Actually, let’s start with Greivis. After the way this team gelled to finish the 2008-2009 season, everyone is expecting a strong year from the Terrapin Basketball Team, and especially Greivis. I’m going to throw out that I think this team should be a Sweet 16 Team, anything less than that will be a disappointment and anything beyond that will be a great success. But for Greivis this year has a chance to be extra special. On our home site we are tracking where Vasquez ranks among all time Maryland scorers. As of now he is sitting in 16th place with 1,524 points. That is enough to put him on Greg Manning’s heels who holds 15th place with 1,561 points. But where can we realistically look for Vasquez to finish?
The current leader for Maryland is Juan Dixon. Dixon threw down 2,269 points in his four “Juanderful” years in College Park. For Greivis to pass that he would need 745 points this year. Now that seems like a ton, but let’s break out the calculator and see how realistic it actually is. Unless I’m reading the schedule wrong, it appears the Terps will play 30 regular season games. There will also be an ACC Tournament Game, as well as we will say 1 NCAA Game. That is a little conservative, but lets see what that does. With 32 games Greivis would need to average 23 points a game.
Say we win our first round of the ACC Tournament, plus another NCAA Game and that comes out to 22 points a game. That doesn’t seem like much, but it could be the difference between finishing up #1 or #2. So far Vasquez has averaged 508 points a season, which using 34 games a year comes out to a 15 points per game average. Now the Freshman Vasquez isn’t exactly the Junior Vasquez so you’ll have to take those figures with a grain of salt, but as it looks now, Juan Dixon should be somewhat concerned, but not pacing the halls just yet.
If we split the difference between the 15 points per game he’s been averaging and the needed 22 points per game he has yet to accomplish, we get roughly 19 points per game. A great year no question about it, but where would that put him in the all time list? We’ll 19 x 34 would give him (646 + 1,524) 2,170. Not good enough for the all time leader, but enough to edge out Len Bias and his 2,149. Anytime you pass a Legend like Bias, you know you’ve left your mark on the program.
It’s fun to speculate on these types of things before the season starts, but once we start playing for real who really knows what will happen. For those who are interested check our site often as we chronicle Greivis Vasquez’s climb up the career scoring list.
Now on to a few other items I wanted to write about. Because each within themselves isn’t enough for a full post, I’m just going to touch on them quickly. Some are good, and some are bad and I don’t think I need to spell out which is which.
-Maryland is currently ranked 103 in USA Today’s Sagarin Rankings (Elon is 105 if you need some perspective!)
-Vernon Davis leads the NFL with 7 TD receptions
-Maryland is a 7.5 underdog going in to play a team that is winless in the ACC this year
-The Ravens are 4-0 when Jared Gaither takes the field
-The Terps and Wolfpack are a combined 1-7 in conference play
-D’Qwell Jackson is 7th in the NFL in tackles
So there you have it. Just like our interest in Maryland sports this year. A whole lot of basketball information, with just a sprinkling of Football. (Sigh) I miss 2002 and the “Pick Your Poison” days.
Tags: D'Qwell Jackson, Greg Manning, Greivis Vasquez, Juan Dixon, Len Bias, Vernon Davis
Good for VD. He has checked his attitude and started to play like we all knew he could. I feel bad for Hill however. Lets hope he gets another shot to start.
I think Vasquez will come up short of the record for scoring and if he averages over 23 points a game I think the Terps are in trouble. They need him to do what he does best and that is be a leader and from game to game do what it takes for the Terps to win whether it be drop in 35 points or do the dirty work and grab 10 boards. One thing he must continue to do is to keep everyone else involved.