A love-in at Comcast Center

Things were feeling so right in the CP on Saturday. The Terps got some good home cookin against Miami, and it seemed to be just the right medicine.  It was chicken soup for their souls.  It was a soothing balm. Could you feel the love, mama. Could you feel the healing. I sure hope that you could.

The team played well, the crowd was engaged and ultra-supportive, Gary did him some good coaching, and a top recruit (Lance Stephenson) looked on from the stands. I gotta say it was a good day.   

The game was pretty close up to the end, but even so the Terps seemed to be in relative control throughout.   Miami’s a better team than they generally get credit for, but beating them isn’t rocket science.  You just lock up their shooters and get drives in the lane, and that’s what the Terps did.  But most importantly, when it got down to crunch time, they kept their heads and kept their undies clean.  Vasquez fell one assist shy of a triple-double in a signal that he’s getting off the schneid.  Cult legend Jin Soo Kim furthered the feel-good atmosphere by scoring his first points in ACC play. 

Perhaps the two biggest pieces of news, besides the victory itself, are that Sean Mosely started at the point (and played pretty decently) in place of the psychologically battered Eric Hayes, and Cliff Tucker was benched entirely. Tucker and his mother are upset about it. But whatever. Want more PT, Cliff?  Stop scoring three points a game and yucking it up on the bench during losses.

I don’t know if any of these moves are a long-term solution, but it was good to see Gary doing something to spark the troops. At least for one day, it worked. But the Terps still have a long, rugged, twisting, turning, hellaciously steep path back into the light. No rest for the weary, either:  Carolina’s up tomorrow night.  Get the chicken soup ready.

maryland oozes past vermont; syrup-based puns continue

Cartoon illustration of me during the last 10 sec of the 2nd half.

The nail biting, heart palpitating days of mens’ basketball are back.  The Terps needed a desperation three by Greivis Vasquez to tie the game in its waning moments and get into overtime last night. In the overtime period, Maryland had all the momentum and finished off Vermont with an 89-74 victory.

The Terps had lost only five non-conference games in the Comcast Center since it opened in 2002, but they were dangerously close to losing their sixth against Groovy U-V. Vasquez had 26 pts and 9 rebounds, but his reckless ball handling also led to 5 turnovers.  When asked about his off-balance, game-tying prayer of a three point shot, Vasquez stated, “They’re either going to love me or they’re really going to hate me.” Say what you want about Vasquez, but he is self aware if nothing else.

The aforementioned key freshmen, Jin Soo Kim and Sean Mosley, practically disappeared against the Catamounts.  They combined for 15 min and 1 shot attempt last night.  I am going to keep banging the drum until they get more involved in Gary Williams’s offensive game-plan.  It was clear from last night’s performance that the Terps are at their best when they are pressing and getting buckets in transition.  In order to do that, they need to play their best nine guys consistently.  Last night we saw a basic seven man rotation.  That is not going to cut it against more athletic ACC opponents.

maryland freshmen get first real test against catamounts tonight

In the first two mens’ basketball games of the season, two Maryland freshmen have received significant minutes.  6’8″ South Korean forward Jin Soo Kim has been playing 17 min/gm, while 6’4″ Sean Mosley has been getting 14.5 min/gm.  The two players have combined for 10 pts and 5.5 reb/gm, but those efforts were against cupcake opponents.

Tonight’s game against Vermont will be their first real test, and a real test of Gary Williams’s will.  When asked about who the starters would be before the Bucknell game, Williams said that it would be Vasquez, Hayes, Milbourne and “whoever practices the best [that week].”  Williams has been notoriously stingy with playing time for freshmen in the past.  Tonight will be the first opportunity for Kim and Mosley to prove their worth against a decent opponent, and they better make the most of it.

The Terps have had difficulty getting production from freshmen due to Williams’s approach to minutes.  The college game has changed a lot during Williams’s career, and in my opinion he’s been slow to adapt to the need for recruiting and playing freshmen in order to replace talented players that go pro (Wilcox), flunk out (McCray), or loose their minds (Gilchrist).  Williams’s comments and dedication to playing these two freshman in the first two games indicate that he might be willing to change his approach. In fact, the Terps are running a special on Comcast SportsNet called “The Proving Ground” before tonight’s game.

I hope Kim and Mosley show Gary that freshmen can contribute right away.  In today’s college basketball, there is no time for “rebuilding”.  Talented players generally don’t stay with the program for four years. Williams needs to start winning with the talent he has each year.