Showing posts with label road to the NIT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road to the NIT. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Are the Doilies Even Coming in the Mail?
I'm seriously sitting here on Selection Sunday pondering the somewhat legitimate chance that we don't make the NIT field. As in, not even invited. As in "sorry, your team isn't good enough to make this tournament that fans use only to derisively taunt less fortunate opponents." What. The. Fuck.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Another NIT
I really hope that Gary Williams is planning his retirement.
Now longtime readers and friends of the blog will know that I've said things like that before. Most of them, however, have been in the heat of battle when I'm prone to hyperbole. Few things cause me to get madder than a bad Maryland loss (as if there is any other kind) so I'll often vent my frustrations to avoid a stroke. But this isn't the same. I'm not mad, nor was I mad after the UNC embarrassment. I'm indifferent. Considering that I've been a "watch every game" type of fan since I was about six, that's not good.
At this point it's tiresome to constantly hope that we don't get relegated to the NIT (this will be 4 times in 7 years, for those counting, with one of the other three seasons having us sweating until Selection Sunday). We can talk about the recruiting missteps, as there are and continue to be plenty, but even worse are the coaching gaffes and lack of player development from a coach that has been so good at those things in the past.
The amount of zone defense played tonight was outright laughable. Zone works well if you're Syracuse and drill it into your kids' heads from the time they step onto the campus. It works as a change of pace to confuse poorly coached teams. It works when you have key guys out of the game and need to work around matchup problems. Here's when it doesn't work. It doesn't work when you play 90% man-to-man defense ordinarily and then decide to throw a zone at a team that both makes and shoots a large, large number of three point shots. It's beyond baffling that this simple fact wasn't figured out by our HOF coach until Miami had rained in a dozen threes on just over 20 attempts. That certainly wasn't our only reason for losing (Stoglin had even less help than usual on offfense tonight), but it's frustrating when the coach can't see what the fans at home can see.
As for player development, the upperclassmen in the backcourt have all regressed. Sean Mosley was a much, much better player (a very good starter) at the end of his freshman year and into his sophomore year. Now he's a poor decision maker who rarely seems to score outside of five feet. Cliff Tucker was once an enigmatic scorer who could do a lot of different things off the bench. After a great start to his senior season, he seems completely disinterested and unable to do much of anything besides make mistakes. Even Adrian Bowie who started for most of the season two years ago, is at best inconsistent and certainly no better than he was during the past two years. Sure, Dino Gregory has developed, and Jordan Williams has been fantastic in his two years here, but the success ratio is well down from what Gary did with Juan Dixon or even Obinna Ekezie.
So now Maryland is 7-8 in a weak ACC, despite having a sophomore averaging 17 and 12 and a freshman who will have a legitimate shot to break the school's all-time scoring record. Perhaps the most frustrating part in re: recruiting is that we HAVE recruited some high level players over the past half dozens season (Vasquez, Stoglin, Williams), but simply haven't been able to put together any kind of a solid supporting cast. That should be the easy part, but when the head coach puts so little effort into recruiting and doesn't regularly go to scout players during the season, it's hard to put together a strong roster.
It's depressing to think that less than ten years after scoring a national title, back-to-back final fours, and building a beautiful new arena, we're going to be relegated to a postseason that will start with a showdown against Drexel before 4,000 fans at the Comcast Center.
I can only hope that Gary will begin to reevaluate his future in coaching. I would never, ever seriously want him to be fired. He means far too much not only to the basketball program but to the school at home to be treated with anything other than respect. Be that as it may, the basketball program is not reaching its full potential, and loyalty to the university eventually trumps loyalty to the coach. We are capable of much, much better, and I simply cannot imagine that Gary, who will turn 66 on Friday, is the man to provide it.
Now longtime readers and friends of the blog will know that I've said things like that before. Most of them, however, have been in the heat of battle when I'm prone to hyperbole. Few things cause me to get madder than a bad Maryland loss (as if there is any other kind) so I'll often vent my frustrations to avoid a stroke. But this isn't the same. I'm not mad, nor was I mad after the UNC embarrassment. I'm indifferent. Considering that I've been a "watch every game" type of fan since I was about six, that's not good.
At this point it's tiresome to constantly hope that we don't get relegated to the NIT (this will be 4 times in 7 years, for those counting, with one of the other three seasons having us sweating until Selection Sunday). We can talk about the recruiting missteps, as there are and continue to be plenty, but even worse are the coaching gaffes and lack of player development from a coach that has been so good at those things in the past.
The amount of zone defense played tonight was outright laughable. Zone works well if you're Syracuse and drill it into your kids' heads from the time they step onto the campus. It works as a change of pace to confuse poorly coached teams. It works when you have key guys out of the game and need to work around matchup problems. Here's when it doesn't work. It doesn't work when you play 90% man-to-man defense ordinarily and then decide to throw a zone at a team that both makes and shoots a large, large number of three point shots. It's beyond baffling that this simple fact wasn't figured out by our HOF coach until Miami had rained in a dozen threes on just over 20 attempts. That certainly wasn't our only reason for losing (Stoglin had even less help than usual on offfense tonight), but it's frustrating when the coach can't see what the fans at home can see.
As for player development, the upperclassmen in the backcourt have all regressed. Sean Mosley was a much, much better player (a very good starter) at the end of his freshman year and into his sophomore year. Now he's a poor decision maker who rarely seems to score outside of five feet. Cliff Tucker was once an enigmatic scorer who could do a lot of different things off the bench. After a great start to his senior season, he seems completely disinterested and unable to do much of anything besides make mistakes. Even Adrian Bowie who started for most of the season two years ago, is at best inconsistent and certainly no better than he was during the past two years. Sure, Dino Gregory has developed, and Jordan Williams has been fantastic in his two years here, but the success ratio is well down from what Gary did with Juan Dixon or even Obinna Ekezie.
So now Maryland is 7-8 in a weak ACC, despite having a sophomore averaging 17 and 12 and a freshman who will have a legitimate shot to break the school's all-time scoring record. Perhaps the most frustrating part in re: recruiting is that we HAVE recruited some high level players over the past half dozens season (Vasquez, Stoglin, Williams), but simply haven't been able to put together any kind of a solid supporting cast. That should be the easy part, but when the head coach puts so little effort into recruiting and doesn't regularly go to scout players during the season, it's hard to put together a strong roster.
It's depressing to think that less than ten years after scoring a national title, back-to-back final fours, and building a beautiful new arena, we're going to be relegated to a postseason that will start with a showdown against Drexel before 4,000 fans at the Comcast Center.
I can only hope that Gary will begin to reevaluate his future in coaching. I would never, ever seriously want him to be fired. He means far too much not only to the basketball program but to the school at home to be treated with anything other than respect. Be that as it may, the basketball program is not reaching its full potential, and loyalty to the university eventually trumps loyalty to the coach. We are capable of much, much better, and I simply cannot imagine that Gary, who will turn 66 on Friday, is the man to provide it.
Friday, February 18, 2011
A List
Kevin Durant, Josh Selby, Thomas Robinson, Michael Beasley, Wally Judge, Rodney McGruder, Naji Hibbert, Uche Echefu, Jason Clark, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, Henry Sims, Tyler Thornton, Quin Cook, Nolan Smith, Tywon Lawson, Marcus Ginyard, Isiah Armwood, Tristan Spurlock, Terrell Vinson, Josh Hariston, Rudy Gay, Josh Boone, Carmelo Anthony, Kris Joseph, CJ Fair, Mike Sweetney, Melvin Scott, Marshall Strickland, Linas Kleiza, Gerald Brown, Dante Taylor, Patrick Ewing, Dajuan Summers, Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen, Scottie Reynolds, Eric Atkins, Roscoe Smith, Chris Braswell, Roy Hibbert, Eddie Basden, Anthony McClain, Markel Starks, Jarrett Jack, Nigel Munson
How does the old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me times two through fifth shame on me? Indeed.
How does the old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me times two through fifth shame on me? Indeed.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Black Greivis!
Pe'Shon Howard lived up to his appointed nickname by hitting the second game winner on the Terps' last possession in as many years at Comcast (see Tucker, Cliff vs GT). I'm not forgetting GV's epic shot over Scheyer-face, which was basically a game-winner, but it wasn't on the Terp's last possession...
The game was entirely too close for comfort, with the Terps trailing almost the entire game thanks to pre-season Southern Conference POY Andrew Goudeluck who dropped 27 on MD, seeming to hit almost everything he threw up there. It didn't help that the Terps missed 13 of 18 FT, but WACJFW added 26 and 15 boards (season averages: 21.5 ppg 15 rpg) and was the only offense the Terps seemed to have at times. It looked bleak for the good guys...
"But that was before Pe'Shon Howard struck." Very reminiscent of the title of this blog, no? Pandemonium in the stands! There may or may not have been some awkward jumping up and down while embracing between good friends and loyal Terp fans in Sec114 row 5... wait what? Hell yeah! GO TERPS!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Road to the NIT
Hey friends. Long time no see. Welcome back to our blog, now subtitled "The Road to the NIT" to chronicle the 2009-2009 Maryland Terps' oddessy that will end with the team going for its fourth NIT appearance in five seasons.
You remember that Gus Gilchrist fella that transferred from Maryland earlier this month? As it turns out, he'll be going to the University of South Florida.
The decision to end up at South Florida over Kentucky and West Virginia, as well as previous destinations Maryland and Virginia Tech, plus Georgetown, which had heavily recruited him last fall, is mind boggling. South Florida has failed to make the post season 4 out of the past 5 years. And we're not talking about the NCAA or even the NIT. The Bulls haven't even made their Conference Tournament in those four seasons.
The ostensible reason for the change of heart was for Gus to go somewhere where he'll have four years of eligibility. As you'll certainly remember, the ACC screwed Maryland ove- er, decided to enforce a rule which essentially stripped Gilchrist of 3 semesters of eligibility as a penalty for reneging on his Letter of Intent to Virginia Tech only to later sign with another conference affiliate.
Of course, Gilchrist was a member of the Terps' team last season, meaning that his eligibility clock is ticking. He will now have sit out next season as a transfer before having three years of eligibility left starting with the 2009-2010 season. That's only about 10 games more than he'd play here at Maryland, not to mention that he has to go another season without playing.
He will seek a waiver that allows him to play next season without the standard year on the bench, but that will be a long shot. There might be a very, very slim chance of Gilchrist coming back if he doesn't get that waiver, but don't be on it.
In the end, it works out worse for both parties. Maryland's frontcourt is decimated with the loss of its best post player while Gilchrist will have gone about 30 months between competitive games when he debuts with South Florida in November 2009. Not a wise choice for Gilchrist unless he get his waiver.
---
Sean Mosley still has not qualified academically next season. Or perhaps he has, and we haven't heard anything about it. This is a very important recruit, in case anyone didn't know, and losing him would be just another epic dagger - an excalibur sword, as if Gilchrist transferring wasn't enough. If he does qualify, he should be good enough to step right in and split time at the shooting guard spot with Adrian Bowie. That's my plan at least. Coach Williams' plan may be for Eric Hayes to start at the 2 again which would be an interesting tactic by the future Hall of Fame coach.
--
James Gist got drafted! Finally, some good news. It looked shaky for awhile before the Spurs took him with the 58th overall pick.
Gist is undersized for an NBA Power Forward, and he doesn't yet possess the skills to play the Small Forward in the NBA, either. He is a good (not great) shooter for his size with tremendous athleticism. He will be able to run the floor and throw down some dunks in transition at the pro level. He can play facing the basket to an extent which will help him compensate for his lack of size. He is also an excellent shot blocker and rebounded well on the defensive end last season.
There is little doubt that the Spurs put as much or more emphasis on defense as any team in the NBA, so if Gist wants to stick with San Antonio, he'll have to be a solid defender. Gist is a great leaper and shot blocker, but his position defense has not been especially noteworthy at the collegiate level due in part to his lack of upper body strength. In addition, Gist will likely be called on to guard players on the perimeter more frequently which will test his lateral quickness.
Gist will need to improve to stick in the NBA, but he has improved substantially throughout his Maryland career. He should continue to do so enough to carve out at least a respectable career coming off the bench in the NBA.
--
And now back to your regularly scheduled bad news. Greivis Vasquez had ankle surgery and will not be able to play until the fall. At this point, he's expected to be back well advance of the
start of practice which qualifies as good news in Maryland Basketball these days. Hopefully there will be no lasting effects that cause the General to start a step slow next season.
--
And in another piece of good news, football season is only two months away. Any Terps' football fan should check out Terrapins Rising on CSN (Mon, 9 PM) to get a look at what the team went through during spring practice. James Franklin (Terps' new Offensive Coordinator) is a baller.
You remember that Gus Gilchrist fella that transferred from Maryland earlier this month? As it turns out, he'll be going to the University of South Florida.
The decision to end up at South Florida over Kentucky and West Virginia, as well as previous destinations Maryland and Virginia Tech, plus Georgetown, which had heavily recruited him last fall, is mind boggling. South Florida has failed to make the post season 4 out of the past 5 years. And we're not talking about the NCAA or even the NIT. The Bulls haven't even made their Conference Tournament in those four seasons.
The ostensible reason for the change of heart was for Gus to go somewhere where he'll have four years of eligibility. As you'll certainly remember, the ACC screwed Maryland ove- er, decided to enforce a rule which essentially stripped Gilchrist of 3 semesters of eligibility as a penalty for reneging on his Letter of Intent to Virginia Tech only to later sign with another conference affiliate.
Of course, Gilchrist was a member of the Terps' team last season, meaning that his eligibility clock is ticking. He will now have sit out next season as a transfer before having three years of eligibility left starting with the 2009-2010 season. That's only about 10 games more than he'd play here at Maryland, not to mention that he has to go another season without playing.
He will seek a waiver that allows him to play next season without the standard year on the bench, but that will be a long shot. There might be a very, very slim chance of Gilchrist coming back if he doesn't get that waiver, but don't be on it.
In the end, it works out worse for both parties. Maryland's frontcourt is decimated with the loss of its best post player while Gilchrist will have gone about 30 months between competitive games when he debuts with South Florida in November 2009. Not a wise choice for Gilchrist unless he get his waiver.
---
Sean Mosley still has not qualified academically next season. Or perhaps he has, and we haven't heard anything about it. This is a very important recruit, in case anyone didn't know, and losing him would be just another epic dagger - an excalibur sword, as if Gilchrist transferring wasn't enough. If he does qualify, he should be good enough to step right in and split time at the shooting guard spot with Adrian Bowie. That's my plan at least. Coach Williams' plan may be for Eric Hayes to start at the 2 again which would be an interesting tactic by the future Hall of Fame coach.
--
James Gist got drafted! Finally, some good news. It looked shaky for awhile before the Spurs took him with the 58th overall pick.
Gist is undersized for an NBA Power Forward, and he doesn't yet possess the skills to play the Small Forward in the NBA, either. He is a good (not great) shooter for his size with tremendous athleticism. He will be able to run the floor and throw down some dunks in transition at the pro level. He can play facing the basket to an extent which will help him compensate for his lack of size. He is also an excellent shot blocker and rebounded well on the defensive end last season.
There is little doubt that the Spurs put as much or more emphasis on defense as any team in the NBA, so if Gist wants to stick with San Antonio, he'll have to be a solid defender. Gist is a great leaper and shot blocker, but his position defense has not been especially noteworthy at the collegiate level due in part to his lack of upper body strength. In addition, Gist will likely be called on to guard players on the perimeter more frequently which will test his lateral quickness.
Gist will need to improve to stick in the NBA, but he has improved substantially throughout his Maryland career. He should continue to do so enough to carve out at least a respectable career coming off the bench in the NBA.
--
And now back to your regularly scheduled bad news. Greivis Vasquez had ankle surgery and will not be able to play until the fall. At this point, he's expected to be back well advance of the
start of practice which qualifies as good news in Maryland Basketball these days. Hopefully there will be no lasting effects that cause the General to start a step slow next season.
--
And in another piece of good news, football season is only two months away. Any Terps' football fan should check out Terrapins Rising on CSN (Mon, 9 PM) to get a look at what the team went through during spring practice. James Franklin (Terps' new Offensive Coordinator) is a baller.
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