Well Then

Owl: "Why am I the only one that updates the blog anymore?"

Me: "You made a new post? I didn't even realize."

Owl: "Well, it was in October...."

Oh.

But anyway, I'm bored (not unusual), and there's a lot to talk about in the world of the Terps. Needless to say, this has not been a very good week in College Park. Let's start with the news you might not have heard about. And let's be real, you have heard about it because there are four of you that read this blog, and all four of you were told about it by me.

Either way, the Terps took a big hit to their once promising incoming recruiting class when their top recruit decided that he's no longer coming next season. Well, he might be, because Maryland is still "in his top five", but anyone that follows recruiting knows that means nothing.

The recruit in question is SG Terrence Ross, a very talented player out of Montrose Christian (see also: Greivis Vasquez, Kevin Durant, Adrian Bowie, Linas Kleiza, et al.) in Rockville. He was the centerpiece of a recruiting class that had gained some recognition nationally and took the heat of off Gary Williams' poor recruiting performances inthe past. It was clear that things were not all well when he didn't sign with the Terps in November during the early signing period with fellow recruits Mychal Parker, Terrell Stoglin, and Ashton Pankey, despite having been committed for nearly six months. Then the news broke that he "wasn't sure" if he was still committed, followed by an article officially announcing that he wasn't planning on going to Maryland next season, at least not quite yet.

The worst part? The article was on a Duke recruiting site, and the current speculation is that that will be his likely landing spot. Never mind that he would be coming into a program already featuring two fantastic sophomore shooting guards (Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry) - playing time must not be a big concern for Ross.

In any event, the whole thing is turning into a circus with his high school coach, the highly respected Stu Vetter, claiming that he's still likely to end up at Maryland and some vague message board talk about the impact Nike might be having on where he'll end up. (Remember which shoe company sponsored Maryland before they hopped to Under Armour last fall?)

Bottom line: The Terps best recruit for 2010, and possibly the guy who would have been the best recruit maybe as far back as Steve Francis, likely will be suiting up elsewhere next season. Let's just call that New Year's Dagger Number One.

New Year's Dagger Number Two happened on Wednesday when the Terps played William & Mary. The Tribe came in with just two losses, already holding a win at Wake Forest, meaning that they were not likely going to be a pushover. After losses in recent seasons to VCU, Ohio, American, and Morgan State, it should have been clear that this game was nowhere close to a lock.

Any pessimism about the final outcome turned out to be well founded as Maryland lost 83-77, and even then, it was worse than the final score as the Terps never really threatened in the final 30 minutes of the game, trailing the entire way, often by double digits.

It's tough to pinpoint any one reason for the loss. The Terps let someone named Quinn Mcdowell, a W&M sophomore, drop a career high 28 points on them. They forced just nine turnovers (although Maryland actually only had eight themselves), and shot a typically abysmal 4-25 from three point range. The starters, with the possible exception of Eric Hayes, all played reasonably well, but the bench contributed just four points in a combined 44 minutes.

So whatever, that's enough analysis of a loss that I didn't see the final five minutes of. There's no real reason to rant anymore - this is what Maryland basketball has become for now. I had convinced myself that this year was going to be different. The Terps were in more than a few preseason top 25 rankings, and I expected a highly experienced team to build on last season's modest success. So far it just hasn't happened, with the team sitting at 9-4, including losses to each of their four best opponents, all in games that weren't exactly nailbiters in the final minutes.

The future doesn't look too exciting either with three of the team's top four scorers leaving, and its top recruit no longer coming. That's not to say that all is lost this season. The Terps ACC opener next Sunday at home against Florida State is a huge game, one that should be very winnable. The ACC is strong throughout this season, but not unmanageable with Duke and North Carolina leading the way as very good teams, albeit ones not seriously expected to have a claim at being the best in the country as they do most seasons.

So hey, maybe the Terps can go 9-7 and squeak out another 10 seed in the tournament. I'm just not going to expect it.*

*(Although I did proclaim to a coauthor today, in my Greivis-induced euphoria that this team is going to the Lig. So yes, I'm fence sitting, what of it?)