Terps beat old nemesis Cancer, 105-76

The Terps tipped off in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament tonight for the third time in its history, this time against Seattle. This was, I suppose, the first round of a four game tournament, but in reality the Terps are guaranteed to play in the semifinal round at Madison Square Garden (I'll be there!) next week regardless of what we did against Seattle or College of Charleston.

It wasn't pretty for much of the game, but the Terps won big. On the other hand, it was VERY pretty for large portions of the games. I think I called a 26 point win, so even though I'm irrationally pissed that we let slip away a 30 point win at the end, it was a better outcome than I had expected. So what about the good, bad and ugly of the game? Well here it is.

The Good:

Sean Mosley: I'm still baffled that people think that somehow this guy isn't going to rack up a lot of points for the team over the next two seasons. Just because he can do it all doesn't mean he forgot how to score. He's never going to be a guy who can aqua velva it from deep, but he's going to clean up on the midrange. And that pump fake and drive late in the game was a thing of beauty. If Bonecrusher wasn't such a great nickname we'd have to call him Old School.

Jordan Williams: Wooden Award Candidate. Jordan Fucking Williams. He had 17 and 15 tonight. From here on out, we don't count "double doubles" for Jordan, we count 15/15 WACJFW double doubles. He even made 5 of 6 FT (miniature sample size alert) and pretty much dominated without dominating. He also had a few thunderous slams. I remember someone complaining last season that he didn't do that enough (I'm rolling my eyes as I type that).

Cliff Tucker: Tucker, for the second game in a row, rather quietly had an outstanding game. He scored, he grabbed boards, and he kept some of the usual headscratchers to a minimum. Cliff will be better this year not only because he's a senior and a primary option, but because a wide open, fast paced game suits his games, and we should see plenty of those this season.

Terrell Stoglin: Put aside a couple of turnovers, and Stoglin had one of the best debuts of any Terp in recent memory. He finished with 15 and 5 and had a phenomenal behind the back pass on the break for a slam by Jordan. What was most noticeable about his game was his quickness and shake and bake with the ball. Literally the only player I can remember with that kind of quickness for the Terps is Steve Francis. I'm not making that comparison at all, just saying that's the dimension he brings to the team.

Pe'shon Howard: Just like Stoglin, he looked like he belonged. He had eight dimes on the night and more than one oustanding, no-look pass. He's built like a college senior already, and he has enough swag to do the #21 jersey justice. It's going to be really fun to watch him and Stoglin play together for four seasons.

Berend Weijs: The Flying Dutchman only got four minutes, but he made the most of them with three blocks and two dunks. He needs to gain about 20 pounds of muscle immediately, but I'm eager to see what he does this season. He's another player that will thrive for a running team as his role will be to block shots and finish on the break. And to his credit, despite lacking bulk, he doesn't seem reticent to mix it up at all.

The Good Enough:

Dino Gregory: Dino still looked spastic at times, and didn't set the world on fire. He made multiple entry passes to the third row. But it was a typical Dino game. He blocked some shots and hit three midrange jumpshots. He's in no way going to carry this team, but he should be more than serviceable in his role.

James Padgett: Padgett only got 11 minutes as the first big off the bench, and grabbed just one board. He did have 5 points though. He didn't set the world on fire, but I'm still pretty confident he's going to settle into a role where he can give us 5/5 on a regular basis off the bench.

Mychal Parker: I've made the comparison to Landon Milbourne before, at least insofar as how his freshman season will go, and I stand by that. Parker does not look very comfortable yet, but as the huge dunk can attest, he has ridiculous athleticism (which is quickly becoming a theme for us). There were no real negatives from his relatively brief appearance, but the depth in the backcourt means he's really going to step up if he is to play a meaningful role for the Terps this season.

Haukur Palsson: I have nothing to say about him other than I heard Gary call him "Haukur Pillson" in the pregame. In other words, he and Terrell Stoggins are going to be a great tandem once Gary figures out who they are.

The Bad:

Ashton Pankey: Didn't do anything wrong, but it's not good when you're getting three minutes in a 30 point win. Who knows what his career will bring, but having watched a scrimmage, an exhibition, and now a real game, it's pretty clear that barring some deep foul trouble, he just isn't an option this season for whatever reasons.

Adrian Bowie: On one level, it's tough to say that a guy who scored 9 points in 12 minutes was abysmal, but Bowie was. On a night when the team had an abysmal 29 turnovers, Bowie was responsible for 7 of them. He found himself on the bench at around the first TV timeout and pretty much stayed there all night. I don't think any Maryland fan was more positive than "wait and see" as far as Bowie running the point goes, but it's a pretty inauspicious start to the Bowie era - an era which won't last too long if Bowie continues to be as thoroughly outplayed as he was tonight.

The refs fucking sucked tonight, largely in the Terps favor. Too many handchecks and small stuff was called, going both ways, but especially on Seattle.

The other bad point aside from the TWENTY NINE TURNOVERS was a 2-8 night from three. It's no secret that this team won't be relying no the three, both because of style and skill, but in games against teams who don't allow so many fast break opportunities, that will hurt the team. Oh, but guess what, we've got Nick Faust pretty much solves that problem, so if Gary can just land one fucking big man he's going to get his fourth final four next season. PLEASE GET A BIG MAN FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

We're one real game and one fake game in and its pretty clear that this team is going to be able to put up a lot of points, putting up 105+ in back to back games. Next up is the College of Charleston, a team coached by Bobby Cremins, formerly of Georgia Tech. They beat North Carolina last season, and also beat the Terps in the tournament back the late 90s as a 12 seed. I have successfully blocked out all memories of that debacle though. Now to work on last year...

Oh, and also, the announcers tonight were fucking atrocious. Michael Reghi, I have not missed you. Not one bit. Stop calling it the "one and bonus" you jerkoff. And Ronnie Thompson, fuck you, call some Georgetown games and stop telling me that Jordan dropped 20 pounds. I GET IT. Can't you go back to coaching and give me back Chick Hernandez?