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Early, Early Picks for ACC Basketball–2010-11

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Here’s a simulcast with my daily ACC blog at On The B. Rink…

Last couple weeks, we looked at the early entrants and the grads–but how about the ACC players coming back and how the ACC dominoes fall next season?

The News & Observer puts together an early projected starting lineup yearly with early entrants/graduation/new recruits factored in and here’s my early picks based off how the ACC is looking at this point.

1. Duke Blue Devils

2009-10: 13-3, first
G Kyrie Irving, fr.
G Seth Curry, soph. (20.2 ppg @ Liberty)
G Nolan Smith, sr. (17.4 ppg)
F Kyle Singler, sr. (17.7 ppg)
F Mason Plumlee, soph. (3.7 ppg)
Bench: G Andre Dawkins, F Miles Plumlee, F Ryan Kelly, F Josh Hairston

Outlook: Loooooooooooooooaded. They will be a unanimous choice for the ACC and one of the top teams in the country.

2. Florida State Seminoles

2009-10: 10-6, third
G Derwin Kitchen, sr. (8.1 ppg)
G Deividas Dulkys, jr. (8.7 ppg)
G Michael Snaer, soph. (8.8 ppg)
F Chris Singleton, jr. (10.2 ppg)
F Xavier Gibson, jr. (5.5 ppg)
Bench: G Luke Loucks, F Terrance Shannon, PG Ian Miller, F Okaro White, F Jon Kreft

Outlook: No Alabi, no problem? That’s what I’m saying–the cupboard isn’t bare at FSU and if there’s a year that Hamilton’s Noles make a run–it has to be this season.

3. Virginia Tech Hokies

2009-10: 10-6, fourth
G Malcolm Delaney, sr. (20.2 ppg)
G Dorenzo Hudson, sr. (12.0 ppg)
F Terrell Bell, sr. (6.1 ppg)
F Victor Davila, jr. (5.3 ppg)
F Jeff Allen, sr. (15.2 ppg)
Bench: F J.T. Thompson, G Erick Green, F Jarell Eddie, F Allan Chaney, F Cadarian Raines, F Manny Atkins, G Ben Boggs

Outlook: The time is now in Blacksburg as they return everybody. Greenberg needs to advance past simply making the ever-elusive NCAA Tourney, but win some games in said tourney.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

2009-10: 5-11, 10th
G Larry Drew II, jr. (8.5 ppg)
G Reggie Bullock, fr.
F Harrison Barnes, fr.
F John Henson, soph. (5.7 ppg)
F Tyler Zeller, jr. (9.3 ppg)
Bench: F Will Graves, G Dexter Strickland, PG Kendall Marshall, G Leslie McDonald

Outlook: The Tar Heels are an interesting squad to watch this season because they had such a fall from grace last season. Heels are still young and Williams will have quite a coaching job to do to get UNC back to the top.

5. Maryland Terrapins

2009-10: 13-3, second
G Adrian Bowie, sr. (4.8 ppg)
G Sean Mosley, jr. (10.1 ppg)
G Cliff Tucker, sr. (5.7 ppg)
F Dino Gregory, sr. (4.2 ppg)
F Jordan Williams, soph. (9.6 ppg)
Bench: F James Padgett, G Terrell Stoglin, F Mychal Parker, PG Pe’Shon Howard

Outlook: Terps lose three of their biggest starters from last season with Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne, but they have a talented group coming back. Sean Mosley has to step into the go-to-guy role and Jordan Williams has to expand his role in the paint for the Terps to stay here.

6. Clemson Tigers

2009-10: 9-7, sixth
G Demontez Stitt, sr. (11.4 ppg)
G Tanner Smith, jr. (8.7 ppg)
F Milton Jennings, soph. (3.2 ppg)
F Devin Booker, soph. (4.5 ppg)
F Jerai Grant, sr. (7.2 ppg)
Bench: G Noel Johnson, G Andre Young, G Donte Hill, F Bryan Narcisse

Outlook: The Tigers are in transition between philosophies with a new coach in Brownell and lose star forward Trevor Booker, but this team still has the guns to compete in a wide-open(past Duke) ACC.

7. N.C. State Wolfpack

2009-10: 5-11, 11th
G Javier Gonzalez, sr. (9.5 ppg)
G Lorenzo Brown, fr.
F C.J. Leslie, fr.
F Richard Howell, soph. (4.9 ppg)
F Tracy Smith, sr. (16.5 ppg)
Bench: PG Ryan Harrow, G Scott Wood, G C.J. Williams, F DeShawn Painter, F Jordan Vandenberg

Outlook: Expectations should be high in Raleigh with a talented crew coming in and back. If Lowe can capture the magic of the ACC Tourney run to the semis, the Pack can go far, but I’m staying a bit skeptical on them.

8. Miami Hurricanes

2009-10: 4-12, 12th
G Durand Scott, soph. (10.3 ppg)
G Malcolm Grant, jr. (9.6 ppg)
G DeQuan Jones, jr. (5.7 ppg)
F Julian Gamble, jr. (3.5 ppg)
F Reggie Johnson, soph. (6.4 ppg)
Bench: G Rion Brown, G Garrius Adams, G Antoine Allen, F Donnavan Kirk

Outlook: Miami will be a trendy pick this season, but I’m on the fence with them. I  like Scott and Johnson, but Miami has a lot to prove right now.

9. Virginia Cavaliers

2009-10: 5-11, ninth
G Jontel Evans, soph. (2.4 ppg)
G Sammy Zeglinski, jr. (8.9 ppg)
G K.T. Harrell, fr.
F Mike Scott, sr. (12.0 ppg)
F James Johnson, fr.
Bench: PG Billy Baron, F Will Regan, F Assane Sene, G Joe Harris, G Mustapha Farrakhan, F Will Sherrill

Outlook: I had the ‘Hoos at ninth in my early, early picks last season and that’s where they finished–completely new team coming to play next season with Bennett cleaning house, but they have some talent.

10. Boston College Eagles

2009-10: 6-10, eighth
G Reggie Jackson, jr. (12.9 ppg)
G Dallas Elmore, jr. (3.9 ppg)
F Corey Raji, sr. (11.4 ppg)
F Joe Trapani, sr. (14.1 ppg)
F Josh Southern, sr. (4.4 ppg)
Bench: PG Biko Paris, F Courtney Dunn

Outlook: New system, several transfers, and a squad of mostly unproven, consistently, players at this level–hard to get behind the Eagles at this point.

11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

2009-10: 7-9, seventh
G Moe Miller, sr. (3.9 ppg)
G Iman Shumpert, jr. (10.0 ppg)
G Glen Rice Jr., soph. (5.4 ppg)
F Kammeon Holsey, r-fr.
F Brad Sheehan, sr. (1.2 ppg)
Bench: G Brian Oliver, PG Mfon Udofia, F Daniel Miller

Outlook: The Jackets return all of their primary guards, but the problem falls with losing the three best players off last year’s team with Favors, Lawal, and Peacock in the paint. I will stay cautious on Georgia Tech because I’m not sure the Jackets’ guards can carry them.

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2009-10: 9-7, fifth
G Tony Chennault, fr.
G C.J. Harris, soph. (9.9 ppg)
F Ari Stewart, soph. (7.3 ppg)
F Tony Woods, jr. (4.6 ppg)
F Carson Derosiers, fr.
Bench: F Travis McKie, F Melvin Tabb, G J.T. Terrell, F Ty Walker, G Gary Clark

Outlook: New coach Jeff Bzdelik has a project on his hands, but the cupboard isn’t totally bare. If he can get the Deacs back to the NCAA Tourney, Bzdelik did a great coaching job.

Who’s too high? Who’s underrated? Can anyone knock off Duke? Early NCAA Tourney bid predictions?

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Terps Enter Post Season and What Ride It Has Been So Far

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

It is hard to believe the regular season has come and gone already, but we are sitting here preparing for the ACC Tournament.  For the Terps, there will not be any anxious moments on Selection Sunday unlike seasons of recent past.  Instead Maryland is entering the ACC Tournament on a roll leaving a wake of memorable games behind.  There hasn’t been a season that has been so entertaining to watch in years for us Terps fans.

The run really starts with Cliff Tucker’s buzzer beater against Georgia Tech.  That is one of those games that I will remember forever.  I don’t think I am kidding when I say I have seen that shot fall over 100 times.  From that moment on, it seems as though Maryland is having one of those years where the things that happen just leave you shaking your head.

I don’t think any of us will forget Greivis Vasquez’s 41 points in the double overtime thriller at Virginia Tech.  I know a lot of fans from other teams can’t stand watching him, and at times I can’t say I blame them, but flat out this guy wants to win.  I don’t think anyone will argue that the Terps are not sitting atop the ACC without him this year.

Follow that up with the win on Senior Night against Duke, and I don’t think you could have scripted it any better for the last home game of Vasquez, Eric Hayes, and Landon Milbourne.  Even though I was watching the game up here in Boston, you couldn’t help but feel the emotion in the Comcast Center that night.  It was a great scene watching the players celebrate the big win with the students on the floor.  Now if we could just control what happens on Route 1 after those wins, and we might be on to something.

Looking ahead the Terps enter the ACC tournament as the number two seed and will face the winner of Thursday nights game between Georgia Tech and UNC.   I for one can not wait for the tournament to start.  The way this season has played out so far, it might be one of those special seasons.  I don’t know how deep into March this season will last, but I know I am going to sit back and enjoy every moment of that.  We are lucky to have a player like Greivis Vasquez leading the Terps going into the post season.  He has been one of those rare players to come through College Park, and I am going to cherish every second he is on the court.  GO TERPS!

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The Hokie Hurdle

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Remember back to when you were a kid.  You would be sitting there with a lump of spinach on your plate and a big ole chocolate cake sitting on the counter.   But before you could get any of the cake you had to finish your spinach.  It was a terrible predicament, yet sitting here on Saturday morning typing away we are looking at the sports equivalent of it.  Today is a big day for the Terps.  Not so much for what would happen today, but for what it will set up next week.  A win today sets up the most anticipated home basketball game since perhaps the 2002 season.

Every year we get Duke at home, it’s pretty much guaranteed by the schedule, but what the schedule can’t guarantee is how important the game will be at that time.  Well imagine we are playing Duke for a share of the top spot in the ACC, imagine it’s Senior night for one of the most accomplished players in Maryland history (Congratulations to Greivis on climbing to #4 on the All-Time scoring list at Maryland).  Imagine that it’s to avenge a game earlier in the year where the Terps were completely dominated.  Put all those ingredients together and you have every Maryland fan’s chocolate cake.

But as mom and dad point out “Ain’t nobody getting any chocolate cake until their spinach is gone”.  Now no offense to Virginia Tech, but even all these years later, I still don’t feel as though they are truly an ACC school (though I’m starting to get there).  This is a game no one gets excited for, unless you perhaps have family ties.  If I could rank the games I’d like to see in person each year they don’t crack the top 5 (Top 5 would be Duke, UNC, Wake, Clemson, and NC State).  Yet I do not expect this to be a walk over, quite the contrary, I think this is going to be a hard fought battle that goes down to the bitter end, and just like the plate of spinach, the Hokies could end up on top at the end of the day.

And this is where I’m glad I’m not Gary Williams, if I were I’d already be thinking about the cake, I’d have no desire to scarf down the spinach, but unlike me, the Terps have to take it one game at a time.  If we can’t beat Virginia Tech, we will still play Duke next week, but it certainly won’t mean as much.  So here’s to hoping the Terps can get the job done today in Blacksburg, because if they do, we have a pretty awesome dessert on tap, and I know a lot of Terps fans that are craving chocolate.

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Cliff Tucker Creates a Memory That Last a Lifetime

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Obviously, sports are not everything in life.  Wait a minute, I am talking to a bunch of people who write about their favorite teams, FOR FREE.  Of course spots are pretty important to people like us.  So, if you are only a mild sports fan, don’t take this the wrong way, but certain moments in sports stick in your mind much like more important events in our lives.  I remember sitting in Elementary School watching the Space Shuttle Explode.  I remember watching the OJ chase with a friend in my parents basement.  I also remember sitting in Denton Hall at Maryland listening to the Verdict.   I remember my boss calling me down to the security office at Camden Yards to watch the 9/11 events unfold.  Those are all pretty big moments that have happened in my life time.  Some far more important than others.

Now, on to the sports side, and more importantly trying to figure out where this Cliff Tucker Dagger fits into some of My Maryland Moments.  Joe Smith’s tip in for 40 points and the win at the buzzer in Duke.  Denton Hall, listening on the radio!  Can you imagine that, no cable in the dorms, and as a freshman sans ID, there was no chance I was getting into one of College Parks fine establishments that night.  As we listened to the call we went nuts jumping up and down.

You can add Steve Blake’s three pointer against UConn that sealed the deal for a return trip to the Final Four to the list.  I was actually sitting by myself watching that in my Girlfriends apartment while she was in Medical School in Hershey, PA.  When he hit that shot, I let myself  believe that was a done deal. Blake will actually get two moments.  The famous “Oh he steal” play at the end of the half as Blake stripped Jason Williams of Duke right before the half.  Is there really a better play than that?  I would have killed to have been in Cole for that one.  Instead, a living room in Annapolis with a bunch of friends will have to do.

Juan Dixon gets a nod for his scoring after Indiana had taken the lead in the Championship game.  His three pointer, and baseline fade away will forever stick in my mind as I sat what seemed to be about 500 feet above him in the Georgia Dome.

You can even throw Duane Simpkins layup against Georgetown in the mix.  That game was actually the night before my college visit with my parents to College Park.  The next day the campus just seemed to have some extra life to me.  Of course what did I know, that was only the second time I was ever on campus, but it seemed like there was excitement.  Walking through Stamp Student Union you could overhear people talking about it and it was covered quite extensively in the Diamondback.

Drew Nicholas, how could we forget about him?  All he did was bail the defending national champions out of a sure first round defeat against UNC-Wilmington with his length of the floor dribble and falling away three pointer at the buzzer.  I was at my parents with a group of former college roommates watching that one on about three tv’s.  We erupted, I think it nearly brought my mother to tears watching us get so excited.  I do have one problem with that shot though, at it is with CBS.  When they show great tournament moments, that is often left off the list.  Of course if the rolls where reversed and it was UNC-W hitting that shot, it would be jammed down our throats year after year.  Thank you Drew!

There are plenty more moments that stand out, but those are individual shots, most of them buzzer beaters that are just permanently ingrained in my mind.  Now thanks to Cliff Tucker, I have yet another one.  Seriously, how many of you thought there was any chance they were going to win that game after Favors put back?  Ok, now that Greivis hit the half court shot, AFTER the time out call, how many of you thought they were going to win?  Yeah, me either.  Cliff Tucker stuck it to the hearts of Georgia Tech that Saturday afternoon.  I think I have seen those two shots 50 times by now.  The shot being incredible and all, I think I enjoyed the celebration more.  Seeing Tucker take off, and the entire team trying to mob him is great.  There is nothing cooler than seeing that pure joy and excitement after things looked so dire.  The fans were just going bonkers jumping up and down.  It was just one of those cool sports moments, and for once, it was My Terps, that got all the press for the right reason all weekend long!

I am not going to go through the list of heart breaks we Terp fans have felt.  Back in 1996 we lost two games at the buzzer in Cole to Carolina and Duke.  Ugh.  There are plenty more, and we need not list them all out here.  This post was to thank the likes of Steve Blake, Juan Dixon, Joe Smith, Duane Simpkins, Drew Nicholas.  Cliff Tucker you have now joined the elite company of athletes, and single moments, I will cherish until I die!  Here’s to hoping this season has some more,  Go Terps!

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ACC Basketball Power Poll – Week 14 (Feb 15th)

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Who is the class of the ACC this year? Well, it appears Duke is starting to take hold of that position, but after Duke, who are the next three-best teams in the conference? Is it Maryland? Or Virginia Tech? Or Wake?
Despite their loss to Duke last Saturday, Maryland continues to hold down the #2 spot, although they slipped a little from the previous poll. Wake is getting more love, and even received 1 first place vote this week and they come in at #3 in this week’s poll. Virginia Tech, at #4, is getting more love, but some still think their weak strength of schedule prevents the Hokies from being worthy of being in the top of the conference. Just a few points separated Clemson (#5), Georgia Tech (#6), and Florida State (#7) in this week’s poll. Virginia (#8) is starting to slip back towards the bottom portion of the conference after climbing out of the basement earlier this season. North Carolina, once of #1 status, has fallen all the way down to #9. Miami finishes at #10 and NC State and Boston College are tied for #11, as our pollsters couldn’t seem to decide which team was worse than the other.

Here is where our Raycom bloggers think each team ranks, as of Monday, February 15th:
1. Duke – 1.11
2. Maryland – 2.77
3. Wake – 3.00
4. Virginia Tech – 4.00
5. Clemson – 5.66
6. Georgia Tech – 5.77
7. Florida State – 6.00
8. Virginia – 7.88
9. North Carolina – 9.33
10. Miami – 10.44
11. North Carolina State & Boston College (tie) – 11

What do you think? Is Virginia Tech ranked too low? Is North Carolina still ranked too high? We welcome your comments and feed back! Enjoy the games this week!

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A Best Selling Finish?

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

I’ve never written a mystery novel, and I’m pretty sure at this stage of my life, I never will.  I don’t have those street smarts that every main character on every crime show displays (speaking of which, about 10 years ago I predicted that TV would consist entirely of Crime and Reality TV Shows, do I get to put that prediction in my win column yet?).  And I don’t have that patience to develop a story and see it through to the end.  This blog is about all I can handle.  However, if I were to write a mystery novel, I’m told the easiest way to do it, is start with the ending and work backwards.  That’s what I want to do with the Terps today.

I have to admit, when I look at our remaining schedule I do that little  move where I push myself up using the arms of my chair and reposition my butt.  I don’t know what that move is called, but if you were a body language expert, you could probably conclude that I was under anxiety or stress.  Maybe I’ll dub it the reverse Greivis Shimmy since my mood seems to be at the opposite end of the emotions scale as compared to when he has just drained a 3 and looking to have a little fun.  Today we have Georgia Tech in Comcast, I’m not going to say this is a must win because I think the bar has been set at an ACC Championship and when it’s that high, there isn’t much room for error.  But of the games we have left, if you play the game “You have to bet your life on one of these remaining match up’s” I think I would seriously consider today’s.  Luckily for me that game is hypothetical.  If some of Greivis’s shot selections and errant passes drive you mad now, imagine what it must be like to watch him with your life hanging in the balance!

After today though, things get tough.  Clemson will be coming to town, and I don’t need to remind anyone of what happened the last time we met.  Then we hit the road against a surprising Virginia Tech squad, but as Raycom Blogger Matt writes Here don’t believe the Hookie hype as they have benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the Conference (You know, back when there was only 9 of us in the ACC, we didn’t have this problem…just saying).  But still, they are 8-3 and we are playing them on the road.  After our trip to Blacksburg we face probably the biggest game of the year, against Duke.  I don’t think I need to elaborate on that one.  Then we close out the year at the John Paul Jones Arena against a who knows UVA squad.  I do have to give UVA credit, of all the states that make up the ACC, we were all Colonies that fought the British (except Florida), shouldn’t there be more arena’s named after US Patriots?  Then again, our greatest Revolutionary War Figure in Maryland was named General Smallwood, so maybe it’s better this way.

So reviewing those last 5 games, we have an unknown in Georgia Tech (unknown in that we have yet to face them), an unknown in VT (see GT parenthesis), two teams who beat us rather decisively (you can debate how decisive the Clemson win over us was, but to me it felt decisive), then UVA.  This is a scary stretch, but also an intriguing one.  If we want the Conference Crown we HAVE to beat Duke at home, there is no question about that, but with help we can lose perhaps 1 of these 5 (as long as it isn’t Duke).  That of course would assume someone else could knock off Duke once, maybe twice in that span.  So the more you think about it, the more likely it is that we’d be required to run the table.

But if we were able to run this mine field and make it out unscathed, what a story it would be.   We would avenge 2 of our 3 losses, we would have one of our biggest road wins of the year in Blacksburg, and a season ending victory on the home court of our natural rival (Tangier Island should be ours, give it back!!).  I don’t know how the season is going to end, and the picture I painted is possible, but more realistically a long shot.  But if it could happen could you imagine a better way for the Terps and the Seniors to wrap up the season?  I’m not a novelist, nor am I a literary critic, but if that story were to unfold, and be captured on pages, that would be one book I’d certainly buy.

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Time to Move On

Monday, February 15th, 2010

I get a little tired of how caught up we all get with beating Duke.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pointing fingers, because I myself at times can be as guilty as anyone else.  But we have to start treating Duke just like any other game.  I knew it was a bad sign when we were playing UNC and the fans started chanting “We want Duke”.  That in itself drives me nuts, but when you consider that we still had a huge game against UVA prior to playing Duke, it’s enough to make me yell at the TV.  Does the Duke game count more in the win column than a win over UVA?  Of course not.  Does it look better on our resume?  We’ll sure, but so does finishing in the top three in the ACC.  This is a year where we just have to handle our business and we’ll be fine come selection time, not a year where we need that one “Hey look what we were able to do one night when we finally got our @$#@ together!” win and hope that’s enough to get us in.  But I’m not here to dwell on over optimistic chants or what happened in Durham because truth be told, there is no time to dwell.  We need to move on or pack it up.

Now I don’t doubt that this team can do just that.  After all we have a lot of experience in some key positions and these guys should know how to shake off bad losses, but this week is going to go far in determining just how we are going to finish up in the ACC.  If you stretch the week back to Saturday, we have Duke, UVA, @ NC State, and then Georgia Tech.  That is a lot of games back to back.  To hit some sort of skid at this point would be disastrous because when you think about it, we are going to play 1/4 of the ACC schedule over this week.

As I mention the good news is that we have experience, and we also have the remaining two of those three at Comcast, with the one road game against a very pedestrian NC State team.  But starting tonight against UVA we are going to see how this team responds. They come out strong and play well, then all order is restored, and the Duke debacle becomes just another game (like the Clemson loss).  We will still have a shot at winning the Conference and with Duke having to travel through Comcast one more time, there is nothing to panic over.  But if we lose tonight against UVA then the Duke loss becomes a turning point.

Now the bad news is, I think both Clemson and Duke have shown how you go about beating Maryland.  You don’t slack off, you stay in their faces on defense and you force the turnovers.  I mean it wasn’t hard to see the similarities in the Clemson and Duke losses, so that is something we are going to have to address, but when we’ll have time to address it is beyond me.  The other bad news is that if the game in Durham did trigger a sort of shame spiral, well it couldn’t have come at a worse time.  Like I said above, we are playing a quarter of the season in this one week alone so getting into a funk now can quickly wash away whatever we have accomplished to this point.

Personally I think we bounce back and continue to make a run at the Conference Title.  After all, UVA is facing the same schedule we are, so it isn’t like they are going to be rested up while we play tired.  We also have the leadership in place to move on, and I’m sure Gary will have them ready as well, but what probably helps the most is that we are in Comcast tonight.  We need a rowdy crowd who cares as much about beating UVA as they do Duke.  And if we can play a solid game, then we will be fine and the team will have showed that they have a short memory, and having a short memory is always good when you play in the ACC, especially when you have 4 games in 8 days.

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What is Going on in the Mid-Atlantics

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

I have no idea what is going on with the weather down there in the D.C. area, but you are getting more snow than I am in Boston this year, and I am not complaining!  I do feel bad for people like my parents, but then I get pictures of my little cousins snow boarding in their back yard, and you know they are loving it. So I am not sure what group you are falling into, but there is no doubt I am happy you are getting it instead of me.

As fate would have it, the snow has impacted Maryland Basketball yet again.  Last week it was Maryland’s advantage.  Tomorrow’s game against UVA has been postponed until Monday, and that could very easily be better for the Hoos.  As a Terp fan, I like the idea of them playing while things are rolling along nicely, with the chance that they pack Comcast with students again, but what are you going to do?

So what does this do for the Terps?  For one the students now get their wish.  They get the Dukies.  I was a little miffed they seemed to forget they had a scheduled game with UVA when they started the “we want Duke” chant after taking UNC to the wood shed.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE nothing more than beating Duke, but there are more than two games on the schedule, and those games are as important as any game against Duke.  Anyway, back to the Terps, it gives them a little rest and some more time to get ready for Duke, but on the other end it shortens the time they have to get ready for UVA.  I guess the same could be said for UVA as they also play Saturday. Still, I like them to get back on the court while they are rolling.  Actually it now means they will have three games in 5 days as they follow up the UVA game with a game at NCST on Wednesday.  Not exactly ideal.

Halfway through the ACC season, I think we have to be pleased with what we have seen so far.  Of the two losses, one was played pretty well (OT loss to Wake), and the other not so much.  All that said, I can live with the one clunker at Clemson.  You have to be pleased with the effort, the ball movement,the shooting and the team defense.  Individually, the Greivis Vasquez we expected to see is here, and Jordan Williams is giving me some hope for the future.  I expected the rebounds for the most part.  His offense and defense has been a pleasant surprise.  It has been a while since the Terps have had a big man that can make the opponents bigs fight for position down low. The other thing I have been totally impressed with are his hands.   He catches entry passes to the post, he can catch on the break.  Speaking of the break, I love the way he runs the floor, on offense and defense, he really busts it.

I hate to single out only two players, because they have really been playing good team basketball that has been absent at times in College Park for a while.  The bench has been there at times, the starters have been pretty consistent for the most part.

In all honesty I thought they would have been 5-3 at this point.  Going forward they have a long way to go, but the way things are trending, I will take it.  Sure they can still slip out of this race, but fighting for the ACC crown is far better than sweating out the NCAA bubble all of March.

So going forward there are some huge games on the schedule, starting with the big match up at Cameron on Saturday.  Follow that up with the make up game against UVA (another school we should all love to beat).  It is really important they take this one game at a time.  Nothing is written in stone yet, and they could easily go on a slide with the schedule that remains.  It is a great time to be a Terp, and it could soon be a season we never forget.

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Snow Day!!

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

As I am typing this, I am contemplating how in the world I am going to get out of my driveway.  I have a long gravel drive that leads about 70 yards to the main road.  Under these conditions you would think that I would have invested in a snow blower or a plow, but the truth be known this really hasn’t been an issue before because the woods next to the driveway have always kept it relatively clear of snow, so in the past all I needed to do was dig the car out to the shallow snow and then drive over it the rest of the way, that includes the huge snow storm we got in December, after that I figured I’d never need a plow or snow-blower.  But in December we had 17″, yesterday we had maybe 22″.  Somewhere in between those measurements is the tipping point, and though the trees did their part, they couldn’t keep all the snow off, and now I’m looking at the distinct possibility of watching the Super Bowl all by myself as my wife and child are out of town this weekend.

But enough of my problems, if Debbie Yow is reading this she could only dream of having my issues.  For one, I think College Park got hit harder than I did on the Mid-Shore (though once you pass 12″ the rest is kind of trivial) for another, I’m not supposed to have 18,000 coming over for the UNC game.  Things are so bad in College Park, that the University is actually asking those who have to drive to the game, to not comeSee Here.  That is right, how often does a school ask people not to come to one of the most anticipated games of the year?  You read that, and your knee jerk reaction is to say “Are they nuts?  We really need to win this game and need as many people in the seats as possible!”.  But truth be told, this is a historic storm and even today travel is going to be extremely difficult and dangerous, and as much as it sucks, the schools is making the right call.

Now there is a solution to this, in fact it’s an idea that isn’t even original.  Let the students and anyone else for that matter who shows up, in without tickets.  The irony is that this actually happened to us in the 1990’s.  I can’t remember the exact year, but we played UNC in a snow storm and no one could come to the Dean Smith Center.  My first reaction to this was “Awesome, there won’t be any fans in the seats!”, however, UNC let in every student that showed up, so not only was the place packed, it was electric!

Turn about is fair play in sports, and now is the time to play that card.  There is absolutely no downside to letting in the students.  It is unfortunate that season ticket holders are going to get screwed out of a UNC game, but I am sure the Athletic Department will do what they can to rectify that situation, but with TV contracts and schedules that are pretty much set in stone, there is little choice but to play today as scheduled.  We might as well make the best of a bad situation and do what we can.  As down as UNC is at this time, I am still not considering this a walk in the park, it is going to be a tough game, and having the place full of students can help give us the edge we need to make it to 6-2 in Conference Play.  And if that’s the ends, I think the means will be justified.

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Getting Back On Track

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Sure, there was a buzz building around the Terps hoops team over the past week.  I mean who could blame us.  They had rolled their four previous opponents (3 of them ACC teams).  It has been a while since us Maryland fans were sitting a top the conference standings, even if it was only 4 games in!

Then reality struck in Littlejohn Coliseum.  The Terps played their worst game since, I don’t know when.  I am sure if I dug through some bad memories I could pull a couple games.  You could look at that Clemson games two ways.  One, it was on the road, a game we didn’t really feel was a lock to win.  Two, they played as poorly as they possibly could, and still managed to fight back and take a second half lead.  But, they let a good opportunity to pick up a coveted road win pass them by.

I choose to live with the fact that despite how poorly they played, they were a contested made three pointer by Trevor Booker from possibly walking away with a win.   That shot kind of took the wind out of the sails I think.   When I was a student, and even up until we won the National Championship, I lived and died by every game.  A loss would make those couple days after a little gloomier.  A win, and I had a little extra bounce in my step.  These days, I seem to have allowed other aspects of my life set my mood a little more.All that said, that game hurt, but at the same time I don’t have a doom and gloom feeling.

Back to today’s Terps.  While that was another close loss on the road, they showed me a lot.  They could have packed it in and gotten blown out like last years visit to Clemson.  They hunkered down, forced Clemson into their own turnover problems and showed they were going to make Clemson really earn it.  To their credit, they did.

Moving forward, as fate would have it, Maryland gets another chance to get a nice road win.  We have one in the pocket, but it would be really good to get another one from Florida State on Thursday night.  I expect it to be a little different than the visit to College Park last month.  The key will again be how Jordan Williams (BTW kudos on a well deserved ACC Rookie of the Week), Landon Milbourne and company can contain Solomon Alabi.  He got in to foul trouble early in the last game, and the Terps were able to roll.

You think back to some of the great Terps teams of the past, and you could almost predict the type of performance you would get on a given night.  This team on the other hand, has the talent to make a nice run late into March, but you just never know what you are going to get from one game to another.  They can go a long way in calming me down by playing poised basketball again.  I would like to think that the Clemson game was just one of those nights, where everything went wrong, and we will see more efforts like we did against NCST, BC, and FSU.  So tune in Thursday night, if for no other reason to try and find out what this team is made of and see if they can improve on their weaknesses. They have to protect the ball under pressure, get tougher on the defensive boards, and continue to shoot well.  If they can improve in those areas, they should be able to contend all season long.  For more on the game check us out at Turtledroppings.  GO TERPS!

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