Like, I just don't know.
It should be easy to be optimistic about the Terps even with a rough season. A new coach means that hope springs eternal and that the GOLDEN AGE of Terrapins' hoops is upon us with the impending commitment of the Harrison twins followed by God Knows Who Else. But here we are at 16-12, coming off a terrible loss, probably headed for 16-14 and no postseason once again, and it sucks.
Should I be so tired of this season? My expectations weren't high. I expected about 17 regular season wins, and there's still a substantially non-zero chance that happens. The team, while far from terrible as far as the talent on the roster goes, isn't nearly great enough to overcome the lack of depth that has hit it over the past few months.
But still how many games can this team play poorly in the second half? How many times can the head coach take a public swipe at his best player? How can you handle a team that has played so well at times losing to the worst team it has lost to since Gary lost to Coppin State way back in his first season here?
I counted myself an early believe in Mark Turgeon, and I don't rescind that at all. Not yet at least. I know that it's mostly frustration, but the first year could have gone better. Most folks have nothing but praise for the new guy, but me? Not so much.
More to the point, the recruiting trail has been ablaze for the Terps in the last year. Yes, there have been some nice commitments, but the program isn't really much past where it was last spring. Alex Len and Shaq Cleare were big gets, but the groundwork had been laid before Gary retired. Jake Layman was a huge win and a great scouting job by the staff, but in reality he only just replaced Justin Anderson who left for douchier pastures in Charlottesville. Seth Allen might be good but he's an unrated combo guard with injury issues - is he that much better than Sterling Gibbs would have been? And let's not get started with the latest commit. Welcome to the family, Damonte, but let's be real, if Gary had signed such an, er, under the radar prospect, people would have screamed bloody murder. No matter how good the Turge thinks he was when he saw him work out, the kid doesn't get an offer if the staff doesn't miss on Mitch McGary, Robert Upshaw, Amile Jefferson, Robert Carter, et al. It's really not a good start to have put together this recruiting class, with just one highly touted big man and no point guards (unless you think Allen is), given the team's needs and the six scholarships to play with.
Either way, it should be interesting in the coming months. Any underclassman on the roster with the exception of Padgett and Faust have to be considered as possibly not on the team for next season for whatever reasons. I still have plenty of faith that Turgeon is the guy, and I realize that I'm just being a whiny little bitch. Let's just hope that year 2 is better than this one.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What the Fuck Did I Just Watch?
How is any of this possible? How can we be 0-6 at Miami since they joined the ACC? They have NO fanbase and have made the tournament once in that time frame. They usually aren't even close. Then we come in here, and they're without their third leading scorer. But instead of winning, we go down by 16 late in the game. And then after a furious comeback, Miami loses their second and fourth leading scorers to fouls in the first overtime and end of the second half, respectively. But of course your Maryland Terrapins cannot capitalize.
I though for sure they were going to play the Benny Hill music at some point during this game because of how stupid everyone involved was. The refs were comical. A bad, questionable T early on against Miami. A double T against Turge after a terrible charge call against Faust. General mayhem all over the place. Reggie Johnson fouled out with a tech for grabbing Faust driving to the rim well after the whistle had blown for a foul out on the perimeter. Both teams played spectacularly dumb basketball. Miami looked like they had no clue how to play with a lead. They gave the Terps a chance to get back into the game by settling for running down the clock after breaking the press rather than attacking the basket, even when they were only up by three or five. The Terps just made mistake after mistake when given the chance to win. Stoglin's long jumper at the end of regulation - granted, a missed foul by the refs - was a terrible look, especially when he had a step to get closer to the rim and maybe draw more obvious contact.
Most of all, the point is that this isn't a moral victory. This team was playing a mediocre Miami team without some of its best players for some or all of the game, and couldn't even manage to take away a win. The team, frustratingly enough, is not getting better as the season goes on. To the contrary, the only notable wins came against Notre Dame and Colorado in the first month of the season. Pe'shon Howard has been generally uneven (to say the least) at the point guard position, and Alex Len has struggled big time since his hot start, although he did have a nice game tonight.
It's so damn frustrating. WE ARE MARYLAND! How can we not win just one damn time at Miami. They're never good. They're never particularly talented. They've never been well coached.
AND ANOTHER THING...
Do we ever just get fucking lucky? I mean, we played good defense on that one key possession and they inbound with four left on the shot clock. The idiot catches the ball and doesn't even realize that he has to shoot for about three seconds, then hits an absolute PRAYER he chucked up from thirty feet. And of course the refs conveniently miss a blatant goal tend on the first possession of the second OT which set the tone for how the game would end. That's pretty much automatic. If the ball is above or near the rim after a shot, and a guy taps it in, if it's not clear that it ISN'T a goaltend, you always see the refs call it. Just not here, and not now.
I though for sure they were going to play the Benny Hill music at some point during this game because of how stupid everyone involved was. The refs were comical. A bad, questionable T early on against Miami. A double T against Turge after a terrible charge call against Faust. General mayhem all over the place. Reggie Johnson fouled out with a tech for grabbing Faust driving to the rim well after the whistle had blown for a foul out on the perimeter. Both teams played spectacularly dumb basketball. Miami looked like they had no clue how to play with a lead. They gave the Terps a chance to get back into the game by settling for running down the clock after breaking the press rather than attacking the basket, even when they were only up by three or five. The Terps just made mistake after mistake when given the chance to win. Stoglin's long jumper at the end of regulation - granted, a missed foul by the refs - was a terrible look, especially when he had a step to get closer to the rim and maybe draw more obvious contact.
Most of all, the point is that this isn't a moral victory. This team was playing a mediocre Miami team without some of its best players for some or all of the game, and couldn't even manage to take away a win. The team, frustratingly enough, is not getting better as the season goes on. To the contrary, the only notable wins came against Notre Dame and Colorado in the first month of the season. Pe'shon Howard has been generally uneven (to say the least) at the point guard position, and Alex Len has struggled big time since his hot start, although he did have a nice game tonight.
It's so damn frustrating. WE ARE MARYLAND! How can we not win just one damn time at Miami. They're never good. They're never particularly talented. They've never been well coached.
AND ANOTHER THING...
Do we ever just get fucking lucky? I mean, we played good defense on that one key possession and they inbound with four left on the shot clock. The idiot catches the ball and doesn't even realize that he has to shoot for about three seconds, then hits an absolute PRAYER he chucked up from thirty feet. And of course the refs conveniently miss a blatant goal tend on the first possession of the second OT which set the tone for how the game would end. That's pretty much automatic. If the ball is above or near the rim after a shot, and a guy taps it in, if it's not clear that it ISN'T a goaltend, you always see the refs call it. Just not here, and not now.
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