Sulaimon Transfers To Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Rasheed Sulaimon will join the University of Maryland men's basketball team this fall, head coach Mark Turgeon announced today. Sulaimon will have one year of eligibility with the Terrapins and is expected to play immediately. He is scheduled to graduate from Duke this summer with a degree in sociology in just three years.
"I've known Rasheed and his family since he was in the seventh grade, first meeting him when he attended our basketball camp at Texas A&M," Turgeon said. "He was a very polite and poised young man and I recruited him while I was at Texas A&M because of his commitment to both academics and athletics. We competed against Rasheed on multiple occasions in the ACC and I was reminded of his dynamic playmaking ability. During our conversations with Rasheed and his parents, Kenny and Angela, Rasheed expressed the importance of proving that he is committed to being a great student-athlete and a selfless teammate. I have full confidence that Rasheed will embrace this opportunity at the University of Maryland."
A native of Houston, Texas, Sulaimon appeared in 90 games over three seasons at Duke. The 6-foot-5 Sulaimon scored in double-figures in 50 games and connected on 115 3-pointers
(39%) during his time in Durham.
"I am extremely grateful to the University of Maryland and Coach Turgeon for this opportunity to further my education and continue to play the game I love," Sulaimon said. "I'm looking forward to starting this next chapter at Maryland."
Turgeon has had a strong track record of adding transfers to his program during his four years at the University of Maryland, including Logan Aronhalt, Varun Ram, Dez Wells, Evan Smotrycz, Richaud Pack and Robert Carter.
Sulaimon has achieved success at the highest level of competition, posting three double-digit scoring games in five NCAA Tournament appearances. In addition, he started as a freshman and led the Blue Devils to a trip to an appearance in the Elite Eight in 2012-13.
He established career-highs as a freshman with the Blue Devils, averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting .424 from the field and .802 at the free throw line. Sulaimon earned ACC All-Freshman honors in 2012-13 and garnered a spot on the All-ACC Academic Team.
As a sophomore, Sulaimon appeared in 34 games, averaging 9.9 points and 2.4 assists. One of his signature moments included a 15-point performance against No. 2 Syracuse which was capped off by his buzzer-beater that sent the game to overtime.
Sulaimon gained valuable experience playing USA Basketball, winning gold medals at the 2012 FIBA Americas, U18 Championship and the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship. In addition, Sulaimon and senior Jake Layman were teammates at USA Basketball.
He is the son of the aforementioned Kenny and Angela Sulaimon, who are immigrants from Nigeria and Jamaica, respectively, in addition to having one brother and four sisters. He attended high school at Strake Jesuit and was selected to the McDonald's All-American team in addition to being named the inaugural Guy V. Lewis Greater Houston Player of the Year as a senior. Sulaimon was also selected to represent the East squad at the 2012 Jordan Brand Classic. In addition, he compiled a 3.56 GPA, serving on the National Honor Society and receiving the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award as a senior.
Sulaimon is one of three seniors (Layman and guard Varun Ram) on next year's roster. Maryland won a school-record 26 games during the regular season in its inaugural campaign in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first since 2010.
