Aronhalt Chooses Maryland

University of Albany guard Logan Aronhalt has decided to spend his final year of on-court eligibility at the University of Maryland this coming season. Aronhalt had completed his bachelor degree at Albany but because UA doesn't offer his graduate major, the NCAA allows student-athletes to transfer and play right away without penalty. I wrote about Aronhalt a few weeks ago when it first broke that both he and leading scorer Gerardo Suero wouldn't be returning for a promising season at Albany. At that moment I was more stunned that the top two offensive producers wouldn't be around for their senior season, but now that it's set in I find myself more excited, particularly for Logan's new opportunity. Playing for the Maryland Terrapins is a big deal. Not every day does a kid from the America East jump to play in the ACC and moreover have an opportunity to play major minutes right away for the Terps. The reason why Aronhalt's presence on campus will be such a good fit is largely due to the fact that Maryland two-guard and one of the nation's leading scorers, Terrell Stoglin, has jumped to the NBA draft after learning he would be suspended for the entire 2012-13 season for violating team/university rules. Not only is there now 21.6ppg that needs to made up for (the next closest scorer for Maryland puts up half of that), but also nearly 18 shots per game are waiting to be claimed. If I were to unfairly boil it down to Aronhalt's best on-court quality it would be just that, shot making. He shot over 35% from three point range this season while the most accurate returning three point shooter for Maryland is 27%. I expect that threat from behind the arch along with the mid range consistency of Logan will land him a starting role in a Terp uniform. Aronhalt averaged 13.8ppg this year in the America East for the 19-win Great Danes but most people don't realize that those numbers aren't truly reflective of the kind of season Logan was having before his knee started to flair up and prevent him from playing even double digit minutes in the final 7 games of the year. For most of the season Aronhalt was the third leading scorer in the America East putting up closer to 15ppg. I'm confident in Aronhalt raising his level when he plays in the ACC on a nightly basis because that's what he did when UA 'played up' in competition this year. The road warrior dropped 20 points at Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, 13 points at both Pitt and Maryland, and 15 points at George Mason. Albany coach Will Brown and his staff will undoubtedly miss the reliability of Aronhalt on the perimeter this season, but you can bet that disappointment will equally match the relief from Maryland coach Mark Turgeon after having landed Aronhalt. He's a good player, a great student, and somehow a even better person, so despite the departure from the Great Danes it's hard for Albany's 'Purple Family' not to root for Logan Aronhalt moving forward...and they won't try. Best of luck Logan!