammates, the fans and how good, how special we can be this year,” he said.

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